It’s so hard to believe that Valentine’s Day is RIGHT around the corner! I don’t know about you, but I always seem to reuse the same favorite activities for various holidays. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut without any fresh ideas, but this week in my video I’m sharing some easy and stress-free lessons that will be sure to keep your students engaged in music, even around a holiday.
Ida Red, Ida Blue
This is a game where students sit in a circle and one student is chosen to be the mail carrier. They walk around the circle carrying two envelopes while the class sings the song. At the end, the mail carrier stops in front of two students. Each student gets an envelope and inside are slips of paper each with a different way they could travel around the circle. Bear crawl, crab walk, speed walk, skip… you get the idea!
Lindsey Jervis has an amazing resource that helps teach this song and game!
Heel, Toe, On the Line
This is a fun dance to do with Kindergarten- 2nd grade. It’s originally a song in German, which is why you’ll see “Yah” and “Nein”. We talk about how “Nein” doesn’t mean the number nine, but instead it means “no”! I’ll have Kindergarten be in a scatter formation while 1st and 2nd grades are in a circle. Amy Abbott’s blog post breaks down the song and dance even more, so be sure to check it out!
“One Love” by Bob Marley
For upper-elementary students, you could talk about who Bob Marley was, what is reggae music, etc. For younger kiddos you could read the “One Love” book that I’ve linked HERE!
If you’re teaching ukulele to your older students, here’s a super easy ukulele play-along on YouTube. It only uses the chords C, F, and G!
I have created a lesson to introduce Reggae to students, learn about the beautiful meaning of “One Love”, and play boomwhackers along to the song! Click here to get this free lesson!
Cupid Shuffle
This is a fun line dance that I’m sure every millennial teacher is very familiar with! It’s school appropriate and honestly just so much fun. It gives me flashbacks to middle school dances but your upper elementary students will have fun dancing along with you!
“Cupid’s Arrow” Rhythm Game
This “Cupid’s Arrow” game is by Amy Abbott. Students get into small groups and each student gets a nerf dart. Have a student say one of the rhythms and then students race to find the correct rhythm with their “arrow”. They love the suction cups on the nerf darts and they get to practice their rhythm identification!
Do you have any favorite lessons that you use around Valentine’s Day? Leave a comment or DM me on Instagram and tell me what you like to do with your students during this holiday! I hope you all have a great week, and I’ll talk to you again next week!
