September 2008

Recently a teacher on our Facebook page commented on how she thinks Super Simple Songs would be good for her 8 year olds, and did we think that would be okay?  OF COURSE!!

We use all kinds of songs with our kids up until that age–and even older.
Keep in mind, if you’ve never used a song in class, and you drop the Hokey Pokey on a class of 8 year olds, you won’t get a good reaction.  Kids don’t react well to change.  But if you ease them into it, you won’t regret it!

Start by playing songs in the background during quiet activities.  Then move on to something not quite so song-like.  Toss a ball around to the Alphabet Chant or the Months Chant.  Next, move onto something that the kids are guaranteed to have a blast with, like The Pinocchio.  Next thing you know, songs will be a regular part of your class.

Our focus with Super Simple Songs comes across at times as something that is best suited for kindergärtners and preschoolers.  But as anyone who has tried out the CDs knows, they’re incredibly versatile and kids of all ages enjoy them.

I remember a children’s music methods course that I took in university.  One of the first things we did for that class was head out to the local elementary school.  It was such a different place from way back when I was in elementary school.  We sang, we chanted…we made music.  The kids there didn’t.  There was no music on the playground and very little in the classrooms.

Don’t let that be your classroom!  Expose your kids to all kinds of music.  Anything will do….even some simple songs.

-Troy

These cards allow you to play “Who Took the Cookie?” with as few as two people or as many as you have in your class. Also, when you play with these cards, nobody knows who has the cookie…even the student who has it! (When you play the regular version of “Who Took the Cookie?” younger students may have trouble keeping it a secret that they have the cookie.)

First, print the “Who Took the Cookie?” cards (and laminate them if possible).

With two players, shuffle the cards and deal four cards, to each player. Each player, without looking at the cards, puts the four cards in a row in front of them. Chant the “Who Took the Cookie?” chant. When it’s someone’s turn to answer if they have the cookie or not, they turn one card over to check, and then answer.

Continue back and forth until one of the players turns over the cookie card. Children will want to play this game again and again, so it really gives them great practice! For variation, print two or three cards so that when one cookie card is turned over, the game continues!

For more than 2 people or a larger class, print several sets of the “Who Took the Cookie?” cards (and laminate them if possible). You can deal one card to each student, or several cards to each student. The more cards each student has, the longer the game will continue. For larger groups, print several “cookie” cards so that the game continues even after one of the cookies is found.

With very large classes, print several sets of the cards (black and white will work just fine), and have the students play in groups of five or six.

Many thanks to a good friend in Germany for this great idea!