Keep the beat with body percussion

Do the body percussion that's shown in the video.

Create your own body percussion

Cut out the 8 cards given in Supporting Resources, or draw your own.

Use them to create 4-beat or 8-beat body percussion patterns.

If students can't snap yet, tell them to "rub" their thumb and 3rd finger together, or leave out the snap.

Teach “Skateboard Rider”

Make up movements to go with the song.

When the skateboard moves, pretend to keep your balance on the board.

Sing and do the movements with “Skateboard Rider”

Teach “See Saw”

Teach the song. Have each student take a partner and see saw back and forth to the beat as they sing. Then have the pairs of students show how the notes go up and down with joined hands. The stronger students will help the weaker ones identify the higher and lower notes. If you have a stretchy band, you could have the entire class show how the notes go higher and lower together. You could create a game of it. Sing the song and show how the notes go higher and lower, then call out a color. The children holding on to that color run under and switch places. Repeat.

This is also a good song for having students distinguish beat and rhythm. Pat the beat. Clap the rhythm, or the way the words go. You could have some students play the “words” on sandpaper blocks while another group pats the beat. Enlarge the chart given below and clap the words. If there is one sound on a beat, draw one line in the heart. If there are two sounds on the beat (up and) draw two lines in the heart. The students could do this activity with popsicle sticks on foam or felt hearts as you model it. If they are very successful with this activity, label one sound on a beat as being “ta” and two sounds on a beat “ti-ti.” (or use your preferred rhythm names)

Point to the high and low notes in “See Saw”

Solfa is the way that singers use to name notes.

Learn the movements for “See Saw”

Have each student take a partner and see saw back and forth to the beat as they sing.

Watch the Kids Demo video. The students in the video thought up new ways to move to the song. Make your own movements to the song.

Do the movements while singing “See Saw”

Listen to the “See Saw” story

Listen to the "See Saw" story video.

Each time the see saw song comes in the story, sing along.

Teach “Uptown Zoo”

Play the video for the song "Uptown Zoo".

Can you dance along with the music?

Can you play along with the music?

Can you play and dance?

Listen to “The Elephant” from “Carnival of the Animals”

What animals were there in the "Uptown Zoo" song?

Listen to "The Elephants" from "Carnival of the Animals".

Do the elephants move slow or fast?

Move to “The Elephant” from “Carnival of the Animals”

Watch the video and move to "Elephants"!

Teach “Fireman”

Teach the song by rote and play the clapping game. Use this song to show how the notes go higher and lower. Have the students show with arm motions which notes are higher and which notes are lower. If you have a stretchy band, you could have the entire class show how the notes go higher and lower together. You could create a game of it. Sing the song and show how the notes go higher and lower, then call out a color. The children holding on to that color run under and switch places. Repeat.

Learn the clapping game with “Fireman”

This is a clapping game with partners. Begin by teaching the action to the entire class. (Act as if you are everyone’s partner.) The simplest pattern for Kindergarten is to clap both of your own hands and then clap both of your partner’s hands.

If you want to try some more challenging patterns you can try some of these:
1. Pat both hands, clap your own hands, clap partner’s hands, clap your own hands. (pat, clap, partner, clap)
2. Clap your own hands, clap partner’s right hand, clap your own hands, clap partner’s left hand. (own, right, own, left)

This second pattern crosses the midline. Proponents of “brain gym” believe that crossing the midline engages both sides of the brain and gets children thinking using both sides of the brain. It certainly makes kids think. Don’t expect immediate success with crossover patterns in Kindergarten. They need a lot of practice doing it as an action before attempting it with a partner.

Teacher note: We don't have a kids demo for "Fireman". If your students would like to see themselves on MusicplayOnline please review the submission requirements here: https://help.musicplay.ca/can-i-submit-a-kids-demo

Go on a hunt for higher and lower pitches

Review “Listen to the Water”

Review the song.

Do you remember the movements? If not, make up your own!

Review “Watch Our Garden Grow”

Review the song.

Make up movements to go with the song.

Slow down the song with the "gear wheel" in the bottom right corner of the video.

Sing and move to “Skinnamarink”