October 15th is Global Handwashing Day!

Global Handwashing Day banner design illustration

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 wash your hands thoroughly.

You’ll find a video created for young learners at my school. This might help your very young learners. The other video is a compilation of people who joined me in a “handwashing mission.”

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 the parts of your 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!

Now, prepare soap and a towel or paper towel. 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!

To ensure that everyone knows how to wash their hands well, we’ve provided additional resources for you. Both the vocal version and the karaoke version are 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 everyone who joined in this hand-washing compilation.

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 and Jump 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.

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. They recently published Beehive and Buzz, courses for young English Language Learners.

#handwashing #COVID #coronavirus #washyourhands #socialdistancing #corona #handwash #KIDSMUSIC #CHILDRENSMUSIC #KATHYKAMPA #MAGICTIMEKIDS CHILDRENSSONGS #MOVEMENT #MUSICFORKIDS #KIDS #FAMILYMUSIC #MUSICCLASS #BABYMUSIC #TODDLERMUSIC #KIDSMUSICCLASS #preschool

Hand washing image Designed by brgfx / Freepik

Celebrate with the song “Happy New Year!”

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Happy New Year 2025! New Year’s Eve traditions in the US are different from those we celebrated when we lived in Japan. On New Year’s Eve, one of our dear Japanese friends used to bring us homemade soba from a famous restaurant. So delicious! Last year Chuck and I created our own version of toshikoshi soba for New Year’s Eve. Not quite the same, but still a taste of “home.” This year we enjoyed Chinese lo mein.

In this blog, I’d like to share my “Happy New Year” song. It’s quite special to me. When our son Christian was in elementary school, he started playing this simple melody on our piano. This song will stick in your head! Now he’s grown up and is performing in Hollywood! I love this recording of Christian and my husband Chuck singing it at home.

Get your students moving with this super simple song to celebrate the New Year.

(picture taken at a Red Carpet event for his Indie film “Gift of Fear”)

Now you can also go to Spotify to get the professional recording.

No matter how you get my music, it’s great to play it often for children. My friend Kumi plays my CDs in her car. When she brings her three children to different activities, they sing along to songs in English. During my recent trip to Japan, the kids were singing along to my songs when she picked me up in her car. What a precious moment!!

Here are the lyrics to the song. For the Google Slides, click here.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Hip hip hooray!

When I first teach the words to this song, students keep a “steady beat” by patting their legs or clapping their hands. I don’t worry about teaching the words first. I lead them through some movements while students listen to the words. Then, I add more challenging movements. Students can pat their legs once, then clap their hands. Think “pat-clap-pat-clap” or “down-up-down-up.” Do this for the first three lines. Before you know it, the students are singing along.

You can ask your students for other steady beat ideas to do during the repeated section.

Try this:

Think, think, think! Think, think, think! What should we do?

If students need help with ideas, offer two choices: Should we do jumping jack jumps or scissor jumps? Should we snap our fingers or pound our fists?

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 “air clapping” both hands with a partner.

Check out this video to see what my students did! 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.

During COVID, every student used a set of sticks, something like the Indian Dandiya dance. This gave students a chance to interact with a partner, but at a distance. Tap my sticks, your sticks, my sticks, your sticks.

Happy New Year 2025! We hope that you keep a song in your heart and a smile on your face. May this year 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.

The songs are available for download through iTunes. To hear the studio version of this song, go to iTunes, and click on Track #3.

Kathy’s second CD Jump Jump Everyone is filled with songs to get students moving! Songs and chants build English language skills through simple movement activities. They nurture a child’s imagination and creativity. There are beautiful seasonal songs, lively gross motor movement songs, plus effective transitional songs. Grab a scarf and play along. Grown in the young learner classroom, you’ll find that your children will ask for these songs over and over again.

All of Kathy’s music is now available on many streaming platforms, such as Spotify.

For some of Kathy’s favorite music, check out these Spotify playlists.

Audio & Video

Jump! Jump!

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If you teach young learners, you know that they love to move! In some classrooms, students need to move in a small space. You might have circle time with students standing on a spot. Your students might just stand beside their desks. This is a movement chant that you can do in ONE SPOT.

This chant comes from OUP’s Magic Time, Book One. There are just verbs–jump, run, hop, fly, stop. Once you and your students know the pattern, add your ideas. Here are some ideas: march, wiggle, twist, spin, stretch, bend, shake.

In Unit 10, students learned animal names. When they flip the page, the animals are moving. Here are the words to this simple chant.

Run, Run, Run

by Kathleen Kampa and Charles Vilina, Magic Time One

Jump! Jump! Run, run, run.

Jump! Jump! Run, run, run.

Jump! Jump! Stop!

The second time, substitute hop for the word jump.

Hop! Hop! Run, run, run. (3X)

Hop! Hop! Stop!

Last of all, substitute fly for the word hop.

Fly! Fly! Run, run, run. (3X)

Fly! Fly! Stop!

Students do all of the movements on their spot. When they say, Stop! they can make an interesting pose. Watch how my students create their own ideas.

We need to practice moving and stopping with our young learners. This develops their focus and self-control. Plus, it’s a fun activity for our little ones.

Here are my young learners in Tokyo, Japan. I placed the picture cards on the floor as a reminder of the order, similar to a rebus reading. This chant helps them practice their /r/ sound.

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 is an author and teacher-trainer with Oxford University Press. She is delighted to be teaching young learners in her hometown.

This chant comes from Magic Time 1, by Oxford University Press. Each lesson has a simple chant or song to practice the language. Many of these chants and songs invite children to move

For more fun and engaging songs that have been loved by many kids, check out these albums. Kathy’s songs for kids (Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and Jump Jump Everyone) are available on iTunes, Spotify, and other streaming services.

Are your students ready to learn? How do you focus their attention?

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If you’re starting a new school year or you’re experiencing the excitement of the end of the year, how do you get all of your students’ attention? Teachers need to guide students to prepare for learning at different times during a class, such as:

Beginning a lesson

Moving to a new space in your classroom

Introducing an activity

Checking in during an activity

Finishing an activity

First of all, with any strategy you use, you must practice it before you actually use it.

Secondly, the success of each strategy depends on you, your group of students, their age, and their disposition.

Lastly, choose one or two strategies to start. Figure out what works best. When you’re ready, add a new strategy.

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

What do you have readily available in your classroom? A slide whistle is one of the most interesting sounds I have in my classroom. If you have a big group of students, it quickly gets their attention. Don’t have a slide whistle? How about a shaker, a tambourine, or a kazoo?

(Check out West Music for interesting instruments.)

2. Peace and Quiet

To gesture “peace” you can make a Peace sign with two fingers up. Alternatively, you can just raise your hand.

To gesture “quiet,” put your finger to your lips.

When I say, Peace, you say Quiet. Peace and Quiet.

3. Add a little rhythm and vocal expression to get attention.

Teachers at my school loved this way of getting students’ attention. Nina Septina shared this at the JALT 2023 conference.

a. Echo the same rhythm saying the word, Yes! Change the rhythm, the tempo, your voice, etc.

T: Class, class, class. Echo: Yes, yes, yes!

T: Class, classity, class. Echo: Yes, yessity, yes!

T: (fast) Class, class, class, class, class. Echo: (fast) Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

T: (whisper) Class, class, class. Echo: (whisper) Yes, yes, yes!

(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.)

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

My Grade One students love “Hands on Top.”

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

The 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 can do “Peace and Quiet” (above) by putting two fingers in the air (peace) and one finger to their lips (quiet).

5. How about fun phrases?

T: Peanut, peanut butter ——-Ss: JELLY.

T: Macaroni and cheese . . . Ss: everybody freeze!

T: Hocus pocus. Ss: Everybody focus!

Check out more fun attention-getters here from Jenn at The Teacher Next Door.

6. How about making butterfly wings?

I love to pretend with my very young students. Say, Let’s make 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 to your sides as if you’re flying. Inhale and exhale.

7. Calm students with this breathing activity called “Candles.”

Finally, inhale while raising your arms from your sides to above your head. Put 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. The teachers I worked with in Tokyo loved the way this activity quickly quieted my students.

Remember to practice your strategies first. Add new strategies little by little. Having some strategies in place will help your classes run smoothly.

If you’re looking for Class Management Songs for Kids, check out this collection on Spotify.

Kathy Kampa loves to bring joy to the world through her children’s music. She is passionate about making learning engaging for young learners. You’ll find more resources on Kathy’s YouTube page.

Do you celebrate success in your class?

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Celebrate success with CCBA. What’s CCBA?

Catch Children Being Amazing! It’s an acronym I created to remind teachers to focus on amazing student work. When we notice the great things happening around us, rather than negative things, more great things can appear. By talking about the wonderful things you see happening in your classroom, young learners will strive to do these wonderful things, too.

How do you do that?

Describe what you see happening in your classroom. What do you see? What do you hear?

-Be specific about what students are doing. Consider your goals for the activity. You can add descriptions to help students come up with more ideas.

For example, the goal of the activity below was for students to make letter shapes in different ways. At first, I’m describing individual student actions. You’ll notice that I’ve pointed out body parts, letter names, size, and students working together.

I see Yuya making the letter d with his fingers.

I see Sara making the letter D with her whole body. She made a big letter shape.

I see Anna and Noah standing back-to-back. They are collaborating by making their letter together.

By describing the many different students’ ideas, students will try out varied ideas, too. Try to acknowledge as many students as possible during your class. That builds self-confidence, too.

You can also acknowledge something that the whole class has done.

Look at how quickly our class tidied up our classroom. Everything has been put away.

Our class now knows all the words to our new song. I listened and heard you singing by yourself.

Celebration Chants

I use Celebration chants with my young learners (and teachers). They’re easy to do and bring positive energy to your space. First, teach them to your students. Then, use them throughout your day. Let’s get started.

Here’s a video with all three chants listed below.

Celebration Chants video

We Did It

My Japanese students used to say, 先生、やりましたよ。Sensei, Teacher, I did it! I wrote this chant to celebrate my students’ successes. It’s called “We Did It!” Maybe you know this popular chant. It’s available on my Jump Jump Everyone album, too.

We did it! We did it! We did It today!

Pat. Clap. Pat. Clap. Pat. Clap. Pat. Clap.

We did it! We did it! Hip, hip, hooray!

Pat. Clap. Pat. Clap. Roll your hands. Arms up high.

4-3-2-1

Why not celebrate in a new way? My students loved counting backwards.

Four, three, two, one,

Use fingers 4—–3—–2—–1

Hooray for all the things we’ve done.

Shake hands up / Clap. Clap. Clap.

SUCCESS

This last chant is called “SUCCESS.” This may work best for your elementary students since they know how to spell words and do handclapping games.

S—U—C—C—E—S—S— That’s the way we spell “success.”

Pat. Clap. Pat. Clap. Pat. Clap. Pat. Clap. Pat. Clap. Pat. Clap. Pat Jump up high.

My students like to do this chant with a partner, too. Here are several ways students can do it, from the easiest way to the most complicated way.

Variation 1: Pat own legs—clap both partner’s hands.

Variation 2: Pat own legs—clap own hands—clap both partner’s hands—clap own hands

Variation 3: Pat own legs— clap own hands—clap partner’s right hand—clap own hands

—clap partner’s left hand—clap own hands– clap both partner’s hands—clap own hands* (repeat—last time omit last *)

All of these images can be found in the Google Slides here.

Do you have a celebration chant that you do with your students? Share it with Kathy!

magictimekids@gmail.com

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.

My Fingers Dance!

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Fingerplays are a fun way to add movement to your lesson. Students can move their fingers while sitting. When you need an activity to bring the energy level down in your class, consider a fingerplay.

This chant teaches the heart shape (perfect for Valentine’s Day!) as well as other shapes (circle, square, rectangle, triangle, star). Notice the repetition in the phrases, which is important for young learners.

Encourage students to make shapes in different ways to nurture their creativity. Notice the great things your young learners are doing. That’s what I call CCBA–Catch Children Being Amazing!

Check out my Japanese students making shapes. Here we are studying together online. (Photos used with permission)

My students just love this chant! I hope that you do, too.

My Fingers Dance

by Kathy Kampa on Jump Jump Everyone. Available on iTunes, Spotify, and other streaming services.

My fingers, fingers, fingers, fingers, fingers dance!

Make a circle! Take a picture. Make a circle! Take a picture.

*Substitute additional shapes for “circle.”

Check out the video below for the simple motions.

This Google slide from the video provides a visual of the shapes.

The music is available on iTunes and on streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Let’s practice shapes some more!

Time for a surprise! Have students open their hands and close their eyes. Hand them one of the shapes. Use this little chant I just made.

A Big Surprise by Kathy Kampa

Open your hands and close your eyes.

Get ready for a big surprise!

My students enjoy going on a shape hunt. We focus on one shape at a time, and look for things with that shape.

Kids love using the shaped “magnifying glasses” to find shapes in everyday objects around them! You can make these darling shape finders from Amber at Apples to Applique (amber@applestoapplique.com)

Learning something in many ways is fun for young learners! As Dr. Howard Gardner pointed out in his theory of Multiple Intelligences, children can learn more successfully when using many ways to approach a topic. In this lesson, students hear words in rhythm, they move their bodies, they see shapes, and they interact together.

If you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day, students can make cards with LOTS of shapes!

Finally, if you read my last post, you’ll remember how to make a heart shape with your hands. This poem was shared with me by my colleague:

I put my hands together. (put the heels of your hands together)

This is how I start. (hold)

I curve my fingers just like this (curve your fingers to touch each other)

and now I have a heart. (this should make a heart shape)

Now, look through the heart to see each of the students in your class.

Say, “I see you in my heart!”

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.

For more kid-tested music and movement activities, check out more music on iTunes, Spotify, and Apple Music. 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!

Check out Kathy Kampa’s YouTube channel here.

It’s Time to Tidy Up!

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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.

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!

It’s The Year of the Tiger

It’s time to celebrate the Chinese New Year! We welcome the year of the tiger.

Let’s learn a song to celebrate! We’ll learn parts of the song first by making simple movements. Then we’ll put them together.

How can we move like a tiger standing in our space?

Make a movement while we say ti-ger. You could move your hands like paws. Change your expression

2. How can you show two thousand twenty-two or twenty twenty-two using your fingers? You could draw numbers in the air, or hold up your fingers (2-0-2-2).

3. Last of all, let’s spell the word tiger. How can you make each letter using your fingers? Try making the letters with your arms or even your whole body. Which way do you like to make these letters the best? If you’re making letters, take time to make them.

Or you can clap, pat, stamp, or snap the rhythm when you spell tiger. This rhythm repeats three times, so you could choose a different type of sound each time.

It’s the Year of the Tiger by Kathy Kampa
Part 1: (melody: For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow) It’s the year of the tiger. It’s the year of the tiger. It’s the year of tiger. It’s 2022!
Part 2: (melody: BINGO) t-i-g-e-r, t-i-g-e-r, t-i-g-e-r, It’s the year of the tiger!

Here’s a video of my Zoom Magic Time English class. We always do music and movement during our class. Together, we created these movements. These students really enjoyed making the letter shapes. You can find videos from my classes and specially prepared videos on my YouTube Channel (Kathy Kampa).

My online Magic Time class singing It’s the Year of the Tiger

I change this song annually, so you won’t find it on my CDs. I create a new version for you each year! You can, however, find my lively song “Happy New Year” on Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays (available on iTunes).

Check out my music as a download on iTunes or order a CD complete with lyrics.

The songs on Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays celebrate various special moments throughout the year–the New Year, Valentine’s Day, Girls’ Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, plus birthdays and a loose tooth!

Let’s Add a Little Music and Movement

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/

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

Kathy Kampa's Special Days and Holidays — . . Children’s songs for special events for pre-school, kindergarten, and elementary students

Jump Jump Everyone — Jump! Turn into butterflies. Plant magical flowers!

How Can You Build English Throughout a Lesson? Use Transitional Songs, Part One

In any children’s class, many activities are needed to keep students happy and motivated throughout the lesson. Transitional songs are a perfect way to signal to children that one activity is ending and another is beginning. A good transitional song also has other benefits:

It supports the natural rhythm and intonation of the phrase or sentence you are using.
The melody is quickly learned and recognized by students, so they move into action as soon as they hear it.
In most cases, children can be encouraged to sing along, building group cohesion as well as productive language skills.
Transitional songs soon become part of a classroom routine, giving students a sense of structure and making them feel secure during the lesson.

Today, for Part One, we present three transitional songs that help to make activities smooth and enjoyable for students. The lyrics for each of the transitional songs are included below with a simple recording. A professional recording is now available on “Jump Jump Everyone.”

1. Let’s Make a Circle

Many language activities work well with students seated (or standing) in a circle. This transitional song quickly motivates children into forming a circle in the classroom.

(melody: Skip to My Lou)

Let’s make a circle big and round.

Everybody please sit down. (or Let’s make a circle big and round to remain standing)

2. Come and Sit in Front of Me

This transitional song works well when you want students to sit as a group in front of you, perhaps for a storytelling session.

(melody: Muffin Man)

Come and sit in front of me,

In front of me, in front of me,

Come and sit in front of me,

In front of me.

3. Cards, Please!

Many activities involve the use of picture cards for language support. After the activity is over, this transitional song gets the picture cards back to you quickly and efficiently.

The song is sung as a dialogue between the teacher and students. The word cards can also be changed to any other item that needs to be collected (papers, crayons, etc.)

(melody: Skip to My Lou)

T: Cards please. Ss: Here you are.

All: Thank you very much!

You can sing these transitional songs in your classroom. The songs are also professionally recorded here on “Jump Jump Everyone.” Check out the link on iTunes .

This album has lots of movement songs which are important for young learners growth and development. Contact Englishbooks.jp or me (magictimekids@gmail.com) to order CDs.