Tap the beats on the beat strip at the end of "It's Music Time"

Your students might be ready to play an instrument while counting the beats between the verses.

Say the "Hello Beat Chant"

Say the hello beat chant, patting a steady beat as you speak. As they become more familiar with this beat chant, say hello to a student using a high, low, quiet, loud, fast, or slow voice. Also use speaking, whispering, shouting/calling, or singing voices. After you say hello to the student using whatever voice you choose, the class echoes, copying the way you said it.

This week use it to review fast/slow.

Say the poem "Five Little Bells"

Children need repetition to build their language skills. Repeat each fingerplay several times, varying some aspect of it.

For example:
1. Say the poem, using your right hand to show the five bells.
2. Say the poem, using your left hand to show the five bells. “Let’s use our other hand.”
3. Say the poem with “magic lips.” You just mouth the words and do the actions. This really helps children to
internalize the beat, and this really seems to help the children learn the words.
4. Add an instrument to the poem as illustrated in the score above.

Extension: What parts should be fast and which parts should be slow?

Learn the fingerplay for "Five Little Bells"

Teach "Reindeer Pokey"

This is a holiday adaptation of the Hokey Pokey, so the melody may be familiar to your students. Sing the song and teach the movements. Invite the children to sing along. Invite the children to create new verses and sing and act them out. This would be a fun piece for your PreK students to perform in a holiday concert.

Learn the movements for "Reindeer Pokey"

Read the Hula Hippo Story

Listen to the story or read it to your students. The story is in the worksheet bundle for Letter H.

Teach "Letter H"

Teach "Hula Hippo"

Sing and do the actions to "Hula Hippo"

Optional: Complete the Letter H worksheets

Move with scarves to "Trepak, Tchaikovsky"

Copy the movements first with arms, then give out scarves and copy the movements with scarves.

Teach "I Like Playing in the Snow"

Teach the first verse of the song by rote. In rote teaching, children listen to a phrase, then echo. Ask the children to tell you which parts of the song use a singing voice (A section) and which use a speaking voice. (B section)

Sing and do the actions with "I Like Playing in the Snow"

Review song "I Like Playing in the Snow".

Can you create your own movements to go with the song?

Can you create new verses for this song?

Teach "Make Some Toys"

Teach the song by rote.

Play instruments with "Make Some Toys"

Invite the children to suggest instruments to use to add accompaniment to the B spoken section. Discuss how the instruments make their sound and classify them as woods, metals, shakes/scrapes or drums.

Example:
Tap, tap, tap you could use rhythm sticks
Sand and paint you could use sandpaper blocks
Drum and rum you could use hand drums

Sing "Skinnamarink"

Sing our closing song "Skinnamarink".