“Mister Frog” and other characters found in my story/songs have helped many children enhance their emergent reading skills. I have spent many years working in schools across the U.S.A. and have witnessed many times the power of music to motivate children to read. One of my favorite quotes is from a well -known language arts specialist and former President of National Council of Teachers of English:

"I can think of no happier gifts that teachers /parents/grandparents can give to themselves and to children than those that offer reading interests and skills achieved through singing” Dr Sheila Fitzgerald, Ph.D -Michigan State University Professor Emerita

In the spring time especially, I use catchy, fun, and engaging songs to also help children understand why it it so important for all of us to care for nature. Songs such as “Save the Earth” and “Plant a Tree for Tomorrow” help students become more aware of their surroundings and even interested in research to find out what living things are at risk of extinction because of loss of their habitats. These songs are sung with great feeling as the students celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd.

After singing “Mister Frog, You Just Think Youʼre Smart" story/song about the transformation of a wiggly tadpole to a laughing, jumping, croaking frog, we usually
discuss frogs and their habitat. We quickly found out that there is great concern by scientists and ecologists regarding the frog population.....

I have composed the song “SAVE THE FROGS!" which has been used in many Earth Day programs....

See the entire article at http://www.songsforteaching.com/articles/savethefrogs.htm

 Listen to Dianne Baker's Save the Frogs in the audio player below.

I know why they call it Spring. As in ice melting and water running. Stored energy bursting forth. Ok, what I really want to say is that my kids are bouncing out of their chairs. Spring as in boiiiing! Talk about a renewable energy source.

This is prime-time action season. The more the kids can be and become the music...become the story- the better. There's so much to bodily act out and dramatize... and then build on. Here are some ways to capitalize on all that energy through total body involvement in making music!

Springing a song: sing it, talk about it, make up your own additional verses, assign characters and act it out- adapting it so every one has a part, make finger/hand motions, use puppets and drawings, kids can illustrate a song or verse within and then sequence the pictures in the correct order. Make a book!

Springing instrumentally: make your own instruments, play instrument songs either on a CD or live, play along loud or soft (vary the volume) stop and go (press play and resume,) pass instruments around the circle, put them in a box then close your eyes and choose one, name the instrument without looking at it. Use instruments to play rhythms and then use your body as an instument (clap, stamp, tap etc.) Make patterns with body percussion alone. Have a “blind walk” and have the children follow the sound while blindfolded.

Spring and Dance: dance with large groups, small groups, take turns, Dance quietly or loudly. Dance with small or large movements, dance if you meet a certain condition (if you're a boy, girl, or if you're wearing red...) Assign a leader and the other kids follow, pass the leader role down the line so everyone has a turn. Make a sequence and have a group do the first part, then another group do the next and so on. Have a group of two work together one being the right side of the body and the other being the left. Dance and freeze like whatever character or animal you may be studying about.

Here are a few good Spring rhymes/songs to act out, though I confess I do not know the sources. This particular bunch is for tots.

1. Tune: Each phrase is a note in the scale. Words: Peck, peck, peck on the warm brown egg. ----Out comes a neck. ---Out comes a leg. Then comes a wing---- with a flap, flap, flap.---- Happy Easter/Spring ----everybody----what do you think of that? (Peep, Peep, Peep, Peep, Peep, Peep, Peep, Peep. Shh!)

2. Funny little bunnys go hippity hop. They wiggle their nose. And twitch their wiskers. And their ears go flippity flop. or....

3. Tune of Bunny Hop: First you wiggle your nose. Then you move your ears. Then you shake your tail and you go hop, hop, hop. (repeat 3x) (Use an instrumental version of the Bunny Hop. During the musical interlude (between the verses), hold hands and circle right then circle left. (Do what fits.)

4. I love you. I love you. I love you so well. (sign the words) If I had a turtle, I'd put you in the shell.

5. Tune: Miss Lucy. Words: I had a little frog. His name was tiny Tim. I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim. He drank up all the water. He ate up all the soap. And he burped last night from a bubble in his throat.

Margie La Bella is a music therapist and special educator with over 24 years experience working with pre-school and school-aged children.
Check out her excellent albums for ages 2-10:
Move! - Action songs about understanding directions and following through with them. (Receptive language) 
Sing! - Action songs with sounds, words, and simple phrases. (Expressive language.)
Mixing it Up - More interactive songs about following directions, vocalizing, singing, moving and playing simple instruments. This album contains Margie's spring song, Tweet Little Birdy

Please see more of our Action and Seasons Song Lyrics.

Listen to a short sample of The Caterpillar in the audio player, below. 

The rainforest is an incredible place full of mystery and wonder, it's not surprising we are still learning new things about it every day. Children love learning about the exotic wildlife that inhabits the jungle; powerful jaguars, playful monkeys, colorful parrots, and all kinds of strange creatures offer a wealth of learning opportunities. In fact, the rainforest is so complex it is easiest to divide it by level. The canopy is where the most activity takes place and it also happens to be home to many species of monkeys. Try some of these rainforest activities and play like the monkeys do! 

Monkey See, Monkey Do Game

Someone gets to be the leader monkey first and the rest of the players copy the movements of the leader. Example: the leader touches his/her nose and the rest of the monkeys touch their noses. Take turns as the leader.

Banana Bites Snack

Spread a peeled banana with peanut butter and roll it in a crunchy cereal. Slice the banana into bite-sized pieces. Enjoy!

Download our Free Monkey Coloring Book

See our Rainforest Theme Unit page for more great rainforest songs and musical plays. Margie La Bella graciously shared her song "Hey, Mister Monkey" with everyone. You can download it for free!

 by Ben Stiefel

     Learning to read notes on a staff is valuable for all children, whether they play an instrument, sing, or simply love music and wish to learn more about how musicians compose and play.  But learning musical terms such as staff, clef, time signature, key signature, and measure, can be boring.  How do you make the teaching of note-reading exciting and fun?  Here are some ideas:

      Let children write on the chalkboard.  Once you've modeled how to make a treble clef, for example, have four or five students come to the chalkboard and draw the clef.  Play some fun background music while they do it - they'll think they're on a game show.

      Speaking of game shows, you can teach almost any musical concept and turn it into a game.  For example, when teaching line and space notes, you could create index cards that read "third space" or "fourth line," for example.  Make one student the "announcer" who reads any given card out loud.  Then have students draw the note that's been called.  If it's drawn on the correct line (or in the correct space), give their team a point - or a hundred points.  I'd vote for a hundred points - much more fun than earning just one measly point!

     I'm also a big fan of children moving around the classroom.  Using the same example of line and space notes, single notes on a staff can be drawn on large cards and then placed around the classroom.  In this example, a group of students from a predesignated team comes to the front of the classroom.  When the "announcer" says "third space," for example, the students walk to the corresponding card, and are given points if correct.  For more advanced students who have been taught the letter names of the notes on staff, the announcer can simply say "note B," and those students again must walk to the corresponding card.

     There's no reason note-reading should be dull - with a little creative thought, you can shake up your music class and make learning fun! 

(For a fun and easy way to teach note-reading to your recorder, song flute, tonette, and song flute students, see Single-Note Symphonies For Recorder.  For more fun and easy ideas to spice up your general music class, while helping your most difficult students to learn and achieve, see Winning Over Your Toughest Music Class.)