Time for Trick or Treat!

October 20, 2019 | magictimekids

halloween-1773447_1920

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

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 Treat picture 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.

2) Now use the Trick or Treat picture cards.

Point to one word, such as ghost. Ask students, What do you see? Encourage them to say, I see a ghost.

Screen Shot 2019-10-20 at 14.33.30

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.

Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays. (click on the title, then on Track #8)

-Pat your legs on the chorus, Trick or treat . . . .

-When you hear It’s Halloween put your arms up like you’re saying Hooray!

-When you hear each of the characters (such as I see a ghost), point to each one. When you hear Oooooh, wave your arms in a spooky way.

Here are the lyrics:

Trick or Treat

Words and music by Kathleen Kampa and Charles Vilina

Chorus:

Trick or treat! ch-ch-ch Trick or treat! ch-ch-ch

It’s Halloween! Say “Trick or treat!” ch-ch-ch

Trick or treat! ch-ch-ch Trick or treat! ch-ch-ch

It’s Halloween! Say “Trick or treat!” ch-ch-ch

Verse:

I see a ghost!

I see a ghost!

Ooooooooooooooh!

Sing again with Halloween characters: witch, monster, skeleton, black cat

5) Now your students are ready to stand up and move to the song!

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.

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.

You can find it at iTunes, CD Baby Store, and ETJbookservice.

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.

Jump Jump Everyone

Happy teaching!

Kathy Kampa

Kathy's bio photo

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).

The Cow Says “Moo”

September 14, 2019 | magictimekids

Photo by Jan Koetsier on Pexels.com

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.

cow

Photo by Public Domain Pictures on Pexels.com

sheep

Photo by David Dibert on Pexels.com

horse

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

dog

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

pig

Photo by samer daboul on Pexels.com

rooster

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”

“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.

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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!”

Jump Jump Everyone

You can find it on iTunes, CD Baby Store, and ETJbookservice.

Have a wonderful time singing and moving with your students!

Kathy Kampa

Let’s Add a Little Music and Movement

February 25, 2019 | magictimekids

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.

If you like my music, it’s available on iTunes or https://www.etjbookservice.com/…/kathy-kampas-cds-4/

These are the materials used for the Tiny Egg chant (available on iTunes)

. . Children’s songs for special events for pre-school, kindergarten, and elementary students

Jump! Turn into butterflies. Plant magical flowers!

Happy New Year 2018!

January 5, 2018 | magictimekids

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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:.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Hip hip hooray!

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!

It’s Time for “The Turkey Dance”

November 5, 2017 | magictimekids

Male of a turkey If you teach young learners, 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!!

This is a wonderful way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day in your home or school. The Turkey Dance is a catchy tune and 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!

Move your elbows, do the Turkey Dance.

Stamp your feet and shout “Hooray!”

It’s Thanksgiving Day.

2. Now move your hips. . .

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.

Say “Move your elbows.” These are the turkey’s wings.

Repeat with each body part listed below: hips, knees, head, and whole body.

Then practice, “Clap your hands and shout ‘Hooray!'”

Finally practice, “It’s Thanksgiving Day!” by putting your hands together.

My students also enjoy saying “Gobble! Gobble!” between the verses.

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 short clip of young learners from my English class enjoying The Turkey Dance. It’s easy to do.

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’s second children’s CD, Jump Jump Everyone, includes songs to move to, seasonal songs, and lots of transitional songs.

Kathy’s CD’s are available at numerous locations:

ETJ Book Service Japan

Mad Robin Music and Dance, Seattle, Washington

Red Balloon Bookshop St. Paul, Minnesota

The Fishing Pond St. Cloud, Minnesota

St. John’s University Bookstore Collegeville, Minnesota

CD Baby

Run, Run, Run!

March 19, 2017 | magictimekids

happy kids , jumping
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! 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.

Have fun!!!

Simple Strategies For Getting Attention

March 6, 2017 | magictimekids

How do you get all of your students’ attention? As we move to student-centered learning, your students may be more engaged in small group work. Throughout your lessons, however, you may need to get their attention again. How do you do it?

First of all, with any strategy you use, you must practice it before you actually use it. My students love to do this! It’s easy to see how they continue to improve.

Secondly, the success of each strategy depends on you, your group of students, their age, and their disposition. Figure out what works best. In a couple months, change it up with a new strategy.

1. Get attention with something that creates an interesting sound.

screen-shot-2017-03-06-at-9-29-03-pm What do you have readily available in your classroom? One of the most interesting sounds I have in my classroom is a slide whistle. If you have a big group of students, it quickly gets their attention. Don’t have a slide whistle? How about a tambourine or a kazoo?

(Check out West Music for interesting instruments.)

2. Add a little rhythm to get attention.

(Clap on every syllable. Students echo your clap.)

I like ba-na-nas. (I like ba-na-nas.)

I like po-ta-toes. (I like po-ta-toes.)

I like to-ma-toes. (I like to-ma-toes.)

3. How about trying some rhyming conversations? These help your students develop phonemic awareness too!

My Grade One students love “Hands on Top.”

Teacher says, Hands on top! (put your hands on top of your head)

Students answer, That means “Stop!” (students do the same)

One, Two, Three, Eyes on Me is another rhyming conversation.

The teacher sings, “One, two, three, eyes on me.” (so-so, mi, so-so, mi)

Hold up fingers as if you’re counting to three. Point to yourself.

The students answer, “One, two, eyes on you!”(so, mi, so-so, mi)

Hold up fingers as if you’re counting to two. Students point to the teacher.

My students then do “Peace and Quiet” by putting two fingers in the air (peace) and one finger to their lips (quiet).

4. Butterflies

I lov images-1 e to pretend with my students. Ask, “Where are your butterfly wings? What color are your wings today?” Pretend to paint each arm by gently rubbing it and naming a color. i.e This wing is pink, but this one is purple.

Raise and lower your arms out to your sides as if you are flying. Inhale and exhale.

5. Candles

Finally, inhale while raising your arms from your sides to above your head. Touch your hands together above your head, then bring them down in front of you. Exhale when your hands are in front of your mouth. This is an effective way to calm students after a lively activity.

Having some strategies in place will help your classes run smoothly.

MagicTimeKids

Motivating young learners of English through music, movement, multiple intelligences, and much more!