Chickadee by Lisa Monet (from My Best Friend)
This song has a wonderful Latin beat. We count down the chickadees on our fingers, and during the chorus, we all flap our arms. I use this mainly with babies, but toddlers and even their older siblings seem to love it as well.
Los Pollitos by Elizabeth Mitchell (from You Are My Little Bird)
There are many versions of this song. I tried to find this version online, but found that even the liner notes to the album have a mistake. Here is how I sing it:
Los pollitos dicen,
pío, pío, pío,
cuando tienen hambre,
cuando tienen frío.
La gallina busca
el maíz y el trigo,
les da la comida
y les presta abrigo.
Bajo sus dos alas
se están quietecitos,
y hasta el otro día
duermen los pollitos.
pío, pío, pío,
cuando tienen hambre,
cuando tienen frío.
La gallina busca
el maíz y el trigo,
les da la comida
y les presta abrigo.
Bajo sus dos alas
se están quietecitos,
y hasta el otro día
duermen los pollitos.
Taba Naba by The Wiggles from (It's a Wiggly Wiggly World)
I first learned this song when I worked in a special ed preschool, and our class watched the Wiggles before lunch each day. The hand motions are impossible to describe, but YouTube has this video, which is basically how I learned it. We don't stand up and sit down between verses, but you easily could, if you have kids who get the motions down.
And these are the lyrics, which are in the Meriam Mir language, spoken on the Torres Strait Islands north of Australia:
Taba naba naba norem
Tugi penai siri
Dinghy e naba we
Miko keimi
Sere re naba we
Taba naba norem (style)
(repeated 3 times)
Tugi penai siri
Dinghy e naba we
Miko keimi
Sere re naba we
Taba naba norem (style)
(repeated 3 times)
Rum Sum Sum
This is another one that I picked up in special ed. preschool. Recently, I learned that it is actually based on a Moroccan folk song. There are many versions out there, but this is how I do it. (It works with toddlers, right on up through kindergarten.)
A rum sum sum
(tap one closed fist on top of the other, and keep switching hands)
A rum sum sum
(tap one closed fist on top of the other, and keep switching hands)
Guli, guli, guli, guli, guli
(wave hands back and forth in the air)
Rum sum sum
(tap one closed fist on top of the other, and keep switching hands)
(Repeat this verse once)
A rafi
(hold hands up high, then bring them down in a clap)
A rafi
(hold hands up high, then bring them down in a clap)
Guli, guli, guli, guli
(Wave hands back and forth in the air)
Rum sum sum
(tap one closed fist on top of the other, and keep switching hands)
(Repeat this verse once) Tia Monica
King County Library System has a wonderful wiki filled with songs and rhymes on every imaginable topic. I borrowed this one from there, and I plan to use it with toddlers and up.(Make sure to really ham it up when you sing "Ooh la la." It makes a huge difference.)
My Aunt Came Back (borrowed, with gratitude, from Mel's Desk)
To the tune of "How Dry I Am," we sing all the things my aunt brought back from her world travels. At the end, I add some love for our hometown, with this final verse:
My aunt came home
to Washington, DC
and she brought with her
a hug for me! It only works if you live in a place that ends with a long E sound, but they love it here!
ABCD Medley by The Laurie Berkner Band (from Whaddaya Think of That?)
This medley begins and ends with the ABCs and in between, we have Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and Frere Jacques. We tap our knees to the beat in between songs, and do use our hands to "twinkle," row, and fall asleep. This is a great one for babies and toddlers.
Boots by The Laurie Berkner Band (from Victor Vito)
Any kid who can stand up and jump can participate in this song. We stomp in our black and brown boots, jump in our frog boots, do a silly dance in our dancing boots, and make splashing motions (with our hands and feet) in our rain boots.
Moon Moon Moon by The Laurie Berkner Band (from Victor Vito)
A simple song to the moon. The hand gestures I use come from the CD liner notes.
Oleanna by The Laurie Berkner Band (from Victor Vito)
This is a nursery rhyme medley. Here are the rhymes included in the song, with links to the flannel board cut-outs I use:
- Hickory Dickory Dock (I already had this one from last time.)
- Jack and Jill
- Hey Diddle Diddle
- Diddle Diddle Dumpling (no flannel board for this one!)
- Humpty Dumpty
My tentative plan is to develop a collection of music like this for each season, so that I can vary my performances somewhat, but within a familiar set of songs. I'll have to see how well that actually works!
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