Fun Halloween Activity: Marching Monsters for Kids

Get ready for Halloween! Add “Marching Monsters” to your Halloween activities. What makes this song great?

-It builds phonemic awareness of initial letter sounds

-Students can learn through movement, music, and visuals

-It nurtures imagination and creativity

-You can enjoy a fun, movement break!

I’m gifting you these Google slides. You can print them or just share them 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?!)

Let’s skip. How can we skip like skeletons?

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

Let’s jump! How can we jump like jack-o’-lanterns?

Practice “Turn around and stop!”

Note: Moving and stopping are essential movement skills 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!

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

Monsters by Gunder on Flickr Attribution CC 2.0 license

http://bit.ly/Gundermonstersdrawing

We hope that your students enjoy singing and dancing throughout October. The music for this song and other Halloween favorites (Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Skeleton Dance, Marching Monsters, I’m A Witch) are available on Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays.

You can 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.

Happy teaching!

Kathy Kampa

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.

The Life Cycle of the Butterfly

Do you love butterflies? My students love pretending to be butterflies. Use some chalk to create some magic, too! This is one of my little students pretending to be a butterfly! –Photo by Kristina Rose Photography.

Here in Minnesota, we’ve seen butterflies flying in our pollinator garden. It’s wonderful to see them!

You can teach your students about the butterfly life cycle in a CLIL lesson, or 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!

Illustration of the butterfly life cycle showing four stages: eggs, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly. — Butterfly life cycle stages illustration

Using the theory of Multiple Intelligences, you can use many ways for your students to learn. Use words to describe the pictures or puppets. Use music and follow the pattern in the chant. Move your fingers or whole body. Invite students to work together and come up with their own ideas. Notice how each part of the life cycle changes.

Illustration of 'Multiple Intelligences Pizza' featuring various intelligence types like Nature Smart, Word Smart, and Music Smart, surrounded by colorful icons representing different learning styles.

In addition, if you teach want to teach conceptually, consider the concept of “change.” What changed in each part of the life cycle? (size, the way it moves, the way it looks, etc.)

Through this activity, students will:

-know the names of the butterfly life cycle

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

–perform a chant

–recognize a life cycle

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 life cycle images in the story of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle.

I often introduce the language with an egg shaker, a Folkmanis caterpillar puppet that changes into a butterfly, and a scarf (to be the chrysalis).

2. 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!

____________________________________________

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 body. Students can curl up 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.” I’ve also written a song called “Flitter Flutter Butterfly” that connects nicely with this.

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

______________________________________________________________

Through the power of CLIL, students have now experienced the life cycle of a butterfly in a meaningful, memorable way. They have embodied the vocabulary and will happily repeat this activity in future lessons.

You can transfer the idea of the butterfly life cycle to other animal life cycles, such as the frog life cycle. How does the frog change? How is this similar to the butterfly life cycle?

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

Here’s a beautiful visual of the gradual transformation. According to The Butterfly Lady, “When the Monarch caterpillar is ready to pupate it will spin a silk button, attach itself, and hang head-down in a “J” shape. The caterpillar will stay like this for around 24 hours. Shortly before the caterpillar is ready to shed their larval skin, it will straighten and the antennae will become ragged. The caterpillar wiggles to discard the skin and reveals the pupa (chrysalis).”

Inspire your students by teaching them the life cycle of the butterfly. This simple chant invites students to do fingerplay movement or use their whole body. You can find this beautiful chant by Kathy Kampa on Jump Jump Everyone.

Happy Teaching!

Kathy

Are you streaming music? Go to Spotify or Apple Music to find my music. You’ll find “Tiny Egg” and “Flitter Flutter Butterfly” on “Jump Jump Everyone.”

Jump Jump Everyone, my second album, is filled with many happy songs that have grown in my young learner classroom. The songs encourage children to move. Many songs link to classroom content. 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.

Autumn Activities for Kids: Explore Colorful Falling Leaves

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Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. Actually, I do love something about every season!! Here in Minnesota, we can find leaves of red, yellow, orange, and brown!

Looking up through trees with vibrant autumn leaves against a clear blue sky.

When I prepare for this lesson, I collect a variety of leaves.

-big and small leaves

-leaves in different colors

-leaves from different kinds of trees

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Hold a leaf and watch it fall to the ground. Talk about what you saw. “This small leaf moved like this. (You can show this with your hands) Let’s see if that happens again.”

Repeat this process with your other leaves. If you have time, invite your students to drop the leaves and watch how they travel to the ground. What did they notice?

This is one of my students’ favorite songs for autumn. I especially love the incredible instrumentation that Andre DiMuzio created to accompany it.

Here are the free Google slides with the lyrics.

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. Just play the melody. Then add the lyrics.

A colorful wooden xylophone with eight keys and two mallets.

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!

I sing the song with a scarf in my hand. Children love dancing with lightweight scarves. They just love the way the scarves float so lightly. I pass out one scarf to each student. I model swaying with my scarf from side to side. This crosses the midline of their bodies. We move from a high level to a low level.

*Note: For very young learners, I tie a knot in the middle of the scarf to make it smaller. Children can hold onto the knot.

Then, the magic “Whoosh!” Children can toss their scarves into the air. Scarves are easier to catch because they’re so light. 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. This is a wonderful, vestibular movement! They can spin fast or slow. 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.

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.

If your scarves are big for your students, just tie a knot in the middle of the scarf. They should hold onto that part.

Check out my Pinterest board for more autumn activities. This song is available on my album “Jump Jump Everyone.” You can find it on most streaming services, such as Spotify. 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, inquiry-based approach to teaching that helps 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, Buzz, and Blue Dot, all published by Oxford University Press.

Here’s another video of this song.

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

I love this photo! When we lived in Tokyo, we witnessed such beautiful autumn leaves. People celebrate the season outside by enjoying picnics, taking hikes, and taking lots of pictures!

A woman wearing a traditional kimono with colorful patterns, standing near a stream surrounded by autumn foliage. — Photo by Kathleen Kampa, 2020, Showa Kinen Park

Celebrate Hinamatsuri: Ideas for Girls’ Day Activities

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Embracing Winter: Engaging Children with Snowy Songs

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It’s winter 2025 here in Minnesota. We’ve had a lot of snow already! And every time it snows, I start to sing this song in my head. (You might, too!)

A snowy winter is a dream for us here in Minnesota. And today–it’s been snowing all day long! I went sledding with my neighbor’s children. With about eight inches of snow, we have to say that it was a winter wonderland!

Look at this magical fort! I had a delightful time playing there with my great-nephew and my sister.

I started writing this song during our first snowfall in November 2024. I taught it to all my students last winter, and it quickly became a favorite. My cousin stopped by with her daughter and her granddaughter. I brought some toys for her to play with. We also sang this song with scarves. I gave each of them a scarf to take home.

This is what my cousin wrote: “We were checking to see if you had recorded it (Snow Is Falling Down) yet. We sang your song so much today that we honestly started searching for it so we could get a little break🤣🤪. Let’s just say the song and the scarves are a real hit with Lucy💝💝💝💝💝💝💝. “

Things you may notice:

-You’ll find repetition in the lyrics to help children learn the song quickly.

– I featured the /l/ sound to support ESL language development (especially for Japanese students) (la, la, la, la, la/ falling/ gently/ whirling)

-I taught this first as a seated song, then as a dance standing in one place.

-I added variety by inviting students to add playful movements with their scarves and dancing with the scarf on a different body part. Scarves are easy for young learners to manipulate.

You can add, Think, think, think, Think, think, think, what should we do? Let’s dance with the scarf on our elbows!

-Movements include toss/catch, crossing the midline with the scarf (standing), and vestibular (turning).

Here are the lyrics. You can choose which body part to put the scarf on.

You can find the Google slides here.

*Note: I use scarves like this for this song.

Snow Is Falling Down by Kathy Kampa

A: (Sit with children and toss scarves)

Snow is falling down, la-la-la-la-la, Falling gently from the sky,

Snow is falling down, la-la-la-la-la,

Falling to the ground. Falling on my head.

(Scarves cover the children’s heads, sit and move with continuous flow)

B. See it falling down, Whirling all around, Dancing on my head. (2X)

Peek-a-peek-a- peek-a-boo! ( Toss!!)

(Sit and toss scarves or stand and dance.)

2. Snow is falling down, la-la-la-la-la, Falling gently from the sky,

Snow is falling down, la-la-la-la-la,

Falling to the ground. Falling on my shoulder.

(Scarves rest on children’s shoulders)

B. See it falling down, Whirling all around, Dancing on my shoulder. (2X)

(toss it in the air . . . Whee!)

3. Snow is falling down, la-la-la-la-la, Falling gently from the sky,

Snow is falling down, la-la-la-la-la,

Falling to the ground. Falling on my hand.

(Children hold the scarf in one hand)

B: See it falling down, Whirling all around, Dancing in my hand. (2X)

(Sit and toss scarves)

Snow is falling down, la-la-la-la-la, Falling gently from the sky,

Snow is falling down, la-la-la-la-la, Falling to the ground.

Falling to the ground. (scrunch up the scarf, make a snowball, and toss!)

* Variation: Add other body parts.

*Try part or all of this song standing. Make sure that children have enough space to move.

Swing scarf across the body to feel the meter. (1-2-3, 1-2-3, this is a waltz.) End with the scarf on a named body part.
Make circles with the scarf. OR Turn slowly in one direction, then the other.
If you’d like to add instruments, try triangles, shakers, or jingle bells.

Here’s the notation. Enjoy!

Sheet music with notes and words

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A sheet music with notes

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Are you streaming music? Go to Spotify or Apple Music to find Kathy’s additional music. You’ll find these albums there.

Jump Jump Everyone, Kathy’s second album, is filled with many happy songs that have grown in my young learner classroom. The songs encourage children to move. Many songs link to classroom content. 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.

This song will be on Kathy’s next album. If you have song requests, let her know.

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. Kathy seeks to nurture children’s imaginations and spark creativity through fun and engaging activities. She also supports the development of English language skills by creating songs, chants, and TPR/movement activities targeted to young learners’ needs. She believes 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 and streaming services like Spotify.

Kathy uses a globally-minded and concept-based inquiry approach to teaching and learning through which students develop 21st-century skills. Kathy is an author and teacher-trainer with Oxford University Press. Together with her husband, Charles Vilina, their new course Blue Dot will be released in 2025.

It’s Christmas Time!

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Christmas Day is just around the corner! Here’s a simple song for your little ones!!

You’ll find everything you need to teach this song–a handout, lyrics, movement suggestions, and a video. You can find this song on Apple Music, Spotify, or iTunes.

My dear friend and Oxford co-author, Setsuko Toyama from Niigata, Japan, created this wonderful activity sheet and picture cards. Just click below and print them!

It’s Christmas Time-Song by K. Kampa, Handout by S. Toyama

It’s Christmas Time

(music adapted from The Muffin Man)

1. Do you hear the jingle bells,

the jingle bells, the jingle bells?

Do you hear the jingle bells?

It’s Christmas time!

Chorus:

Christmas! Christmas! Time to celebrate.

Christmas! Christmas! We can hardly wait.

2. Do you see the Christmas tree,

the Christmas tree, the Christmas tree?

Do you see the Christmas tree?

It’s Christmas time!

Chorus:

Christmas! Christmas! Time to celebrate.

Christmas! Christmas! We can hardly wait.

Do you smell the gingerbread,

The gingerbread, the gingerbread?

Do you smell the gingerbread?

It’s Christmas time!

Chorus:

Christmas! Christmas! Time to celebrate.

Christmas! Christmas! We can hardly wait.

4. We feel joy and happiness,

happiness, happiness,

We feel joy and happiness,

It’s Christmas time!

The steps to the activity are as follows:

1. Teach the six new words using the picture cards.

It’s Christmas Time-Song by K. Kampa, Handout by S. Toyama

Create a gesture for each word.

2. As a critical thinking activity, place the pictures for hear, smell, and see in a column on the left side of the board. Place the images for gingerbread, jingle bells, and Christmas tree in a column on the right side. Point to the “hear” card as you ask students, “What can you hear?” When students answer, “jingle bells,” draw a line from hear to jingle bells. Continue in the same way with the other words. In addition, you may ask questions such as, “Can you smell a Christmas tree? Can you see jingle bells?” and so on.

3. Hand out a copy of the activity sheet to each student. Play the song. As students listen, they point to the lyrics with illustrations (known as a rebus).

4. Play the song again, with students standing in a circle or at their desks. On each verse, pantomime the movement with your students. For a performance, you could have different groups perform each of the verses.

5. There are so many possibilities for movements. For example, on the chorus, on Christmas, Christmas, students can a) make a big circle with their arms, b) wave their arms side to side, or c) choose their own idea.

On time to celebrate, students clap their hands five times, once for each syllable.

On We can hardly wait, students hug themselves, then reach their hands up on the word wait!

For the interlude music, pretend to make it snow by moving your fingers gently from up high to the ground!

We hope you enjoy this wonderful Christmas song and activity.

Here’s a video that I made with some amazing kids! They jumped right into the song and we recorded this video at a park.

For the studio version of my song, go to iTunes and click on Track #13 of Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays. (Just click on iTunes above or the album cover below.)

This music is also available on streaming services.

I have collected numerous Christmas craft activities here on Pinterest.

Happy Teaching, and have a very Merry Christmas!

Kathy Kampa

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, Beehive and Buzz , and Blue Dot(all published by Oxford University Press). She has taught 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.

“Christmas Gingerbreads” image courtesy of nuchylee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Hop Along Easter Bunny

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Easter is just around the corner! Holidays give us an opportunity to teach students about holiday traditions as well as teach some new vocabulary. I always love to find ways to get my students moving with a song.

In this post you’ll find:

the teaching steps and videos for teaching Hop Along Easter Bunny, as a fingerplay and as a whole-body activity
Google slides
videos to show you ways you can teach this song
an Easter egg guessing activity created by Setsuko Toyama
arts and crafts activities

How will you teach your students about Easter? Look at the picture below. What do you see? What does it tell you about Easter? (rabbits, colored eggs, spring flowers, chocolates)

When I teach young learners, I use many ways to introduce, practice, and review new language. Use props. Then do this song in three different ways–first as a fingerplay, then moving around a circle, and finally, moving around the classroom. I’ve made a simple video for you to help you learn it as a fingerplay.

Fingerplay: If possible, sit on the floor with the students. Stretch your legs out in front of you. Make an Easter Bunny by raising two fingers. Bounce your fingers up and down your legs as if you’re hopping.

Hop along Easter Bunny, hop along.

Hop along Easter Bunny, hop along.

Hop along Easter Bunny, Hop along Easter Bunny,

Hop along Easter Bunny, hop along.

Young children love surprises. Each time I sing one line, I quickly bring my fingers back to where I started. On the longer line, continue hopping. My students find it funny when I bring my fingers over my head and along my arm.

On the second verse, pretend to tiptoe using your fingers.

Tiptoe Easter Bunny, tiptoe.

Tiptoe Easter Bunny, tiptoe.

Tiptoe Easter Bunny, Tiptoe Easter Bunny,

Tiptoe Easter Bunny, tiptoe.

On the third verse, pretend to pick up an egg and hide it beside you, behind you, or under your legs.

Hide the eggs Easter Bunny, hide the eggs.

Hide the eggs Easter Bunny, hide the eggs.

Hide the eggs Easter Bunny, Hide the eggs Easter Bunny,

Hide the eggs Easter Bunny, hide the eggs.

On the last verse, pretend to run away.

Run away Easter Bunny, run away.

Run away Easter Bunny, run away.

Run away Easter Bunny, Run away Easter Bunny,

Run away Easter Bunny, run away.

These Easter Bunny ears are a fun way to celebrate! Here's Brooke having fun in Tokyo.

2. Around the circle movement: Stand up and magically turn all of your students into Easter Bunnies. Say, Put on your ears, your whiskers, your tails, and your great big feet!

If you have bunny ears like Brooke, put them on!

Make a circle with your students. Sing this transitional song from Jump Jump Everyone to get ready.

Transitional Song: Let’s make a circle big and round (4X)

https://magictimekids.com/2013/09/23/transitional-songs-part-one/

Moving around the circle together in the same direction. Do you remember the four movements?

1. hop like a bunny (They might use their hands to make bunny ears or a bunny tail.)

2. tiptoe quietly

3. pretend to hide eggs

4. run

3. Around the Classroom: Students can move more freely around the classroom. The Easter Bunnies dance the song by moving around the children.

Here’s a simple video of my students in my classroom moving in a circle to this music.

For the studio version of this song, go to iTunes and click on Track #6 of Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays.

4. Follow-up Activity: In this activity created by Setsuko Toyama, students use critical thinking skills to figure out which egg has been chosen. Students need to know colors, shapes, and numbers. They also need to know words like “polka dots” and “stripes.”

Easter Eggs

Secretly choose one egg. Give one clue at a time, such as It’s pink. Students can guess, Is it number three? Add another clue. It has blue polka dots. Students guess again. Is it number one?

After modeling this activity for the class, have students work in small groups or with partners. Make a copy for each student. Have fun celebrating Easter!

5. Art/Craft Activity This is a fun Easter Bunny activity from Nghia.Odin.DIY.

Look at how this cute bunny moves! The bottle tops and rubberband make this bunny run away!

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If you’re looking for something super simple, try out these Easter cutting activities or Easter Egg Name Basket from Sam.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_7171.jpeg — About me:

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, Beehive, and Buzz (all published by Oxford University Press). She has taught 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.

Are you streaming music? Go to Spotify or Apple Music to find Kathy’s music.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screen-shot-2022-05-11-at-22.56.25.png

You can find more engaging songs on Jump Jump Everyone

If you’re looking for more action songs, check out these curated playlists.

It’s Time for “The Turkey Dance”

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If you teach young learners, you’ve got to check out this simple song and dance. It’s called The Turkey Dance, and as you can imagine, it gives children a chance to dance like . . . . turkeys!!

While many countries give thanks at this time of year, an American tradition is turkeys. When I was a child, we made turkey drawings by tracing along the edge of our hand. These hand drawings became turkeys! So celebrate turkeys and try out the The Turkey Dance. It’s really easy to do.

Here are the lyrics, which go to the tune of “Turkey in the Straw.”

The Turkey Dance

Words by Kathleen Kampa and Charles Vilina, music adapted from Turkey in the Straw

Spoken: It’s Thanksgiving Day. Let’s move like turkeys.

First, move your elbows! (Imagine that these are your wings.)

Move your elbows, do the Turkey Dance.

Stamp your feet and shout “Hooray!”

It’s Thanksgiving Day.

2. Now move your hips. . . (Imagine that this is your tail.)

Move your hips, do the Turkey Dance.

Stamp your feet and shout “Hooray!”

It’s Thanksgiving Day.

3. Now move your knees. . . .

4. Now move your head . . . .

5. Now move your whole body!

Here’s a video to show you the movements.

Teacher’s Notes:

In this dance, students are pretending to be turkeys.

Before you put on the music, show students a picture of a turkey like the one in this blog.

I usually start by teaching this part of the song first–

“Stamp your feet, then shout ‘Hooray!'” Stamp your feet, then jump in the air on “Hooray.”

On “It’s Thanksgiving Day!” put your hands together.

My students added their own ideas between the verses. Some children enjoyed saying “Gobble! Gobble!” while others liked to say “Thank You” in a language they know.

Now teach the body part movements. Say “Move your elbows.” These are the turkey’s wings.

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

1. Make turkey wings by moving your elbows.

2. Make a tail by putting your hands behind your back and moving your hips.

3. Move your knees like you’re strutting.

4. Move your head forward and back.

5. Choose your favorite movements or make some new ones. Dance!

Here is a very, very short clip of young learners from my English class dancing to The Turkey Dance. It’s easy to do. They love this song!

For this catchy “hoedown” professional version that children LOVE to dance to, listen to The Turkey Dance on iTunes and on streaming services, such as Spotify!

If you’re looking for craft activities for Thanksgiving, check out my Pinterest page. In addition, check out Marnie’s blog, Carrots are Orange for some autumn Montessori activities focusing on turkeys. Here’s a cute craft idea from Sam. I especially like the Zentangle turkeys from Laura Hutchinson.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! No matter where we live, we all give thanks this season for the blessings we have.

Kathy and Chuck

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!

The Turkey Dance is fun, engaging song for young learners.

Kathy’s second children’s CD, Jump Jump Everyone, includes songs to move to, seasonal songs, and lots of transitional songs. For more kid-tested music and movement activities, check out my music on iTunes.

Kathy’s CD’s and downloads are available at these locations:

iTunes Streaming sites, such as Spotify.

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 Oxford Discover(ELTon award), Beehive and Buzz, all published by Oxford University Press.

Wiggly Little Worms

Have you ever wondered why worms surface when it rains? Worms appear everywhere!

My students have been fascinated with worms, so I created an activity where we pretend to be worms.

Follow the video to do a fingerplay or a whole-body activity.

The Little Worms

The little worms are in the mud, wiggling, wiggling, wiggling,

They push their heads up out of the mud and say, “Yippee! It’s a rainy day!”

The little worms are in the mud, wiggling, wiggling, wiggling,

They push their heads up out of the mud and cry, “Oh no! It’s a sunny day!”

Invite your students to think about other types of weather–windy, snowy, hot, cold, etc. How do you think the worms will feel?

If you want to learn more about worms:

There are multiple theories about why worms come out when it rains, including:

Movement: Wet soil allows worms to move more easily across the surface, which can help them find food, new habitats, or mates. They can also migrate longer distances than they could underground.
Survival: Worms need a moist environment to survive, and they can’t travel as fast while burrowing tunnels underground. After a rain, the soil pores and worm burrows fill with water, which allows worms to breathe through their skin.
Escape: The vibrations from raindrops hitting the ground can sound similar to vibrations from predators like moles, causing worms to flee to the surface for safety. Birds also take advantage of this behavior by mimicking rain to lure worms to the surface for food.
What can you do? If you see worms on the sidewalk after it rains, you can help them by moving them to a nearby patch of dirt or grass so they can burrow back underground more easily.
For more activities and songs for a rainy day, check out this post.
Go to Spotify or Apple Music to find Kathy’s music. You’ll find “Little Worms” on “Jump Jump Everyone.”Jump Jump Everyone, my second album, is filled with many happy songs that have grown in my young learner classroom. The songs encourage children to move. Many songs link to classroom content. 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.
Kathy Kampa loves to bring joy to the world through her children’s music and English language books (Oxford University Press). She is passionate about making learning engaging for young learners. You’ll find more music and movement resources on Kathy’s YouTube page.

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.

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 music and movement should be a part of every young child’s education.

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.

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The Turkey Dance