It’s autumn here in Tokyo, Japan, and the leaves have started to turn colors. Now beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows fill the sky. People celebrate the season outside enjoying picnics, hikes, and lots of picture taking!
Photo by Kathleen Kampa, 2020, Showa Kinen Park
My Kindergarten students delight in gathering the fallen leaves. Every morning they bring a collection of leaves to school. We sing many songs about the autumn leaves, but this one is my favorite.
If you have a xylophone or glockenspiel, you can play it by starting at the shortest bar (C) (do), and going step by step to the longest bar.
Falling Leaves Adapted by Kathy Kampa
Down, down, down, down, the leaves are falling to the ground.
do ti la sol fa mi re do
Whoosh!
Red, yellow, orange, and brown, the leaves are falling to the ground.
do ti la sol fa mi re do
Whoosh!
My students will sing this song over and over again. On the recording, the last time just slows down to signal the end of the song.
They love dancing with lightweight scarves. The color doesn’t seem to matter. They just love the way the scarves float so lightly. As students sing, they float their scarves back and forth (crossing their midline) moving their bodies lower and lower, just like the music. When they sing “Whoosh!” they scoop up the scarves and start again.
My students laugh when the scarf lands on their arm, their head, their shoulder . . . .
Here’s a video of my young learners.
I use small, lightweight hemmed scarves like these. Search for “hemmed scarves” or “juggling scarves.” Check the reviews. I like mine! Young children can practice naming the color, too.
This song is available on my album “Jump Jump Everyone.” For more kid-tested music and movement activities, check out my music on iTunes.
Kathy has produced two music CDs for very young learners, Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and Jump Jump Everyone, which build English language skills through movement while nurturing creativity and imagination! Grown and loved by real kids!
Kathy Kampa is a teacher, author, and teacher-trainer who specializes in working with young learners. As a PYP (Primary Years Program) teacher in Tokyo, Japan, she uses a globally-minded and inquiry-based approach to teaching through which students develop 21st century skills. She also supports the development of English language skills by creating songs, chants, and TPR/movement activities targeted to young learners’ needs.
Kathy and her husband Charles Vilina are also co-authors of Magic Time, Everybody Up, and the ELTon award-winning course Oxford Discover, published by Oxford University Press.
Do you know the five steps to washing your hands well? Wash Those Germs Away, written by children’s songwriter Kathy Kampa, was inspired by the COVID-19 virus and a call to better hand washing by our school nurse. This song will teach you (and those you love!) how to to wash your hands thoroughly. Join friends from around the globe. Protect yourself from COVID-19 and other germs.
Here are some suggestions for teaching this song:
For young learners, check their knowledge of the different parts of their hands. Here are two ways to do this.
First, let’s name each of the parts of the hand. You can say, Show me your fingers. Let’s say ‘fingers.’ Show me your thumbs. Let’s say ‘thumbs.’ Let’s count our fingers and our thumbs. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10! Continue in the same way with the other parts of the hand. Show me your fingernails . . . palms . . . . wrists.
Then, you can prompt the names of each part of the hand by showing: What are these? (wiggle your fingers) Fingers!
Trace around students’ hands and label the parts.
Now prepare soap and a towel or paper towel. Practice the song in your head and in your heart. Pretend to turn on the water.
Get started: Turn on the water. Get the soap. Rub your hands together. Let’s wash our hands. Turn off the water.
Sing: 1. Wash between, wash between, wash between your fingers, Wash between, wash between, wash between your fingers.
2. Wash the back of each hand, Wash those germs away!
3. (Start with your pinkie and work towards your thumb, then start with your thumb to your pinkie.)
Then wash your fingers one by one, Wash each finger, Wash your thumbs, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, almost done!
4. (Bend your fingers to wash your fingernails in your palm.) Now you wash your fingernails and wash your palms, wash your fingernails and wash your palms,
5. Wash your wrists, both right and left, Wash those germs away!
Wash those germs away! Wash – those – germs – away . . . . . . . . . YEAH! Shake off that water and dry your hands.
Thanks to creative artists
—- Andre DiMuzio for arranging this song
—–Brady Foster for compiling all of the videos!
We want to make sure that everyone knows how to wash their hands well. We’ve made the regular version and the karaoke version available for free!
Wash Those Germs Away by Kathy Kampa
Karaoke Version
Wash Those Germs Away –Karaoke version by Kathy Kampa/ arranged by Andre DiMuzio
Thanks to Trudy Midas at Espana Silk for her support.
Thanks to everyone who joined in this hand washing compilation.
Wash your hands poster design with girl washing hands illustration
Thatcher Buck
Karoline Buck
Brady Foster
Yuzuho Fujisawa
Emma Hayashi
Maiko Hayashi
Barbara Hoskins-Sakamoto
Patrick Jackson
Kathy Kampa
Brooke Kearney
Lori Kampa Kearney
Shannon Kearney
Yoko Matsui
Dina Mitchell
Nao Oshima
Callie Sisel
Tomoko Tanaka
Christian Vilina
Chuck Vilina
Craig Wright
Special Thanks to Taruna Kapoor and students:
Kindergarten children:
Pushti Bhatti
Vihaan Singh
Pre-Nursery
Prince Rana
Arubhav Shishodia
Ranya Goel
Want to see some fun outtakes? Thanks to dogs Addie and Allie who joined in the fun! We also thank the pair of feet for trying to do this song.
For more kid-tested music and movement activities, check out more music on iTunes. Kathy has produced two music CDs for very young learners, Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays andJump Jump Everyone, which build English language skills through movement while nurturing creativity and imagination! Grown and loved by real kids!
Songwriter Kathy Kampa is a passionate educator of young learners. She seeks to nurture children’s imaginations and spark creativity through fun and engaging activities. Kathy believes that music and movement should be a part of every young child’s education. Kathy’s Songs for Kids (Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and Jump Jump Everyone) are available on iTunes and Magictimekids.com.
As a PYP (Primary Years Program) teacher in Tokyo, Japan, Kathy uses a globally-minded and inquiry-based approach to teaching through which students develop 21st century skills. She also supports the development of English language skills by creating songs, chants, and TPR/movement activities targeted to young learners’ needs.
Kathy and her husband Charles Vilina are also co-authors of Magic Time, Everybody Up, and the ELTon award-winning course Oxford Discover, all published by Oxford University Press.
Summer is here in the northern hemisphere. In Japan where I teach, we have been treated to an array of beautiful flowers from cherry blossoms to purple hydrangeas. I spend my summers in Minnesota. Here we can find gardens filled with colorful flowers–zinnias, day lilies, purple cone flowers, hollyhocks, daisies, bee balms, and more. In my video, we take you to Munsinger-Clemens Gardens, one of my favorite places to visit. Special thanks to Christian Vilina for his awesome video work.
The kindergarten children at my school learn about living things in their unit of inquiry. They plant seeds and watch them grow. Have your students look at a real plant. Look at the stem, the leaves, the buds, and the flowers. Do all plants have the same types of leaves? Buds? Flowers? What do they look like?
You can also use a picture of a flower like the one shown above, or get a silk one from a 100-yen store or a dollar store.
My students love the magic of this poem called Here’s a Leaf. Yours will, too! I use small, lightweight hemmed scarves like these. Search for “hemmed scarves” or “juggling scarves.” Check the reviews. I like mine! These scarves expand beautifully for this poem. Young children can practice naming the color, too.
To begin, scrunch up the scarf in your hands, so that it can’t be seen. Here’s a video to show you how you might do it.
Here’s a Leaf (also known as The Flower Poem) adapted by Kathy Kampa Available on iTunes (Jump Jump Everyone)
(Bunch up the scarf in your hands so that it’s not visible.)
Is your scarf very tiny? (Yes, it is!)
Are you ready? (I’m ready!)
Let’s pretend.
Let’s plant a seed in the dirt.
(Bend down and tap the ground, pretending to plant a seed in the dirt.)
Water it!
(Pretend to water the seeds by tipping your hands.)
Watch it grow and grow and grow.
(Stand up slowly.)
Now show me your thumbs. Here we go.
Here’s a leaf, and here’s a leaf.
(Pretend that your thumbs are leaves. Wiggle one thumb, then the other.)
Count them. 1-2.
(When you count 1-2, move your thumbs up and to the side.)
Here’s a bud.
(Open your hands slightly to reveal the scrunched up scarf.)
Here’s a flower,
(Open your hands a little more.)
blooming just for you.
(Open your hands and let the scarf ‘bloom’ like a flower.)
Hooray!
(Toss the scarf into the air!)
Let’s grab our scarves and do it again!
For more kid-tested music and movement activities, check out my music on iTunes.
Kathy has produced two music CDs for very young learners, Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and Jump Jump Everyone, which build English language skills through movement while nurturing creativity and imagination! Grown and loved by real kids!
Kathy Kampa is a teacher, author, and teacher-trainer who specializes in working with young learners. As a PYP (Primary Years Program) teacher in Tokyo, Japan, she uses a globally-minded and inquiry-based approach to teaching through which students develop 21st century skills. She also supports the development of English language skills by creating songs, chants, and TPR/movement activities targeted to young learners’ needs.
Kathy and her husband Charles Vilina are also co-authors of Magic Time, Everybody Up, and the ELTon award-winning course Oxford Discover, published by Oxford University Press.
Special thanks to my son Christian Vilina for his vision creating this video.
When I watch very young children, I often see them pointing at things–“Look! A butterfly! Look! A puppy!” Their chubby little fingers point to all of the wonderful things around them.
With that thought in mind, I wrote this song called “Hello Spring.” The melody comes from a traditional Scottish song I have always loved called “Ally Bally.” Imagine this song as a greeting to the many things one might see in the spring.
Hello Springlyrics by Kathy Kampa on Jump Jump Everyone
Hello bluebirds. Hello bumblebees.
Hello red tulips. Hello cherry trees.
Hello warm sun. Hello blue skies.
Hello little ants, and orange butterflies!
We filmed this video in Tokyo, Japan at the start of the pandemic.
Special thanks go out to Andre DiMuzio for his beautiful arrangement. Thanks also to Connor McKeown and Christian Vilina for their help with this video.
Teach students the vocabulary using the images here.
2. Use my movements from the video, or create your own.
3. I sing the song one part at a time, and the children echo. Then we all sing together.
4. Your students may have more ideas for what they see in different seasons. Create a list and make your own song.
My second album is filled with many happy songs that have grown in my young learner classroom. Songs link to classroom content. Children can dance like falling leaves, bloom like a spring flower, move through the butterfly life cycle . . . . you’ll find LOTS of fun and magic in this album.
Happy teaching!
Kathy Kampa
Kathy Kampa is a passionate educator of young learners. She seeks to nurture children’s imaginations and spark creativity through fun and engaging activities. Kathy believes that music and movement should be a part of every young child’s learning.
Kathy is the co-author of Magic Time, Everybody Up, and Oxford Discover (published by Oxford University Press). She has been teaching young learners in Tokyo, Japan for 30 years. Kathy is also active as a teacher trainer, inspiring teachers around the world.
Are your students getting ready for Halloween? Mine are! This song was inspired by the book “Where’s the Halloween Treat?” by Harriet Ziefert and Richard Brown (Putnam Juvenile). As you read the book to students, you can see children dressed in different costumes going trick-or-treating. I also love the lift-the-flap book “Boo Who?” by Joan Holy (Scholastic). Both books are great for teaching students about Halloween.
In this song, we chose these Halloween characters: a ghost, a witch, a monster, a skeleton, and a black cat. You can use these Trick or Treatpicture cards. I like to make two copies of the pictures, one for students to see up close and one to find around the classroom.
1) Have students sit in front of you. If you have one of the Halloween books, enjoy reading it with your students. Ask students, What do you see? They may be able to name some of the Halloween vocabulary words.
Point to one word, such as ghost. Ask students, What do you see? Encourage them to say, I see a ghost.
Continue with the other Halloween vocabulary in the same way.
3) Now teach the phrase Trick or Treat. You might explain the tradition of children going from house to house and getting treats from neighbors. Show the children your treat bag, plastic pumpkin, or the Trick or Treat picture above. When children ring the doorbell or knock on the door, they always say, Trick or Treat! We do this because It’s Halloween!
4) I like to teach students the melody of the song while I change the picture cards as I sing it.
Sing again with Halloween characters: witch, monster, skeleton, black cat
5) Now your students are ready to stand up and move to the song!
Here’s a video I created for my students. With COVID restrictions, I took the video while I was the only person in the room, so I couldn’t move around a circle. I’m holding up the picture cards, but in my classroom they’re posted around the room.
Make a circle. Practice a movement standing in one spot for each Halloween character.
Here are some suggestions; however, using your own imagination is even better! Your students will certainly have some interesting ideas!
For the ghost, you might move your arms like you’re floating.
For the witch, you might pretend to make some witch’s brew or cast a spell.
For the monster, you might make scary arms and stomp in place.
For the skeleton, you can move your elbows up and down.
For the black cat, you can creep in place.
On the chorus, Trick or Treat . . . march around the circle.
On It’s Halloween, put your arms up in the air as you continue marching.
On each of the verses (such as I see a ghost), stop in one place and pretend to be that character or point to the pictures.
On Oooh, do spooky arm movements.
Then begin marching again around the circle.
6) On the next class, put the picture cards around the room. Add new characters to the song. Invite your students to draw their Halloween costumes and post the pictures around the classroom.
7) Finally, sing this song at your Halloween party. At our party, I lead the students around the room singing the chorus of “Trick or Treat.” We stop to ring the bell or knock at a pretend door. One by one, my students’ parents pretend to open the door. The students say, Trick or Treat!, Thank You! and Happy Halloween!
In addition to having fun, this song teaches young learners:
a. simple phrases, especially for EFL / EAL students –
It’s Halloween! Trick or Treat! I see a ____.
b. Halloween vocabulary words and sight words
c. movements, such as marching, that go from one place to another
d. ways to move and stop
e. how to express their own ideas for the vocabulary words and inspire their creativity
We hope that your students enjoy singing and dancing throughout the month of October. The music for this song and other Halloween favorites (Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Skeleton Dance, Marching Monsters, I’m A Witch) are available on Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays.
If you like this, my second album has more happy songs for children that have grown in my young learner classroom. Dance like falling leaves, bloom like a spring flower, move through the butterfly life cycle . . . . you’ll find LOTS of fun and magic in this album, too.
Happy teaching!
Kathy Kampa
Kathy Kampa is a passionate educator of young learners. She seeks to nurture children’s imaginations and spark creativity through fun and engaging activities. Kathy believes that movement should be a part of every young child’s learning.
Kathy is the co-author of Magic Time, Everybody Up, and Oxford Discover (all by Oxford University Press).
Young children LOVE to learn about farm animals. Try out this delightful song, The Cow Says ‘Moo’ from Jump Jump Everyone by Kathy Kampa (available from ETJbookservice, CD Baby, and iTunes).
Show pictures of the various farm animals. Children might suggest additional animals from the farm, too.
Name the animals. What does each animal say? You can make a game matching the animal picture with its sound or with its name.
You can hang the picture cards on the board in the order of the words. Children can stand and sing the song. There are two parts to the song.
The first part is the animal name and sound. Did you notice the pattern in the song?
The cow says “Moo”
The cow says “Moo”
“Moo! Moo! Moo! Moo!”
The cow says “Moo”
The second part includes TPR actions. Practice these with the children. Did you notice the rhyming words? That’s important for our students!
When the cow says “Moo” you’ve got to clap, clap, clap,
When the cow says “Moo” you’ve got to pat, pat, pat,
When the cow says “Moo” you’ve got to touch the floor,
Are you ready for more? Count 1-2-3-4!
Children listen for the next animal sound. In this song you’ll find a sheep (baa), horse (neigh), dog (woof), pig (oink), and rooster (cock-a-doodle doo). The verse with the rooster is slightly different.
Once children know the song, they can be given a picture card of the animals. I like to sing this song in a circle (see Let’s Make a Circle Big and Round). In my small classes (six children or less), each child gets one animal card or puppet. I put my picture cards on strings so that the children can move around the circle. They can, however, sit or stand in place with the card on the floor. With a large class, you can take turns, or give every child a card. When each animal is called in the song, the child/children with that card goes to the middle of the circle.
The music for this song is available on the CD “Kathy Kampa’s Jump Jump Everyone!”
If you’re looking for activities for young learners, check out my Facebook LIVE workshop. I teach children from age 2 – 12 in Tokyo, and these activities have all been LOVED in my classrooms. The activities support English language development as well as developmental body movement. Today’s FB LIVE (February 21, 2019) included the following: It Is Raining (focus on body parts), Little Worms (vocal expression, yoga movement, building group unity), Come and Sit In Front of Me (transitional), Tiny Egg (Butterfly Life Cycle, creative movement, connection to Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar), Flitter Flutter Butterfly (pronunciation practice, rhyming sounds, movement), Here’s a Leaf (seed-leaf-bud-flower), Folding Scarves (transitional), Scarves Please (Transitional), We Love Hina Matsuri (song/canon for Japanese Girls’ Day), We Did It. You can find all of the lyrics inside the CDs.
Happy New Year! We have celebrated O-shogatsu (New Year’s) with toshikoshi soba and o-sechi ryori, traditional New Year’s foods. Starting on Monday, I’ll be back in the classroom with my students. This song was written with our son Christian when he was in elementary school. Christian and Chuck are singing it at home for you:.
How should we move with this song? When students first listen to the song, they might like to jump, march, or twirl around.
When I first teach the words to this song, students keep a “steady beat” by patting their legs. To make it a little more challenging, they can create a pattern by patting their legs once, then clapping their hands. Think “pat-clap-pat-clap” or “down-up-down-up.” Do this for the first three lines.
We like to do something special on the last line:
— On Happy New Year! my students like to shake their hands above their heads. Some students like to turn around quickly!
— On Hip hip hooray! students roll their hands, then jump once in place.
For an even bigger challenge, students can do the pat-clap pattern with a partner by patting their own legs, and then clapping both hands with a partner.
Our biggest challenge? Students stand in a circle facing their partner. First they pat their own legs, then clap with their partner. Then they turn to the person on the other side (called a “corner” in folk dance), repeating the pat-clap. They repeat the pattern with their partner, then corner until the Hip hip hooray. Check out the video to see what my students did!
Happy New Year 2018! We hope that you keep a song in your heart and a smile on your face. May 2018 be filled with lots of joy!
Kathy
Happy New Year is one of 15 great songs for kids on Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays. The CD includes a handy attached booklet with lyrics, and is available for teachers in Japan at ETJ Book Service.
For teachers residing outside of Japan, the songs are available for download through iTunes. To hear the studio version of this song, go to iTunes, and click on Track #3.
CDs are available for sale through the Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, MN, Mad Robin Music & Dance in Seattle, WA, St. John’s University Book Store, Collegeville, MN, and The Fishing Pond, St. Cloud, MN.
Stay tuned for our second New Year’s song, It’s The Year of the Dog!
If you teach young learners, you’ve got to check out this simple song and dance. It’s called The Turkey Dance, and as you can imagine, it gives children a chance to dance like . . . . turkeys!!
While many countries give thanks at this time of year, an American tradition is turkeys. When I was a child, we made turkey drawings by tracing along the edge of our hand. These hand drawings became turkeys! So celebrate turkeys and try out the The TurkeyDance. It’s really easy to do.
Here are the lyrics, which go to the tune of “Turkey in the Straw.”
The Turkey Dance
Words by Kathleen Kampa and Charles Vilina, music adapted from Turkey in the Straw
Spoken: It’s Thanksgiving Day. Let’s move like turkeys.
First, move your elbows! (imagine wings)
Move your elbows, do the Turkey Dance.
Move your elbows, do the Turkey Dance.
Stamp your feet and shout “Hooray!”
It’s Thanksgiving Day.
2. Now move your hips. . . (imagine a tail)
Move your hips, do the Turkey Dance.
Move your hips, do the Turkey Dance.
Stamp your feet and shout “Hooray!”
It’s Thanksgiving Day.
3. Now move your knees. . . .
4. Now move your head . . . .
5. Now move your whole body!
Teacher’s Notes:
In this dance, students are pretending to be turkeys.
Before you put on the music, show students a picture of a turkey like the one in this blog.
I usually start with a little TPR by teaching this part of the song first– “Stamp your feet, then shout ‘Hooray!'” Stamp your feet, then jump in the air on “Hooray.” On “It’s Thanksgiving Day!” put your hands together.
My students added their own ideas between the verses. Some children enjoyed saying “Gobble! Gobble!” while others liked to say “Thank You” in a language they know.
Now teach the body part movements. Say “Move your elbows.” These are the turkey’s wings.
Repeat with each body part listed below: hips/tail, knees, head, and whole body.
1. Make turkey wings by moving your elbows.
2. Make a tail by putting your hands behind your back and moving your hips.
3. Move your knees like you’re strutting.
4. Move your head forward and back.
5. Choose your favorite movements or make some new ones. Dance!
Here is a very, very short clip of young learners from my English class enjoying The Turkey Dance. It’s easy to do. It will be give some idea of the movement.
For this catchy “hoedown” professional version that children LOVE to dance to, listen to The Turkey Dance on iTunes!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! No matter where we live, we all give thanks this season for the blessings we have.
Kathy and Chuck
Kathy has produced two music CDs for very young learners, Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and Jump Jump Everyone, which build English language skills through movement while nurturing creativity and imagination! Grown and loved by real kids!
Kathy’s second children’s CD, Jump Jump Everyone, includes songs to move to, seasonal songs, and lots of transitional songs. For more kid-tested music and movement activities, check out my music on iTunes.
Kathy Kampa is a teacher, author, and teacher-trainer who specializes in working with young learners. As a PYP (Primary Years Program) teacher in Tokyo, Japan, she uses a globally-minded and inquiry-based approach to teaching through which students develop 21st century skills. She also supports the development of English language skills by creating songs, chants, and TPR/movement activities targeted to young learners’ needs.
Kathy and her husband Charles Vilina are also co-authors of Magic Time, Everybody Up, and the ELTon award-winning course Oxford Discover, published by Oxford University Press.
I teach very young learners. I love the energy that these students bring to my class! The question is how to harness that energy productively. This chant from Magic Time One 2nd edition (OUP) is perfect for very young learners.
In the lessons prior to this, students learned about various pets, such as cat, dog, rabbit, bird, turtle, and frog. (Actually the artwork shows additional pets that the children find in the pictures). The four verbs in this lesson are jump, run, hop, fly.
First of all, students practice each of the four verbs–jump, run, hop, fly–standing in one place. It’s also important for young learners to learn “Stop!” It’s fun to make it a game by saying these verbs several times (Jump! Jump! Jump!), and then “Stop!” You can do this with music by starting and stopping the music. When my students, they love to make interesting poses, too.
Secondly, put these four words into the chant pattern. I like to do this as a fingerplay sitting with the students.
For jump, place two fingers in your palm, then pretend to “jump.”
For run, make your fingers move quickly in your palm.
For hop, place one finger in your palm, then pretend to “hop.”
For fly, move your fingers in the air.
You can place the four picture cards in the order of the song like this. Put the three verbs in one row, and run in another.
Jump Hop Fly
Run
You can see in the video that my students matched the animals to the picture cards.
Run, Run, Run! from Magic Time One 2e Unit 10
Jump! Jump! Run, run, run!
Jump! Jump! Run, run, run!
Jump! Jump! Run, run, run!
Jump! Jump! Stop!
Change jump to hop. Then change to fly.
Here’s a video of some of my very young learners performing this chant.
Students extend this language by putting it into the phrase, It can _______. Students are then able to talk about all of the pets they’ve learned about.
