The beat chants are a great way to welcome your students to music class or music time. Some music teachers teach more than a thousand students each week and it can be very difficult to remember the names. Starting your class with a name chant establishes a routine, introduces the term “beat” and will help the teacher remember all of the names.

Say the preschool chant, patting a steady beat as you speak. Say hello to four students, then say the chant again. Say hello to them using high and low voices, quiet and loud voices, fast and slow. Also use speaking, whispering, shouting or calling and singing voices. When singing hello use a variety of solfa patterns: so-mi
so-so-mi, so-la-so-mi-do or mi-re-do-do-do. In the chants where children say their own names, encourage them to use different voices.

Teaching procedures at the beginning of the year is important for all students, but especially for PreK! If this is your first class with students, discuss them all.

Practice distinguishing between speaking and singing voices by introducing a toy elephant named Melody. Melody the elephant will do what the children tell her, if they tell her in a “singing voice.” If they speak, she does nothing. Tell Melody to “jump up and down” using a speaking voice. Melody won’t move. Then sing to Melody to “jump up and down” and make your elephant jump. Invite the children to
sing to Melody what to do. This activity helps the students to learn the difference between singing and speaking voices. It’s also great to encourage solo singing. You can soon tell who is matching pitch and who you need to work with when they sing to Melody.

Melody became a requested part of every music class. If I forgot to bring Melody out, they asked for her. They all wanted to give Melody hugs after class, so we developed a routine where if they were sitting nicely in their places, Melody would come and give them a hug.

Copy the teacher in the video.

When you copy the teacher you are keeping a steady beat.

Ask the children to “pick up their potatoes.” Alternate pounding your fists on your legs to the beat. Slow down as you approach number ten. Then on “Hot potato” very quickly pretend to toss the potato up in the air. Ask the students to tell you where the poem got slower. Have them tell you where the poem was faster.

Say the poem and do the movements to the poem "One Potato".

Print or draw five apples for the song "Farmer Brown Had Five Red Apples".

Listen to the song "Farmer Brown Had Five Red Apples"

Put all five apples in front of you. When Farmer Brown picks an apple in the song, pretend to eat your apple, then put it behind you.

Sing the "Letter M" song.

Optional: There is a letter M worksheet in Supporting Resources.

Sing along with "Morgan the Monkey".

Think of ways you could move to the song!

Sing and move to the song "Morgan the Monkey".

Review the song "Monkeys".

This song was written by April and Susan and celebrates one of our favorite animals that live in jungles and in zoos!

Can you make up movements to the song?

Sing the song "Monkeys" and do the movements that you see the kids in the video doing.

Learn the movements and learn about types of voices by watching the kids demo.

Do the movements and say the poem with the teacher.

Try different types of voices with the interactive activity.

You'll do one kind of voice for every 2 lines of the poem.

Sing our closing song "Skinnamarink".