Class outside has its risks, of course - there are more distractions outside (the area after all has a play structure), there's more noise, and sometimes there might be just too much sun. And so, here's what happened.
| Marching, Marching | Have students march, then jump, hop, slide, etc. |
| The first class is before recess, so the students were still inside; I had to get them outside somehow. I ended up using this song/activity to get the students lined up and out the door, but it was quite the challenge to have the students hear me, particularly the ones at the end of the line, once I stepped outside. I wanted to go through a few different motions while all of the students were outside, so we ended up walking/marching/moving a bit until we got to a somewhat open area near the back of the play area. For the second class, the students were already outside, and so instead I had the students march around; we got into the other motions a lot earlier. | |
| I Can Sing Up High | Review, get kids moving |
| Since we were outside, it was easy to have the students stretch, which always provides an easy segue into this song. The students remembered more or less the song and movements, although I still wasn't able to ratchet up the tempo much without losing the students. Alas, this was really just a warm up song anyway. | |
| Criss Cross Applesauce | Get students to follow me in the chant |
| I quickly came across the next complication - the outside area doesn't really lend itself well to sitting in a circle. There's a good arc formed by the end of the crash mat for the play structure that I ended up using to seat the students, thus, allowing me to then lead the students as they sat on something soft. The only problem is that the arc was a bit on the long side, which translated to me moving around a lot just to make sure all of the students saw what I was doing or heard what I was saying.
Before chanting, I did hand motions for the chant (one handed-X in the air, tap on the knees for "applesauce", followed by a rumble on the ground for the pizza), for about 3-4 iterations until most of the students were following me. I then simply added the chant, and by the 2nd iteration, most students were following me, chanting and doing the motion. After a few more iterations, I then had the students continue with the motions but just vocalize the pepperoni pizza; this seemed to capture the students' attention well, and the students were anticipating jumping in with forte. Next, I would say "criss cross", while the students responded with "applesauce" - the students still got to say "pepperoni pizza".; this was even more fun for the kids. I then split up the class into two groups, and only one half of the students would respond with "applesauce" based on who I said "criss cross" too. The kinders really responded well to this sort of game, and we tried it a few times. I did want to alter pitch, volume, and tempo, but I never did. | |
| Fine Friends Are Here | Get students to respond with kodaly hand signs |
| I wasn't planning on really teaching this song, and so I just had them practice the two "Fine friends are here" responses - each time with hand signals (sol-mi-re, mi-re-do). I didn't tell the students why I was making the signals; I just wanted the students to copy me. The two responses have a difference that is a little subtle, and so the hand signals really help. I ended up singing two pairs of stanzas twice, for a total of 8 responses from the students. I do intend on using this song again later in the year. | |
| Oats Peas Beans | Review song, teach dance |
| After Fine Friends, I quickly jumped into singing OPB, and the students immediately also singing along. We sang the first stanza, and before the students sang the chorus again, I then instructed the students to watch me, as I sang "Looking for a partner…". We weren't in a circle, so I sang "open the line" instead of "open the ring", and then I danced, using one of the other parent volunteers to demonstrate the dancing.
The dancing was a huge hit. The dance of course is very lighthearted and almost goofy, and so the kids really enjoyed watching. It didn't take long to get a volunteer to be the person looking for a partner. We sang through the song a few times, and rather than letting the person who just picked a partner return to the line, that student remained alongside his or her partner, and during the next iteration, both picked a new partner. This geometric expansion can only go so far, and so when we had 16 students dancing, I had those who were not picked become the final group of dancers. Everyone wins. :) | |
| Blow the Balloon (Ella Jenkins) | Tell story, have students explore being a balloon |
| During a past refresher training course for docents, there was an exercise taught where students were to pretend they were bubbles or balloons traveling to a beat. However, before I got the students trying that, I used the Balloon (Padma) story, borrowed from Ella Jenkins. The students did well with the story, and when they were blowing the balloon (still with the Ella jenkins story), the students mirrored exactly how the recorded students responded.
It was time to have the students try to be balloons themselves, and so I had them "blow" themselves larger with their arms. Since we were outside, it was easy to make sure that no two balloons were too close to each other. I didn't have a large drum, and so I tapped a tambourine to send a gentle shockwave to all of the ballooned students. It worked for a little bit, but quickly the students were moving far away, which made it nearly impossible to control them all at the same time; students started wandering all around the play structures, and my parent helpers were constantly trying to coax the bubbles back to where we started. I tried to correct this with the second class by having the students between the arc and the closest fence, but a few students eventually leaked out the sides and started wandering happily around the rest of the area. | |
| It's A Very Good Day | Have students march to song |
| For the second class, I had some extra time, and so I had the students start marching around the arc to this song. I wanted the students to focus marching and not worry so much about singing. However, during the end of the song, when the song asks "Why?", I stopped and asked the students. Of course, they didn't know how to respond for the first two iterations. I then asked the students to pretend that it was a good day for running through the wind, and when I asked the students why, a few students said it was a windy day! I asked the students to also pretend it was raining, since the next time I see them, it might be raining - this time more students answered correctly. I had to bring the second class back inside, so I went back to Marching Marching in order to get them inside again. | |
| Halloween Surprise | Immerse students into the song |
| I still had a little bit of time with the second class now inside, and so asked them about Halloween, and what things reminded them of the holiday. It wasn't hard to lead the kids to talk about pumpkins, and before I sang the song, I simply had the students make the motions and with regular conversational words, I walked them through the song, in spoken form. I then did it again, while singing the song. I didn't expect many students to sing with me; they were more focused on the motions, which was fine. They seemed to have a good time with this, and after singing through the second time, I told them that this was supposed to be a surprise, so they should sing as if they were surprising someone at the end. That led to a fantastic, energized ending during the next and final iteration. | |
It was a bit of a bummer having to miss the previous week's class. This year, however, I will have one class after the break before Halloween, and so I'm excited to be doing more Halloween material close to the holiday; I haven't had that chance for several years.
