Hello, Spring!

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, spring has officially begun. What does spring look like in Minnesota? The snow has been melting, so we can finally see the ground. It might even snow again tomorrow. Soon, however, we will see many signs of spring we’ve been waiting for!

Our favorite point to stop on our walk, St. Cloud, Minnesota, March, 2022

Many people take walks in my neighborhood. As they stroll past my window, I delight in watching the little ones. 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 Spring lyrics 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!

Teach students the vocabulary using the Google images here. You can also create felt images like these creative teachers in Japan.

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.

Feel free to create your own movements. If you’d like some movement ideas, check out my video. We filmed it in Tokyo, Japan at the start of the pandemic in 2020.

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.

You can find this song at iTunes and ETJbookservice. “Hello Spring” is also available on streaming services, such as Spotify and Apple Music.

As an extension to this song, you can create your own lyrics. Ask your students, What do you see in the spring? Arrange the words to create your version of the song. Listen closely to the syllables. so that your song will fit the melody and rhythm. Move the words around to choose the best idea.

Hello, _______ _______. (2 sounds)

Hello, _____ _____ _________. (3 sounds-short-short long)

Hello, _______ _______ _______. ( 3 sounds)

Hello, _____ _____ _________. (3 sounds-short-short long)

Hello, _______ _______. (2 sounds)

Hello, _____ _____ _________. (3 sounds-short-short long)

and orange _____ _____ _________. (3 sounds-short-short long)

If you’re looking for more craft projects to link to this song, try these. You’ll find more ideas on my Pinterest page.

Bugs by Renata. Tulips

I want to share this beautiful spring project from Jellytots Childcare-Ofsted Registered Childminders.

They write, “Anyone who follows our page will already know that our tots looooveee found things So today we took a homemade heart canvas with us and added tape to make one side sticky. Every time we found something we liked – feathers, fallen petals, leaves, dandelion clocks, daises, etc., we added them to our canvas to create a beautiful floral heart We’re going to add tape to the open side and keep it up in the playroom so we can watch the changes to the flowers and petals “

My second album “Jump Jump Everyone” is filled with many happy songs that have grown in my young learner’s classroom. The songs build language with useful patterns and vocabulary. Many songs link to classroom content. There are numerous classroom management songs, too. 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 is a passionate educator of young learners. She seeks to nurture children’s imaginations and spark creativity through fun and engaging activities. Kathy believes music and movement should be a part of every young child’s learning.

Kathy and her husband Chuck have co-authored English language courses for young learners, including Magic Time, Everybody Up, Oxford Discover, Beehive, and Buzz (all published by Oxford University Press). They have also written English-language songs for Tokyo Shoseki. Kathy has taught young learners in Tokyo, Japan for 30 years. She has returned to her home state of Minnesota in the US where she continues to teach young learners.

Kathy is active as a teacher trainer, inspiring teachers around the world. Kathy presents workshops on English language education for children, including Growth Mindset, Multiple Intelligences strategies, inquiry-based learning, creativity, global skills, and music and movement.

If you’re interested in more of Kathy’s work, check out her YouTube channel at Kathy Kampa.

It’s Leap Year–Let’s Leap!!

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If you teach young learners, you know that they love to move! As teachers, we can provide opportunities for children to explore movement in bigger spaces. What kinds of movement should we practice with young learners? We’re going to explore LOCOMOTOR MOVEMENTS. Locomotor movements are not done in one place; children move from one place to another. You might know these as “gross motor movements.”

Add some Locomotor Movements to your Leap Year / Leap Day celebrations!

Happy Leap Day on 29 February with Jumping Frog.

LOCOMOTOR MOVEMENTS.

If this is the first time your students are doing these types of movements, I recommend practicing them. Make sure that your students have ample room to move. Then, say each locomotor movement word and have students move with you before playing the music.

Alternatively, you can dive right in! Put on the music and move with your students around a circle. Model each of the movements.

If your students are used to doing movement, they can move freely around the space. Here are the locomotor movements used in the song.

walk. Use your imagination! Walk with a puppy or an elephant. Walk like a dinosaur or a princess. Walk happily!

march. Pick up your knees. Imagine that you’re playing a big drum.

tiptoe. Sh! Lift up your heels and move quietly. Maybe someone or something is sleeping.

gallop. Put your hands behind your back to make a tail. Gallop like a horse.

skip. Skipping is like a step and a hop. It can be a little challenging for young learners. Once children learn it, they’ll love skipping.

jump. Jumping is moving off of both feet at the same time. You can jump in different ways–jumping feet apart and together, turning around, or jumping super high! You can jump forward or backward.

hop. Hopping is like jumping, but you have to move by balancing on one foot. If one foot gets tired, just change to the other foot. You can hop in a straight line, a zigzag line, or even in your own circle.

leap. Imagine having to leap over a big puddle. Swing one foot out and fly in the air! You can put things on the floor to leap over, such as beanbags, small hula hoops, or spots

Now practice the letters and their sounds.

In this song, we’ll be making the letter shapes. If your students don’t know these letter sounds, try this.

When I first teach letters and their corresponding sounds to young learners, I like to use the Montessori approach with the Montessori Three-Period Lesson.

Step 1: Choose two letters to introduce. This sound is /m/. This sound is /t/.

We can show students things that begin with these two sounds, such as . . .

Mm: milk, monkey, mouse, mother, mirror, me

Tt: table, tail, teacher, teddy bear, tiger, T-shirt, toy

Step 2: Point to /m/. Point to /t/.

Step 3: What’s this? It’s /m/. It’s /t/.

What sound does monkey start with?

What sounds does tiger start with?

Movement

We can also do movement to practice letter sounds and their corresponding shapes.

Here are Melissa Bailey’s Moving Little Letters flashcards. The cards connect movement with letter sounds. Check out her beautiful work.

My young learners really love to make letter shapes. They visualize the letters in their heads and create their own ideas. If your students need ideas, here are some images for you. The images at the right are from the Phonics Section of our course, Magic Time Two by Oxford University Press. We believe that children learn best by having opportunities to move their bodies. It provides an MI (Multiple Intelligences/ kinesthetic) approach.

The additional photos included below are of my students. I hope that they inspire your imagination and creativity. So . . . make shapes with your fingers, arms, whole body, or a partner. Sit. Stand. Lie down.

When you demonstrate to your students, imagine that you are the letter on the whiteboard. Make the letter from that perspective. What does it look like?

I always write the letters on my board to help my students visualize the letter shape. I don’t worry if their letters look reversed. From their perspective, it’s probably okay. Have fun creating letters in different ways.

Song

This song comes from my album Jump Jump Everyone. You can find it on iTunes as well as other streaming sites. You’ll find the Spotify link below.

Here are the lyrics for the first verse. The recording will tell you what’s coming next. Great listening activity! Refer to the locomotor movement list above if you really want to know what’s coming next.

We’re walking all around. We’re walking all around.

Walking, walking.

We’re walking all around.

We’re walking all around. We’re walking all around.

Get ready! Get ready!

Make the letter Ww. /w/ /w/ /w/.

It looks like I might be making the letter i! Or the letter j if you could see my feet!

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

Spotify:

Here are some Google slides, just in case you want to use them in your classroom.

I’m Your Friend, a Valentine’s Day Song For Kids

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Valentine’s Day is a time for children to celebrate friendships! Classroom activities like this can teach young learners how to develop healthy relationships.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day here in the United States, children often make cards or little treats for their friends. I’ve invited my friend Ava to share her thoughts about how she celebrates Valentine’s Day with her friends and classmates.

Ava shares Valentine’s Day traditions in the US

I like to celebrate holidays with music and movement! Today’s song is called “I’m Your Friend,” from my album Jump Jump Everyone. With this song, you can add valuable skills such as phonemic awareness to your lesson while celebrating Valentine’s Day and friendship.

Rhyming words

Listen for the rhyming words at the end of each line. In this song, the words mine, nine, and Valentine all rhyme. Why is rhyming important? Check out this fabulous post by Marissa Labuz. Rhyming aids memory, supports phonemic awareness, and builds listening skills. Children have fun singing songs and chants with rhyming words.

Movement

This song invites children to move in various ways, such as galloping, skipping, jumping, walking, and even skating! Developing gross motor skills is important for young learners. The movements encourage students to move from one place to another. These are called “locomotor movements.” If you have a smaller space, students can move in a small circle in their own spot.

You can sing this song with small or large classes. I usually teach this song to kindergarten and early elementary students.

Here’s a video to teach you the lyrics and the movements:

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.

(Gesture to chest, then to a person)

You are mine.

(Gesture to person, then to heart)

Will you be my Valentine?

(Swing hands with partner or in the circle)

Repeat.

Let’s walk.

(See the notes below. Children can hold hands in a whole class circle or move with a partner.)

Verse:

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

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

(Clap-4-5-6,-7-8-9) Make a heart shape with your fingers or arms by yourself or with a friend. Or give your partner a hug!

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

Here are Google slides for this song.

Building Social Skills

Here’s the version from the video:

Stand in one big circle. Face the middle for the chorus, and then move around the circle with the whole class for the verses. For the counting part, 4-5-6, 7-8-9, clap your hands on one side and then the other. Finally, make a heart shape using your fingers or arms.

Children face the middle, then hold hands together to move around the circle.

Once your children know this song, you can add some new challenges. Step into my English class in Tokyo, Japan. Check out how my English students added their own ideas.

Children can dance with partners. How can you help them find partners? When children are in a circle, you can walk around the circle. Have two children turn to face each other. They can do all of the movements with their partners.

Or you can use this transitional chant. Pat and clap your legs to keep the beat as you say the chant. Count slowly as you get closer to the number ten.

It’s okay for partners to be scattered around your space and move in their own little group. If you have an odd person out, make a group of three.

For elementary students, you might try this challenge. Make an inside and an outside circle. One partner stands in the inside circle, and the other in an outside circle. Partners face each other. Children can do the movements for the verse holding hands with their partner around the circle. At the end of the verse, the outside circle children move ahead to the next partner.

So you can make this as simple or as fancy as you’d like!

If you’re looking for music to play in your classroom, check out this Spotify playlist for February:

Come back to my blog to discover more fun activities that build language through music and movement. Thank you!

Celebrate Valentine's Day with this delightful song for children.

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!

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!”

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 your students to tidy up, to clean up the things that 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.

I wrote the song Tidy Up for my students in Japan. The song gets faster and faster. By the time it’s finished, students should have everything cleaned up. Many teachers and parents around the world have told me how much they love this song and use it regularly. Click the arrow below to play it. Try this the next time you need to clean up.

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.

Happy Valentine’s Day

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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.

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!

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.

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.

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/

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 Time, Everybody Up, the ELTon award-winning course Oxford Discover, and Beehive, all published by Oxford University Press.

Falling Leaves of Autumn

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Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. Here in Minnesota, we can see red maple leaves, yellow aspen, and brown oaks. When we lived in Tokyo, we witnessed such beautiful autumn leaves. Here’s a photo I took in Japan as the leaves started to change colors. People celebrate the season outside by enjoying picnics, taking hikes, and taking lots of pictures!

Photo by Kathleen Kampa, 2020, Showa Kinen Park

My Kindergarten students and my English students delighted in gathering the fallen leaves. Every morning they brought a collection of leaves to school. They enjoyed watching different kinds of leaves falling to the ground. We sang many songs about autumn leaves, but this one is my favorite. I especially love the incredible instrumentation that Andre DiMuzio created to accompany this.

Here are the free Google slides to accompany this song.

It’s fun to teach this song with 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. If you turn the instrument on its side with the shortest bar on top, it’s easy to see and hear the melody descending.

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.

When I arranged this song, the children first sang the words to build their understanding of autumn. I also created a section where children can create their own movements. It’s important to give children opportunities to express themselves freely. They can spin fast or slow. They can pretend to blow in the wind.

Children 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.

After this part of the song, we toss the scarves. My students laugh when the scarf lands on their arm, their head, their shoulder . . . . You can model this action with your students. I usually do this twice. Look! The scarf is on my head! Look the scarf is on my elbow! Then encourage students to spin around, a great vestibular movement! This feels so smooth with the scarves.

Here’s a video of my young learners in Tokyo.

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.

Check out my Pinterest board for more autumn activities. 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 Kampa is a teacher, author, and teacher-trainer who specializes in working with young learners. She taught at Seisen International School in Tokyo, Japan in the PYP (Primary Years Program) and continues to teach young learners in Minnesota. 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, Oxford Discover, Beehive and Buzz, all published by Oxford University Press.

#AUTUMN #FALLINGLEAVES #KIDSMUSIC #AUTUMNDAYS #AUTUMNCOLORS #NURSERYRHYMES #ENGLISHSONGS #KINDERGARTEN

The Cow Says “Moo”

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Young children LOVE to learn about farm animals. When our sons were little, their favorite children’s stories about farm animals included Oh Dear by Rod Campbell and The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle. There are many traditional farm songs, too. I’d love to have you try out this one, The Cow Says ‘Moo’ from Jump Jump Everyone by Kathy Kampa (available from ETJbookservice, CD Baby, and iTunes).

Let’s get started. Show pictures of the various farm animals from a picture book or from these blog images. Children might suggest additional animals from the farm, too.

black and white dairy cow s head — Photo by Public Domain Pictures on Pexels.com

cow

sheep

horse

beagle puppy — Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

dog

nature animals pig alp rona — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

pig

rooster

Name the animals. What does each animal say? Even animals make different sounds in English! You can make a game matching the animal picture with its sound or with its name.

Display the vocabulary words. Print the images in this blog and put them into clear file folders. I put magnets on the back of mine. I can use the files with different vocabulary. 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. Do you see 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 (floor/ more/ four)? 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, you can add some props.

Make these animal masks from LifeoverCs. I put a piece of yarn on each mask so that the children can just put them over their heads. You can put a number on the masks to help you remember the order of the animals.

2. Use Beanie Babies, stuffed animals, or puppets. Children love to hold these.

Small groups: Give each child one animal card or puppet. Listen for the name of each animal. When each animal is called in the song, the child with that animal card/puppet goes to the middle of the circle. The other children can walk in a circle around the child.

You can see my English class here.

Large class: If your students use desks, you can have each row designated as one of the animals. The child at the front of the row can hold the card. When each animal is called in the song, the children in that group can move around their desks.

You can also make a card for each student. When each animal is called in the song, the children with that animal card move around their desks holding their card up.

The music for this song is available on the CD “Kathy Kampa’s Jump Jump Everyone!”

You can find it on iTunes, CD Baby Store, and ETJbookservice as well as streaming services, such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Have a wonderful time singing and moving with your students!

You can find Kathy on the farm in the summertime. There are no animals here, but lots of fresh veggies are growing.

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 is also active as a teacher trainer, inspiring teachers around the world. She has 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

Discover the parts of a flower with this magical poem

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When I was living in Japan, springtime was filled with one beautiful flower after another. We could find flowering trees (especially plum and cherry blossoms), purple and blue hydrangeas, wisteria, tulips, rapeseed, azaleas, and lots of roses.

Now we’re living in Minnesota. It’s been too cold for anything to start blooming yet. Once it warms up, however, we can find gardens filled with colorful flowers–zinnias, daylilies, purple coneflowers, hollyhocks, daisies, bee balms, and more. This year we’re going to plant a pollinator garden to help the bee and butterfly population.

The kindergarten children at my former school learned about living things. They planted seeds and watched them grow. Look at a real plant with your students. 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? If you don’t have a real plant, you can often find a silk one at a bargain store. I like to show students a watering can, too. This graphic showing how to plant from a Garden of Goodies (Pinterest) may be helpful.

Looking at how seeds changed into a flower

My students loved this poem called Here’s a Leaf! They would ask to do it over and over again. Yours will, too! You’ll see the magic when you try it. 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.

In my video, we take you to Munsinger-Clemens Gardens, one of my favorite places in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Special thanks to my son, Christian Vilina for his awesome video work.

To begin, scrunch up the scarf in your hands, so that it can’t be seen. Here’s the 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)

Children listen and answer.

Here’s a Leaf video

Do you have a scarf? (Yes!)

Let’s scrunch up our scarves. (tsch, tsch, tsch, tsch . . . . .)

(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 Kampa is a teacher, author, and teacher-trainer who specializes in working with young learners. As a PYP (Primary Years Program) teacher, 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, , Oxford Discover (ELTon winner), Beehive (2022), all published by Oxford University Press.

Thanks again to my son Christian Vilina for his vision in creating this video.

Images: “Easter Lily” by Recherché Furnishings is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Caterpillars, Butterflies, and CLIL

Have you heard of the acronym CLIL? It stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning. CLIL lessons link classroom content with vocabulary and grammar paradigms. We can bring the world of nature into our English lessons!

Here’s a great CLIL science lesson you can teach your young learners today! It introduces students to a butterfly’s life cycle. Like all powerful lessons that provide “many ways to learn,” this lesson teaches English through words, pictures, chants, movement, logic, and more!

Through this activity, students will:

-know the names of the butterfly life cycle

–create movements for each part, with fingers, with whole body

–perform a chant

–recognize a life cycle (you may refer to “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle)

Please refer to the illustration below as we go through the steps of the lesson.

1. First, present the new language:

egg caterpillar chrysalis butterfly

You may introduce the language using the picture card illustrations (right), or use these Google slides to show students beautiful images of the vocabulary. It’s fun for students to find these images in the story of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”

2. Next, create finger shapes for each word. The “fingerplay movements” below the illustrations will show you how, or use your imagination to create your own ideas.

3. Say the chant using the finger movements.

Tiny Egg Chant (Butterfly Life Cycle Chant)

by Kathleen Kampa © 2013

Tiny egg, tiny egg X X XX X (ch – ch- ch ch – ch)

1-2-3-4 LOOK!

Caterpillar, caterpillar X X XX X (ch – ch- ch ch – ch)

1-2-3-4 Look!

Chrysalis, chrysalis X X XX X (ch – ch- ch ch – ch) (Repeat 3 times)

1-2-3-4 Look!

Butterfly, butterfly X X XX X (ch – ch- ch ch – ch) (Repeat 3 times)

Wait . . . . Good-bye!

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Here is a simple recording of the chant that you can use:

The professional recording can be found on Jump Jump Everyone.

4. Finally, you can expand the activity by having students move to the chant using their whole bodies. Students can bend down to make tiny egg shapes, then wiggle about on their tummies as caterpillars. They can balance on one foot in a chrysalis shape. While students are balancing quietly, give each student one or two colorful scarves for butterfly wings. Your students might enjoy moving around the room like butterflies. I often play “Aviary” by Camille Saint-Saëns, or the Japanese song “Cho Cho.”

Video: Here are my young learners in Tokyo doing this chant with me.

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Through the power of CLIL, students have now experienced the life cycle of a butterfly in a meaningful and memorable way. The vocabulary they have learned has real meaning, and they will happily repeat the activity many times in future lessons.

Let us know how this activity works in your classroom, and if you discovered any new ways to teach it!

Happy Teaching!

Kathy and Chuck