MovementThe Goldfish
"The Goldfish" by Laurie Berkner is one of my favorite songs to get my Kindergarteners moving. Before I explain, let me share some of the lyrics: Lots of little fish were sleeping on a rock In the bottom of the ocean They lifted up their heads And they shook out their tails And they said let's go swimming Let's go swimming lets go swimming Yeah let's go swimming Let's go swimming let's go swimming In the bottom of the ocean Then the little fish got so very very tired That they came back to the rock And they put own their heads And they put down their tails And they took a little nap And when they woke up They decided to take a shower So whey washed their hair And they washed their ears And they washed their tummies And they washed their beards And they washed their nose And they washed their toes And then they said "Wait a minute, we're fish! We don't take showers!" ... And so on... the silliness continues. I use it as their first free space movement activity and they love it so much they are still requesting it weeks later. You will need something to act as "rocks" for the students. I use poly-spots, but you could easily substitute beanbags, floor tape, etc. Each student (or, "fishy") is given a rock to sleep on. I explain that this rock does not belong exclusively to one fish; all the fishies in the sea can go to any rock they like when they get tired. It's great sharing practice. The "fishies" sleep on their rock until it's time to wake up and "shake out their tails". Then they perform the actions to whatever the fish are supposed to be doing and on "Wait a minute! We're fish!" we hold up a finger and speak along with Laurie. Then, we swim all around the room until the fishies get tired. We yawn dramatically as we head back to our rocks for a nap. And... repeat. Simple, fun, and booty-wiggling. What more could you want?! :) |
InstrumentsLittle Bird
The original activity was taken from a Kriske & DeLelles book that I no longer have and cannot remember the name of. Sorry! It's perfect for Kindergarteners learning to use a variety of classroom instruments. I particularly like it in a "wood, metal, shaker, skin" unit and as an introduction to barred instruments. It uses the Mother Goose rhyme "Little Bird": Once I saw a little bird Come hop, hop, hop; So I cried, "Little bird, Will you stop, stop, stop?" I was going to the window To say, "How do you do?" But he shook his little tail, And away he flew. After several lessons of doing it with actions (more booty-wiggling!!!), identifying and clapping on the "magic words," we move to the instruments. For non-pitched percussion, I set up an instrument circle and have the students play only on the underlined words. For little ones, I keep it simple and have them rotate after each performance. With older students, I create the challenge of rotating after each set of magic words. Because it goes quickly, this version allows me to give kids a chance on instruments they don't get many opportunities to play (cabasa, cowbell, etc). This is also the perfect activity to introduce students to the barred instruments. I set them up in a pentatonic, teach them proper playing technique and off they go. I have them play two-handed and on any bars they like. They are always amazed at how beautiful it sounds. :) Ahhh, the wonders of the pentatonic scale. |