In today’s blog, I will be sharing 5 Lesson Ideas to incorporate the Spring season into your General Music classes! If you don’t already know, my name is Jessie and I am an Elementary Kinder-6th Grade General Music Teacher and, along with this blog, I also have a YouTube channel where I share lesson ideas, as well as Play-alongs and everything in the General music world!
Many of these ideas are Folk song based activities and singing games, as there are just so many wonderful Spring-themed songs for this time of year!
Paw Paw Patch
Who knows what a Paw Paw is?? It’s a fruit commonly found in north eastern united states that is a cross between a banana and a mango with really big seeds!
Anyways, this is a cute song with 3 verses and an accompanying Folk dance, which can be found here (http://kodaly.hnu.edu/song.cfm?id=949); however, I like to play a game that goes along with the theme of going out and finding the Paw Paw in the Paw Paw Patch!
Game Directions:
- Setup:
- Half of the class (or however many students you decide) will be in charge of hiding a Paw Paw (Bean bag) in the room somewhere (or outside, weather permitting!)
- Other half of the class closes their eyes
- After the Paw Paws have been hid, then instruct the other half of the class that during the singing of the song, they can each go and search for one Paw Paw (Bean bag)
- Remind the students who hid them to pay attention to whether or not their Paw Paw was found so that they can reveal their hiding spot if it isn’t found during the singing of the song!
The Bunny Story
I have shared about this activity SO many times because it is truly a favorite of mine! It is a Dalcroze-inspired lesson that focuses on recognizing musical opposites and responding through movement! My inspiration came from this video:
Here is a rough explanation of the story about a Bunny!
***Be creative! Change and adapt this to make it your own and to match your piano-playing level! My piano skills are quite minimal so I improvise in C major throughout this activity***
Setup: Have the students “lay down” on their dot (I have Sit-Spots)
Limbo Rock
This is a great, Covid-friendly Folk Dance from Phyllis Weikart and there’s a YouTube video of her teaching it.
This is generally performed in a circle; however, you could certainly adapt this into a Line Dance and accompany with some Limbo afterwards! It’s tropical sounding and your Upper Elementary students will have a blast doing it!
We Are Dancing In The Forest
This is a singing game that could be used in the Fall, as well, but I like to bring it out during the Springtime. There are a few variants of the melody so don’t feel like you need to change yours if mine is different!
Game Variations:
Variation #1: (Outside Recommended)
One child is chosen to be the wolf and hides away from the circle. The class sings and steps around in a circle,
At the end of the song, all chant, “Wolf, are you there?” Wolf chants, “I am putting on my coat.” or “No, I am eating mac n’ cheese!” “No, I’m watching Netflix…”, etc.
Children sing the song again… “I am putting on my shoes.” Last time, the wolf chants, “Yes, I am here!”
The children run. The wolf catches one child, who then is the next wolf.
Variation #2:
At the end, when the Wolf says “Yes, I am here!”, instead of running and chasing, the other kids pretend they’re the “trees in the forest” and freeze. If the wolf sees anybody move, then they’re “out” and they have to sit on their spot. The “trees” can move when the wolf isn’t looking.
Variation #3:
With my Kindergarten and 1st graders, we have a blast just brainstorming different reasons why the wolf might not be ready! They’re so funny and creative!
I Love the Mountains
This is a lovely folk song for upper Elementary that can either be sung in a 2 or 3-part round or layered with melodic ostinati!
The Lyrics are:
I love the mountains
I love the rolling hills
I love the flowers
I love the daffodils
I love the fireside
When all the lights are low.
Boom-de-ah-da, boom-de-ah-da,
Boom-de-ah-da, boom-de-ay..
Boom-de-ah-da, boom-de-ah-da,
Boom-de-ah-da, boom-de-ay.
You can either have students sing it in a round and/or have the “Boom-de-ah-da” section be a melodic ostinato underneath the song. It is a very approachable, yet satisfying folk song that my students have really enjoyed! Here’s an example of what it can sound like:
I hope you found these lesson ideas helpful as you bring the joy of Spring to your music classroom!
