CONNECT - song and dance for children

*STONES HILL SONGS* is a growing resource of original songs for young children, self-published by experienced music teacher/ occupational therapist/ songwriter LIZ CAMPBELL. The goal is to stimulate real-time body-and-voice musical experience in classrooms. Demo-style presentation is simple and easy for teachers to look-listen-copy. They are not suitable as fancy backing tracks! SUBSCRIBE, "LIKE" and SHARE with other interested teachers. Let the SONG and DANCE continue!

Friday, October 11, 2019

My animal friends

*from STONES HILL SONGS*

This song arose in a preschool class that had as its theme: farm animals. Animal life in many forms is the starting point for learning countless lessons from a very young age. Most children naturally love animals and many are lucky enough to keep pets at home.

Sadly a tendency of neglect, and even beating or abusing animals can creep in once the initial 'honeymoon' phase of the new pet is over. This is unfortunately topical in parts of South Africa where I live, and I hope this song cultivates in some children a compassionate awareness and respect towards the animals in their care.

Donkeys are particularly close to my heart as I have a resident team of 5 'rescue' donkeys who live with me..

Introduce the song with discussion on any of the above themes, appropriate to the age in your class. Use the simple actions to accompany the words. Teach it echo-style line by line after speaking it through initially in story-telling style. The tune is borrowed from other songs so may already be familiar to you. Have confidence in your own voice - no backing track is needed: you are the best voice that your children will want to hear!

C F C
If I had a donkey , I’d treat it like my friend
G C G C

I’d stroke it and I’d pat it, and love it to the end
C G C G

I’ll give it food and water, take care when it gets sick
C F G C

And never EVER EVER kick or hit him with a stick!

Puppy dog - kitten - pony - chicken

Explore the collection of Stones Hill songs-and -dances for children listed below - share them with people whom you know will use and enjoy them. Please acknowledge source and composer if piece is used for public performance - copyright Liz Campbell, Stones Hill songs. Feedback would also be appreciated - how the song works for you, how you may have used it: liz.jessam@gmail.com

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Hand Game

*from STONES HILL SONGS*

Using hands (like puppets) to tell a story is a valuable and fun activity with children. Our hands are there for gesture and expressive demonstrate; this short and simple chant challenges the fine co-ordination and intricate movements of the small fingers. Take it slowly to allow everyone to arrange and re-arrange the digits - there's no race here!

Here we have our knives and forks
Here we have the table
Here's the fire burning bright
Rock the baby's cradle

Monday, September 16, 2019

Building up a house

*from STONES HILL SONGS*

Young children love the process - imagined and acted out, or real - of building houses. Starting from the bottom up, there are many concrete steps that have to be followed with precision and attention to detail to build a solid, habitable structure.

Many children seem to get both the seriousness of it and the playfulness at the same time. There is room in building for both form and creative expression.

This song has easy repetitive actions to play out and like many of the others is open to expansion and additional ideas. What else can we do to this house? can be asked. The basics are given here in the video clip designed to demonstrate the bare bones of the song clearly so that a teacher can easily copy and learn it for the classroom.

A note about singing in the classroom: many teachers feel incompetent to lead singing, doubting their capabilities and bemoaning the fact that they don't play piano or guitar. Be reassured: the best tool and instrument to lead your class is your own voice! Unaccompanied singing is worth cultivating in your group; you may need to practice at home to gain confidence. Experiment using a dramatic, stylish song/speak voice that would be used to tell a story.

Play with the timing - both slowing down or suddenly speeding up adds drama when necessary, though to be used judiciously. Add eyes and facial expressions! This will catch their attention and empower the children to find their own voices. Choose to pitch it slightly higher to suit the young vocal chords. A teacher in this role is essentially an actor, so have fun and the learning will happen best!

As variation, this song can be linked to the eco-brick song, including a game of stacking up the (stuffed) plastic bottles in the middle while singing. Children can take turns one by one to place their brick - this works well when the tune is simply sung by the group to la la la la la in between the verses with words. You will have quite a creative structure by the end of the game! Follow it with the story : "the ant house" .

I am building up a house I am building up a house
I am building up a house over here
Lay the floor, build the walls, the roof and the door
I'm building up a house over here

Lay out the bricks ......
Hammer in the nails.....
Mix up cement......
Spread on the paint....

The following is an older recording done 20 years ago; in the classroom there is no need to use a backing track, and I feel this version is too fast, too rushed. Rather take time to process the actions.

Friday, March 15, 2019

I have eyes to see

*from STONES HILL SONGS*

🎶 This song is all about body image, pointing, touching, identifying, naming different parts, and then making them dance! The idea in between verses is to have some 'free dance' with the specific parts just named. How can my eyes dance? How can my nose move? It teaches attention and appreciation of our bodies, in part and whole.

The last verse is about how we relate to others around us with our bodies, and nurtures a sense of belonging in our communities and families. The jazzy genre will give a snappy edge to the moves, and children love to mimic a jazzy voice and jazzy moves - they are great imitators! Who knows, some may even be inspired to take up the saxophone one day!

Good morning!

*from STONES HILL SONGS*

🎶 You can never have enough 'good morning' greeting songs in your repertoire for children. That's because they are a fantastic way to start each day, so we need one for every new, beautiful day! I saw a (young) grandfather doing this very song with his little grandson, making it such a fun game, with lots of laughter and jokes - that's just the right spirit, because learning IS fun, and happens best when not taken too seriously.

So as you add actions to this one, the memory banks up in sequence and mistakes are bound to happen, to everyone's delight! Sequential memory is an old game in every child's book, played in numerous different ways for good reason. Sequencing words and actions to song are ideal for developing this faculty (while having fun). Add your own suggestions - they can become ludicrous as you wish. Sing this simple song in a lively, vibrant fashion to set a positive tone for the day.

Choosing

*from STONES HILL SONGS*

Perhaps an expanded title for this story from the Stones Hill collection could be -

how to choose not to be so busy in life, or less is more! Increasingly children are under pressure to have their days filled with 'improving' activities. Or maybe it's parents feeling the pressure of having to keep their young busy at all times. Chunks of empty space in a whirlwind existence can seem unproductive or time wasting, but these so-called 'boring' patches are exactly where creativity and imagination put down lasting roots. It takes an archetypal grandmother figure, the classic wise old crone, to point this out to her young granddaughter.

This story/song was not recorded with visuals in mind; in fact, it's more than OK to turn off the screen, lie on the floor and listen, letting the imagination fill in the blanks. When eyes are fixed on a screen, the brain's capacity to create its own visuals switches to glazed mode!

I Have One

*from STONES HILL SONGS*

🎶 This song from the Stones Hill collection is all about counting, using fingers, toes and different parts of our bodies. It is best sung slowly (unaccompanied, once the teacher/ parent has familiarised the tune and words), taking time to touch, name and count on the body. Although the song is recorded at a pace, there is no rush in real-time!

Even touching just one part for each section is sufficient. It takes a lot of co-ordination to jump between the arms, legs, eyes, so be encouraging. Five and five making ten, so clear to see on the fingers, is the beginning of experiencing maths in action, so wield the fingers widely and admiringly, encouraging the use of them for counting.

The video is deliberately crafted with few visual elements as it is intended for participation rather than watching a visual spectacle. Enjoy!