Have you ever struggled to get your children or students to tidy up and clean up the things they’ve taken out? Here’s your secret tool — songs!
Even Mary Poppins knew that! Songs create seamless transitions and make cleaning up a fun, enjoyable task.
Here are some songs that you can play to make your space sparkling clean! You can find this music on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming sites. Keep them handy for the next time you have a mess to clean up.
- Tidy Up is definitely one of my most popular songs. The lyrics are super simple. I wrote it for my Kindergarten students in Japan. The song gets faster and faster. By the time it’s finished, students should have everything cleaned up. Teachers and parents around the world have told me how much they love this song and use it regularly. Ask Alexa to play it for you! You’ll have it ready whenever you need to start tidying up. Or click the arrow below to play it the next time you’re surrounded by a mess!
2. Perhaps you know this cute song from the Barney show. Our children love to sing along!
Clean Up song
Clean up! Clean up! Everybody, everywhere.
Clean up! Clean up! Everybody do your share.
Click the arrow below to play it.
3. Sometimes you have something specific to put away — picture cards, scarves, instruments, etc. Here are some simple songs to play to collect the items.
Cards, Please lyrics by K. Kampa
T: Cards, please. Ss: Here you are!
T: Cards, please. Ss: Here you are!
T: Cards, please. Ss: Here you are!
T/S: Thank you very much!
*What other materials are you using? Instead of singing the word cards, sing a new word such as scarves.
Click the arrow below to play it. Use it in your next English class.
It’s Time to Put the Instruments Away lyrics by K. Kampa
It’s time to put the instruments away!
Oh, it’s time to put the instruments away!
Oh, we’ve had a lot of fun, and we’ve sung a lot of songs,
But, it’s time to put the instruments away.
Click the arrow below to play it. Use it when you use instruments with your class!
4. I love to celebrate our successes with the “We Did It” chant. My students launch into this chant often in my lessons. We always finish our lessons with this. Send your students off with a positive feeling!
We Did It! by Kathy Kampa
We did it! We did it! We did it today!
We did it! We did it! Hip hip hooray!
Click the arrow below to play it. Play this the next time your students do something great.
For more classroom management songs, check out Kathy’s Spotify playlist.
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.
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.
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 and Jump Jump Everyone, which build English language skills through music and movement while nurturing creativity and imagination! Grown and loved by real kids!
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