Everything You Need for Halloween

If you’re looking for easy-to-sing, easy-to-remember, fun Halloween songs for young learners, you’ve come to the right place! If you’re planning a Halloween party, you’ll find so many songs to use. I’ve been writing songs for my young learners for many years. These songs have grown in my young learner classrooms. I have taught many students over the years, so lots of students have added their ideas to make these songs exactly what you can use in your classroom.

In addition to being fun, each song boosts an English language goal, a music goal, and/or a movement goal. You’ll find lyric notes, Google slides, videos, movement notes and complementary arts activities. Just head over to iTunes to purchase the songs you like best. I hope that you’ll love them and use them for years to come! All of these songs come from my first album Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays.

Click on the link to each of the blog posts.

Skeleton Dance: Students learn about body parts and directional movements. My students ask to dance this song over and over throughout the year. Once your students learn it, use it as a “Brain Break” song. If you’re having a sports festival, get the whole school dancing to this song!!!

Trick or Treat: I created this fun song to help my Japanese students work on the sound /r/ and /l/. You hear /r/ in “trick or treat” and /l/ in Halloween. Students use functional language, I see a . . . to describe Halloween creatures. Use the Google slides to teach the characters in the song. Add your own Halloween picture cards or your own ideas to create a new version of the song.

After learning the song, we sang it the next time with our own ideas. I placed Halloween picture cards face down in a circle. Students took turns turning them over and singing about that character. You can also hang picture cards around your space.

Use this song to “trick-or-treat” with your students.

Marching Monsters: This song teaches phonemic awareness of initial sounds. It also practices locomotor and axiel movements of marching, skipping, waltzing and jumping. Use the colorful Google slides to teach the characters.

Pumpkin, Pumpkin: Autumn is a time for change, and this song surely demonstrates that! Change is a concept we teach in our young learner classrooms. Our pumpkins change size, growing from small to big. We change our body shape in this song. Pumpkins change into jack-o-lanterns. We change our faces. Our voices change from high, little voices to low, big voices.

I’m a Witch: It’s fun for young learners to use their imaginations to move like different Halloween characters. They can use different locomotor movements to move from one place to another and change the way they move (slowly/ quickly). Grab the free picture cards, too.

I’ve gathered a bunch of Halloween ideas on Pinterest, too.

Here’s my YouTube channel with some videos of my students. These songs are from my album Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays. You can grab my music on Spotify and Apple Music!

I love celebrating Halloween with my students! Throughout the entire month of October, we sing songs and use our imaginations. As a teacher of young learners, I find that songs with strong rhythm and repetition stick in students’ brains. Fun songs become well-loved. I hope that you’ll find my music a great tool for building students’ skills in language and the arts.

If you’re looking for a song about another lesson or topic, send your idea to me at magictimekids@gmail.com.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with your young learners!

What will you teach through songs and poems about Valentine’s Day?

Letters and Shapes: I love creating letter shapes and heart shapes. Students can use their fingers, arms, whole body, or even make a shape with a friend. 

For my Japanese students, the sound /v/ can be challenging. This is a perfect way to practice it.

Movement: Students can do movements in place as well as from one place to another. As young learners grow, we can help them to learn these movement skills, like marching, tiptoeing, galloping, jumping, skipping, etc. 

Working with a partner: Valentine poems and songs often invite children to face a partner and hold hands. They can talk about how they want to move together.

This poem prepares children to make a heart shape.

  1. Fingerplay: (shared by Karin Rau)

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!”

 This little song is a favorite of my students and the teachers I work with. You might recognize the melody as “Cho Cho”  or “Lightly Row.”  It focuses on the sound /v/ for Valentine.  When the children hear the word “valentine,” they make a heart shape with their fingers, arms, or whole body.

2. Be My Valentine words by Kathy Kampa

from Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays CD

I like you. You like me. Will you be my Valentine?

I like you. You like me. Be my Valentine.

[v] [v] Valentine!

[v] [v] Valentine!

I like you. You like me.

Be my Valentine.

Here’s a video link to give you some ideas of how to move to the song.  Special thanks to my nieces Brooke and Shannon for helping out. They were quite little when we made this video. Enjoy!

This next Valentine’s Day song is called “I’m Your Friend,” from my album Jump Jump Everyone. This song invites students to move in various ways, such as skipping, jumping, walking, and even skating! Developing gross motor skills is important for young learners. 

Many songs for young learners use rhyming schemes to build language skills. You’ll hear mine, nine, and Valentine as rhyming words.

You can sing this with small or large classes.  Here are the lyrics to the song.

3. I’m Your Friend words and music by Kathy Kampa

From Jump Jump Everyone CD

Chorus:

I’m your friend. You are mine.

Will you be my Valentine?

I’m your friend. You are mine.

Will you be my Valentine?

Let’s walk.

  1. Walk, walk, walk with me. Walking, walking, 1-2-3,

4-5-6, 7-8-9,  Will you be my Valentine?

*repeat with skip, jump, slide, skate, dance

With a small group, it’s easy to have all of the students join hands in a circle.

.Here’s a video clip of one of my Magic Time classes in Tokyo singing “I’m Your Friend.” 

Try these variations!

 -Dance with a partner. Face a partner for the chorus. On the verses, hold hands and dance together around the circle.

-Stop and clap during the counting section:  4-5-6 clap to one side; 7-8-9 clap to the other side

-Make small heart shapes with hands and big heart shapes with arms.

Need an art activity?

I love to add art activities to my Valentine’s Day lessons. Here are some fun ideas I’ve collected on Pinterest.

Here is an activity from Denmark. You can weave these hearts with paper, too.

To find the songs in this post, check out my CDs Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and Jump Jump Everyone.

on iTunes.

You can also find my music at https://www.etjbookservice.com/product-category/songs-chants-3/kathy-kampas-cds-4/

Kathy Kampa's Special Days and Holidays
 Mimi CD cover 2015-10-12 at 1.04.43 AM
Celebrate Valentine's Day with these engaging activities for young learners

Kathy Kampa is a teacher, author, and teacher-trainer who specializes in working with young learners. As a former 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 TimeEverybody Up, the ELTon award-winning course Oxford Discover, and Beehive, all published by Oxford University Press.

Pumpkins and Jack-o-lanterns!

Kids trick or treat on Halloween night.

Halloween is right around the corner! Children love dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, and participating in all the wonderful Halloween activities teachers prepare in the classroom.

Halloween is filled with magical changes. Children put on costumes, and “change into” a princess, Spiderman, a witch, a ghost, or a character from their favorite Disney movie. We see the magical change of pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns.  

The concept of change is one of the “big ideas” we teach young learners. Babies grow and change. Bean seeds planted in the soil in little paper cups grow into bean plants. Caterpillars turn into beautiful butterflies. Small pumpkins grow into big pumpkins and pumpkins turn into jack-o-lanterns!

Halloween is also a perfect time to teach new English words and the concept of change.  

The song “Pumpkin, Pumpkin” is a fun Halloween song to do! The children experience change:

-from a pumpkin to a jack-o-lantern

-from small to big

-from a quiet voice to a loud voice

-from tiny, high voice to big, low voice

-from sitting to standing

To begin, make two paper pumpkins — a small one and a large one. Each of the pumpkins should have two sides — one plain side, and one side with a face (jack-o-lantern).  This pattern by Shala on Pinterest is helpful. Show the students the plain side of the “small” pumpkin and say “pumpkin.” Then turn it around and say “jack-o-lantern.”  Once students know these two words, put them into this simple chant:

Jack-o-Lantern Chant by Kathleen Kampa

Pumpkin, pumpkin, (turn picture around) jack-o-lantern
Pumpkin, pumpkin, (turn picture around) jack-o-lantern
Pumpkin, pumpkin, (turn picture around) jack-o-lantern
Happy Halloween!

Now you’re ready to expand upon the language and sing the song “Pumpkin, Pumpkin.”

Use this slide show to teach the song. The lyrics and ideas for movements are below:

Pumpkin, Pumpkin
(words adapted by Kathleen Kampa, music: traditional)

(Sit with students in a circle. Sing quietly.)

Pumpkin, pumpkin small and fat,
(With fingers, make the shape of a small pumpkin.)

Turn into a jack-o-lantern,
(Roll hands. Spread fingers out wide.)

Just like that!
(Tap two fingers on the palm of your hand as you say each word.)

(Sing the verse again!)

Spoken: Grow and grow and grow and grow
and grow and grow and grow and GROW!
(Slowly stand up while making a big pumpkin shape. Get louder!)

(Sing loudly.)

Pumpkin, pumpkin big and fat,
(While standing, make the shape of a big pumpkin with your whole body.)

Turn into a jack-o-lantern,
(Turn around. Jump into a big shape.)

JUST LIKE THAT!
(Clap and stamp on each word.)

(Sing the verse again!

Here’s a video of my Japanese students singing this song. 

Thanks to my dear friend Setsuko Toyama for creating this pdf of the song lyrics. 

“Pumpkin, Pumpkin” is one of many holiday songs featured on Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays CD available on iTunes and Apple Music. Here’s the link on Spotify. Four more Halloween songs are featured, so check out recent the blog posts.

Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays

ms kampa 12-8

I have numerous activities saved on my Halloween Pinterest board.

Thanks to my dear friend Setsuko Toyama for creating this pdf of the song lyrics. 

Let me know how your children enjoy “Pumpkin, Pumpkin.”  Happy Teaching!

Kathy

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, Oxford Discover (ELTon winner), and Beehive (published by Oxford University Press). She has been teaching young learners in Tokyo, Japan for over 30 years. Kathy has composed educational music for Tokyo Shoseki and recorded songs for Learning World. She is active as a teacher trainer, inspiring teachers around the world. Kathy and her husband have currently returned to her home state of Minnesota in the US.

If you’re interested in more of Kathy’s work, check out her YouTube channel at Kathy Kampa and subscribe to this blog at magictimekids.com. Her second album, Jump Jump Everyone, is available on iTunes and Apple Music.

Just in case you didn’t find enough goodies here, check out this video of Kathy teaching her Japanese students the song “Pumpkin, Pumpkin” without the recording. Enjoy!

Marching Monsters?

4089923322_05f94d8340_o (1)

Are you ready for Halloween? Add “Marching Monsters” to your Halloween activities  It builds phonemic awareness and is super fun to do!

I’m gifting you with these Google slides. You can print them or just share on your device.  You can easily sync your music to these slides.

Marching Monsters Halloween Slide Show: Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays

There are four Halloween characters in this song–monsters, skeletons, witches, and jack-o-lanterns. Have fun pretending to be the four characters. Practice the four verbs– march, skip, sway side-to-side in a waltz, and jump! Now put them together.

“How can we march like monsters? (Who doesn’t love marching like monsters???!)

How can we skip like skeletons? 

How do you waltz? How can we waltz like witches? (sway side to side)

How can we jump like jack-o-lanterns?”

Practice “Turn around and stop!”

Note: Moving and stopping is an essential movement skill for very young learners.

For very little ones, skipping is a new skill. Try walking with a little hop. Or galloping.

Here are the lyrics.  You can also find them in the slide show above.

Marching Monsters   

Words and music by Kathleen Kampa

1. Marching monsters! Happy Halloween! Boo!

Marching monsters! Happy Halloween! Boo!

Marching monsters, Turn around and stop! (hold)

Marching monsters Happy Halloween! Boo!

2. Skipping skeletons! Happy Halloween! Boo! . . .

3. Waltzing witches! Happy Halloween! Boo! . . . .

4. Jumping jack-o-lanterns! Happy Halloween! Boo! . . . .

Just watch the video and have fun!

Did you notice that you can build phonemic awareness with this song too?  The word pairs begin with the same initial sound.  You can separate the verbs and nouns.  Students match.

Marching Monsters worksheet and flashcards

For a bigger challenge, write the letters m, sk, w, j, and h on the board. What pair of words begins with these letters in the song?

m-> marching monsters

sk-> skipping skeletons

w-> waltzing witches

j-> jumping jack-o-lanterns

h-> Happy Halloween! 

Picture9-10

Want to add a cute monster craft? http://acupcakefortheteacher.blogspot.jp/2012/07/my-frankenstein-craftivity.html

4089923322_05f94d8340_o (1)Monsters by Gunder on Flickr Attribution CC 2.0 license

http://bit.ly/Gundermonstersdrawing

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.

Special Days and Holidays

You can search for my music on iTunes. or Apple Music.

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, Oxford Discover, and Beehive (all by Oxford University Press). She has composed music for Tokyo Shoseki’s English language courses.

Time for Trick or Treat!

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

copyright © 2013 by Kathleen Kampa

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!

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.

For 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) In 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.

Special Days and Holidays

You can find it at iTunes, CD Baby for downloads, 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, Oxford Discover, and Beehive (all by Oxford University Press). She has composed music for Tokyo Shoseki’s English language courses.

Two-Two-Two-Two-Two

February 22, 2022 is a historic day–it’s 2/22/22! AND it’s on a Tuesday, yes, that’s TWO’S-DAY.

I wrote a little song called “Two-Two-Two-Two-Two” to celebrate this auspicious day.

One of the wonderful outcomes of the pandemic was meeting amazing teachers online, like Aimee Curtis Pfitzer. Aimee is a passionate musician, songwriter, and teacher. She’s constantly creating. She has written numerous books with Beatin’ Path Publishing. Check her out at www singsmileplay.com. So I reached out to Aimee to collaborate with me on this little song. Here’s our Zoom photo!

In this blog post, you’ll find the song lyrics, the notation, accompaniment, and a video with movement suggestions. We hope that your Tuesday, February 22, 2022 will be amazing!

Here are the lyrics:

Two, Two, Two, Two, Two!

Here’s the musical score for the song with the words written out. Thanks to Aimee Curtis Pfitzner for creating this score.

Have fun by adding some movement! Hold up two fingers. Make the shape of the number 2! Add some 2 count patterns by clapping, patting, stamping, and snapping. Grab your “tutu” if you have one!

Here’s a slow version of the song “Two, Two, Two, Two, Two” using hand gestures.
Here’s the faster version using “body percussion.” I made a pattern–pat, clap, pat, clap-clap.

Here’s the “karaoke” accompaniment on Chrome music lab. It’s fun for your students to see how the melody is moving. We’ve made two versions, a slower tempo and a faster one. If you have Boomwackers, your students can play this.

Slow version: 80

https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Song-Maker/song/5761674782441472

 Fast version: 105

https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Song-Maker/song/4818068420689920

Chrome Music Lab – Song made Feb 12, 2022

Join the fun and have a very happy 22222!

Kathleen’s two CDs for young learners, Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and Jump Jump Everyone, build English language skills through music and movement while nurturing creativity and imagination.
 
Kathleen strives to help all students feel supported, balanced, and successful in the classroom. She supports the development of English language skills by creating songs, chants, and movement activities targeted to young learners’ overall needs.

Jump, hop, tiptoe . . . this CD invites children to move and use their imaginations. Grab a scarf and pretend to be a butterfly or a flower. Make the sounds of the rain on your legs. Children move in developmentally appropriate ways.
This album is filled with songs to celebrate the special days in your child’s life–a birthday, a loose tooth, plus lots of holidays. Songs prompt fun movement for 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.

  1. 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!

It’s the Year of the Ox

The festivities are beginning for Chinese New Year! This is the year of the ox! Why not celebrate with your students by using this simple chant/song!

During the pandemic, many students have not been allowed to sing. So enjoy these lyrics as a chant.

It’s The Year by Kathy Kampa

Part A:

It’s the year of the ox,

It’s the year of the ox,

It’s the year of the ox,

It’s 2021!

Part B:

o-x  ox!

o-x  ox!

o-x  ox!

It’s the year of the ox!

Try some of these movement suggestions. My students like making the animal shapes for each year of the Chinese calendar. I ask my students for their ideas. To make the shape of an ox, many of the students made horns with their fingers.

How can your students show the year 2021? My students liked to “draw” the numbers in the air. Some of them made numbers with their fingers. A few of them just decided to jump up into the air to celebrate!

My students really love making these letter shapes! If your students aren’t used to making letter shapes, you can model this activity. Students make letters with their fingers, their arms, or even their whole bodies!

Let’s make the letter o with our fingers. Can you make it bigger? Try using your hands? Can you make the letter o even bigger? Wow! You can make it with your whole body! Now let’s try making the letter x in the same way.

Put these all together into a chant. Add instruments if you like to really make it festive!

If you’re interested in a melody to sing this, check out my simple video here. I’ve combined two familiar songs to create this new song.

Check out Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays for songs to celebrate your child’s special days–Valentine’s Day, Easter, a birthday, or even a loose tooth!

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

Let’s Celebrate the New Year 2021!

images-1 Happy New Year 2021! We have celebrated O-shogatsu (New Year’s) with toshikoshi soba and o-sechi ryori, traditional New Year’s foods.  A couple of days ago my friend Kumi stopped by with her children. They had the song “Happy New Year” playing in their car. It fun to hear them singing along with with it. What a precious moment!! When our son Christian was in elementary school, he started playing this simple melody on our piano.  Now he’s grown up and is acting in Hollywood! I love this recording with Christian and my husband Chuck singing it at home for you:.

 

Happy New Year

Words and Music by Christian Vilina and Kathleen Kampa  © 2013

Happy New Year!  Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  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 or clapping their hands. Then, to make it a little more challenging, students 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 “air clapping” both hands with a partner.

Check out this pre-COVID video to see what my students did a couple of years ago! 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

With COVID protocols in place, I’m going to revise this activity. Every student has a set of sticks, so I’m going to experiment using sticks like the Indian Dandiya dance. This will give students a chance to interact with a partner at a distance. Perhaps you have an idea for adapting this? 

Happy New Year 2021!  So perhaps you’re not singing with your students. Remember my chant.Screen Shot 2021-01-05 at 17.13.38

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

Special Days and HolidaysHappy 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 also available for sale through the Mad Robin Music & Dance in Seattle, WA.

 

Kathy’s second CD Jump Jump Everyone is filled with songs to get students moving! Songs and chants build Cover screen shotEnglish 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.

 

What Are You Going to Be For Halloween?

Image from Graphic Stock

Image from Graphic Stock

Are you preparing for Halloween? I know that many of my teacher friends are. I love Halloween because it invites students to nurture their creativity through imaginative activities. Students move in more expressive ways and play with facial expressions. Let’s explore moving like various Halloween characters.

First of all, I like to gather students in front of me to teach the vocabulary. I sing the transitional song “Come and Sit In Front of Me.” (by K. Kampa) The professional version of this transitional song is here for you.

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,

You can print the I’m a Witch picture cards and teach students the following song.

I’m A Witch

Words by Kathleen Kampa and Charles Vilina,

melody: Skip to my Lou

Spoken: Let’s be witches and fly on our broomsticks.

Hee! Hee! Hee! I’m a witch

Hee! Hee! Hee! I’m a witch!

Hee! Hee! Hee! I’m a witch!

Happy Halloween!

2. Spoken: Let’s be ghosts and float gently through the air.

Boo! Boo! I’m a ghost! (3X)  Happy Halloween!

3. Spoken: Let’s be bats and fly through the night sky.

Eeek! Eeek! I’m a bat! (3X)  Happy Halloween!

4. Spoken: Let’s be owls and turn our heads from side to side.

Whoo! Whooo! I’m an owl! (3X)  Happy Halloween!

5. Spoken: Let’s be black cats. Put on your whiskers and sneak around.

Meow! Meow! I’m a black cat! (3X)  Happy Halloween!

I’m a Witch (picture cards)

Now it’s time to be creative and move. Decide on the space that your students can move in. I usually start with movement in a circle, and then allow students more freedom to move in an open space. You can use the spoken cues to help guide your students’ movements. Students start by posing like the characters, such as the witch, then move around in a circle. I often tap a drum to the rhythm of the movement. To make it more magical, add the words “Abracadabra! You’re a witch!”  When you can see that students have moved enough, say “Stop!” Continue with the other characters. I like to recognize students who are really being imaginative and creative with their movement.

Finally, either sing the song acapella or play the song on the CD Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays. My students love the special effects.

Special Days and Holidays

If you’re interested in the music, you can download the song from iTunes or get the CD with lyric sheets from CD Baby and Englishbooks.jp.  Find more Halloween ideas here on the blog and on my Pinterest page.

Happy Halloween!  Kathy and Chuck