Here We Go Looby Loo!

If you want a fun song to practice the sound /l/, this is for you! Looby Loo is a simple dance song. It encourages listening to the movement directions and dancing together as a group. It invites young learners to add their own ideas, too.

Check out the lyrics to this traditional song from Mother Goose.

Here we go looby loo,

Here we go looby light,

Here we go looby loo,

All on a Saturday night!

For my young students in Japan, distinguishing /r/ and /l/ can be challenging. This is a playful way to practice the /l/ sound. In addition, students hear the rhyming words, light and night.

We sing this song in a circle. Use Let’s Make a Circle to get ready.

The verses invite students to put one part of their body into the middle of the circle. For young learners, we choose body parts, like hands, feet, arms, legs, tummy, head, fingers, thumbs, etc.

Verses:

You put your hands in.
You take (put) your hands out
You give your hand/hands a shake, shake, shake (shake, shake, shake, shake . . . .)
And turn yourself about!

To build learner agency, invite students to share their ideas.

All say: Think, think, think. Think, think, think. What should we do? Think, think, think. Think, think, think. What should we do?

Teacher: Should we put in our legs? Our thumbs? Our elbows?

Student: Legs. Let’s put our legs in the circle.

Here’s a video of my young learner class in Tokyo. These children range in age from three to six. They studied English once a week with me. Listen to how well they sing along! You can see how I’m prompting the next body part to sing about by naming and showing them two or three choices. You’ll also notice that we have a lot of fun shaking longer than the standard version of this song.

For older children, practice right and left with each body part. You may want to use less repetitions of the song.

For older students, it looks like this:

You put your right hand in.
You take (put) your right hand out
You give your hand a shake, shake, shake (shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake . . . .)
And turn yourself about!

If you want to learn more about this song, check out the history of it here. The professional version of this song isn’t available yet.

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 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 Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and on Jump Jump Everyone

Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays has songs for the special events in children’s lives, including a loose tooth, birthdays, and many holidays.

Jump Jump Everyone 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.

For more action songs, check out this curated playlist.

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

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

Beginning a lesson

Moving to a new space in your classroom

Introducing an activity

Checking in during an activity

Finishing an activity

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

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

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

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

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

(Check out West Music for interesting instruments.)

2. Peace and Quiet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Clap on every syllable. Students echo your clap.)

I like ba-na-nas. (I like ba-na-nas.)

I like po-ta-toes. (I like po-ta-toes.)

I like to-ma-toes. (I like to-ma-toes.)

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

My Grade One students love “Hands on Top.”

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

The students answer, That means “Stop!” (students do the same)

One, Two, Three, Eyes on Me is another rhyming conversation.

The teacher sings, “One, two, three, eyes on me.” (so-so, mi, so-so, mi)

Hold up fingers as if you’re counting to three. Point to yourself.

The students answer, “One, two, eyes on you!”(so, mi, so-so, mi)

Hold up fingers as if you’re counting to two. Students point to the teacher.

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

5. How about fun phrases?

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

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

T: Hocus pocus. Ss: Everybody focus!

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

6. How about making butterfly wings?

I love to pretend with my very young students. Say, Let’s make butterfly wings. What color are your wings today?” Pretend to paint each arm by gently rubbing it and naming a color. i.e This wing is pink, but this one is purple.

Raise and lower your arms to your sides as if you’re flying. Inhale and exhale.

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

Finally, inhale while raising your arms from your sides to above your head. Put your hands together above your head, then bring them down in front of you. Exhale when your hands are in front of your mouth. This is an effective way to calm students after a lively activity. The teachers I worked with in Tokyo loved the way this activity quickly quieted my students.

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

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

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

Hello, Spring!

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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 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.

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.

Kathy uses a globally-minded and inquiry-based approach to teaching through which students develop 21st-century skills. She also supports the development of English language skills by creating songs, chants, and TPR/movement activities targeted to young learners’ needs.

For more kid-tested music and movement activities, check out more music on iTunes. Kathy has produced two music CDs for very young learners, Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and Jump Jump Everyone, which build English language skills through music and movement while nurturing creativity and imagination! Grown and loved by real kids!

My Fingers Dance!

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

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

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

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

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

My Fingers Dance

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

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

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

*Substitute additional shapes for “circle.”

Check out the video below for the simple motions.

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

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

Let’s practice shapes some more!

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

A Big Surprise by Kathy Kampa

Open your hands and close your eyes.

Get ready for a big surprise!

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is how I start. (hold)

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

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

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

Say, “I see you in my heart!”

Songwriter Kathy Kampa is a passionate educator of young learners. She seeks to nurture children’s imaginations and spark creativity through fun and engaging activities. Kathy believes that music and movement should be a part of every young child’s education. Kathy’s songs for kids (Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and Jump Jump Everyone) are available on iTunes.

For more kid-tested music and movement activities, check out more music on iTunes, Spotify, and Apple Music. Kathy has produced two music CDs for very young learners, Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and Jump Jump Everyone, which build English language skills through music and movement while nurturing creativity and imagination. Grown and loved by real kids!

Check out Kathy Kampa’s YouTube channel here.

V-V Valentine!

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Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! What activities will you do with your young learners for Valentine’s Day?

Playing with letter sounds is fun for little ones. Let’s explore ways to make the shape of the letter Vv:

-with our fingers

-with our hands

-with our arms

-with our legs

-with our whole body (balance!!)

-with a friend

Each time you make the shape, say the sound /v/.

*Try to make only the sound /v/ and not /vƏ/ (vuh)

Can you change your V shape into a heart shape?

I created this song with the phrase “/v/ /v/ valentine.” Make the shapes with your fingers or the heels of your hands, then with your arms. Watch the video for more details. I created it with my nieces Shannon and Brooke many years ago. It’s easy to sing and so much fun!

Here are the lyrics:

Be My Valentine

lyrics by Kathy Kampa, melody “Cho Cho”/”Lightly Row”

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.

Repeat facing a partner.

This song can be found on iTunes and other streaming services, such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Spotify playlist: Songs for Kids for Valentine’s Day and Friendship

Celebrate the joy of Valentine’s Day while building social skills in your classroom. This playlist includes songs for Valentine’s Day and songs about friendship. You’ll find songs to add movement to your class activities, too. Click here to see Kathy’s Spotify channel. for more curated playlists.

Crafts Activities

On Valentine’s Day, kids love to make things for their friends. Check out these simple craft activities.

Can your students find the letter V in these craft activities?

This first craft is a Valentine chain. Cut narrow paper strips about 1″ wide and fold them in half. Look! There’s the letter V! Then curve the tops in to make a heart. This is a great activity for teaching colors and patterns. Try this when you’re sitting with a small group. Students fold the strips, slide a new strip through, then staple the top of the heart. Then, create a color pattern, such as white-red-pink-white-red-pink. Young learners can count the number of hearts in the chain.

When students have the paper strips open, they can write a secret message on the heart.

This idea comes from https://www.teachwithme.com/blogs/getting-to-the-core/item/588-valentine-ideas.

This second craft is like magic! Each student folds a sheet of construction paper in half. Trace around the student’s hand. Be sure that their thumb and pointer finger are touching the folded edge. Students can cut around their fingers. Then decorate a card for someone they love.

This idea comes from https://easypreschoolcraft.blogspot.com/2013/01/top-20-valentines-day-crafts-for-kids.html?m=1

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

Marching Monsters?

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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!

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 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.

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.

Pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns

Featured image courtesy of hin255/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

One of the “big ideas” we teach young learners is the concept of change. Babies grow up. Children can mark their height and see how they are changing. Little seeds planted in the ground in our little paper cups grow into plants. Small pumpkins grow into big pumpkins. Caterpillars turn into butterflies.

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.

When we think of Halloween, we see the magical change of pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns. When possible, I love to purchase a pumpkin for Halloween and teach children how to carve it into a jack-o-lantern.

In the classroom, it’s easy for students to use craft projects to show both a pumpkin and a jack-o-lantern. For a very simple art project, trace the outline of a pumpkin on orange construction paper. Students cut out the shape. With colored pencils or crayons, they draw the ridges of the pumpkin on one side, and a face of a jack-o-lantern on the other.

For more pumpkin craft ideas, check out my Pinterest page with simple cooking and craft ideas.

Here’s a simple chant to teach the words “pumpkin” and “jack-o-lantern.”

Show the students the plain side and say “pumpkin.” Then turn it around and say “jack-o-lantern.” Once students know these two words, put it 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!

To add more fun, make a small pumpkin/jack-o-lantern and a big one. Students see the change from small to big, and from pumpkin to jack-o-lantern.

Here’s a simple Halloween song that my students absolutely love!

My dear friend Setsuko Toyama has made a beautiful rebus worksheet to help your students read both sight words and pictures.

Pumpkin, Pumpkin Rebus Reading

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

(Sit with students in a small 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. If you’re standing in a circle with the students, make it bigger. Get louder! Crescendo!)

(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 is a simple recording of the song to let you hear the melody and rhythm.

For a professional version of this song and other Halloween songs I’ve written, click here.

I’d love to see your children singing and dancing to this song. I’d love to see their cute jack-o-lanterns. Share this idea with your friends. Tell me how you’ve used this with your students.

Reading and Dancing Holiday Songs

It’s October and we’re busy singing and dancing to Halloween songs. My students love getting up and moving to a song! At this time of year, we’re marching like monsters, skipping like skeletons, waltzing like witches, and jumping like jack-o-lanterns. If you want to find more Halloween songs, you can find teaching notes for songs like “Marching Monsters” on earlier blogs on this site.

On this blog, however, I want to share a handout and flash cards made by my good friend Setsuko Toyama. Setsuko is a well-known teacher trainer and author in Japan. On her worksheet, students match the same initial sound of the words, an important skill in developing phonemic awareness. They also have fun playing with alliteration, words that begin with the same sound. Many American nursery rhymes feature alliteration.

Marching Monsters worksheet and flashcards

I like having my students do craft projects from time to time. While they’re busy creating their artwork, I play music to fit the holiday. Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays CD has several Halloween songs that children can easily sing along to for your Halloween parties.

Check out my Pinterest page for lots of Halloween craft activities.