Wee Sing and Play - A Review

Recently a preschool teacher gave me the activities book from Wee Sing and Play.  Although Wee Sing is a staple in the preschool music business, I must admit that I hadn't looked at any of their resources in a long while. Wee Sing and Play is devoted to chants and rhymes - Choosing Rhymes (like Eeny Meeny Miney Moe), Jump Rope Rhymes, Circle and Singing Games, Clapping Rhymes and Ball Bouncing Rhymes.  Although I found some of the activities to be unusable for my teaching situation - with limited space, there's no way that I could have 15-20 children jumping rope - and some of the activities too complex for 3 and 4 year olds, for the most part this is an excellent resource for any preschool teacher or music specialist.

I was especially impressed with the ideas for Ball Bouncing Activities suggested in this book.  For some time I have been trying to create lesson plans that would incorporate the use of balls and this book lists some great ideas and gave me a jumping off place for some of my own ideas.

Clapping Rhymes (like See, See My Playmate), are tricky to use with preschoolers.  Generally, the clapping patterns must be very, very simple for the average preschooler to perform a clapping pattern with any success.  I have found that preschoolers are not able to do any pattern that requires a partner and this is one area that Wee Sing and Play is weak; Almost all of the clapping rhymes require partner interaction. However, the patterns can be simplified and preschoolers can begin to develop the coordination that these patterns require and can help the children develop a strong internal beat.

Wee Sing and Play has a CD recording of all the songs and rhymes listed in the activities book (72 in all!).  All of the recordings on the CD are very short ( only 2 songs out of the 72 are longer than 1 minute in length) and are not very practical for teaching purposes. I would recommend using the CD for learning purposes only and then teach the songs A Capella to the children.  If you choose to use the CD in the classroom, you will need to set your CD player on "Repeat".  However, I believe you will find that you are familiar with almost every song on the CD and may already have a favorite version of each song in your teaching toolbox.

If you need to infuse some creativity into your preschool lesson plans, Wee Sing and Play is a great resource.  
Amazon has both the book and the downloadable CD available.  For around $10 you can by both the book and the CD ($3.00 for the book plus shipping costs and $5.99 for an instant download of the CD).

Wee Sing and Play
By Pamela Conn and Susan Hagen Nipp
C. 1981

The Importance of Music

This article was written on July 31, 2011 by Kevin Browne and first first appeared on his blogsite http://kevinbrowne.load.cd/blog/.

Kevin is a talented pianist.  He and I were lucky enough to spend our high school years in the piano program of Louisville's Youth Performing Arts High School.

The Importance of Music

Among the first subjects to be cut in school budgets are art and music. These cuts are often based on the belief that these subjects can be sacrificed without much damage to a student's development or academic success.  But, more and more research shows that this is not the case. While the Mozart Effect, claiming an increase in IQ points when children are exposed to classical music,  has been largely debunked, there are still good reasons to study music.  Let's consider some of these.

Applied Academics:  One benefit is that music is a great way to show a fun application of other academic subjects such as mathematics, physics, history, and geography.  Given the general interest in music that most children have, it can be used as a window into other subjects that are not as immediately interesting for students.   

Cognitive Benefits:  While the Mozart Effect may not be reliable, there are tangible cognitive developmental benefits to studying music. Surely one of these is an increase in creativity.  Other benefits include an increase in attention span and quantitative ability.  Music does activate various parts of the brain and this increased activity has positive benefits.  Music rewards close attention to detail, form, structure, and organization all of which are beneficial in many other areas of life.     

Rhythm: An important part of music is the element of rhythm and many children relate to music very physically though dance, clapping, singing, and humming. Focusing on the rhythm of music can improve a child's general physical coordination and practicing a musical instrument can improve more specific coordination and dexterity.

Harmony:  A second component of music is harmony and here the benefits of studying music are both literal and metaphorical.  The study of harmony develops the ability to hear and discriminate among various tones and intervals and can lead to an appreciation of a wider range of musical styles. Metaphorically the study of harmony can be used as a meas of teaching the benefit of harmony in general in how we relate to others.  Such virtues as sharing and cooperation can be introduced through the musical element of harmony.

Melody: Built on the foundation of rhythm and harmony is the element of melody. Again, the benefits of study here are both literal and metaphorical.  Since music has long been used as an aid to memory and a means of improving memory, the study of melody can be beneficial.  The study of increasingly complex melodies can lead to an improvement of memory for more complex ideas as well. Metaphorically, the study of melody introduces the idea of individuality.  Like musical pieces, Everyone has their own individual melody which develops over time.

Just a consideration of the basic elements of music can illustrate several important benefits to studying music.  Studying specific genres can yield other benefits.  Jazz is important to the study and ability of improvisation. The blues illustrates emotional expression.  Classical music reveals organization and precision.  At the same time, music also shows the universal nature of such values as every genre contains these elements as well as the basics of rhythm, harmony, and melody.  The rewards of studying and enjoying music extend far beyond the simple act of listening and playing.  As important as these are, the applied benefits are also well worth examining. 

Please visit Kevin Browne's blogsite 
http://kevinbrowne.load.cd/blog/

Create a Carpet Staff for Preschoolers

What You Will Need:

A carpet sample square
Black Paint
Masking Tape
Paint Sponge
Black Pelon or Decorbond (used a stiffener in sewing projects).
Measuring Tape
Black Marker
Mark B Gone Pen - available at sewing stores

1.  With the masking tape, tape off  5 horizontal lines on the carpet.  There should be apx. 1.5" between the lines.  Once you have your 5 lines taped off, use your black marker to outline the tape lines.  Peel off the tape.

2.  Using your black paint, paint between the marker lines to create the 5 lines of a staff.  I found that a paint sponge works better than a paint brush for this project.

3.  To connect all the horizontal lines together, paint a vertical line at each end of the staff.

4.  You know have a completed staff.  The final touch is making a treble clef sign to use with the staff.  Measure the full height of your staff (from bottom line to top line) and add 3" to the total.  (You want to top and bottom of the treble clef to sit above and below the actual staff.)  On your black pelon, draw a treble clef with a Mark B Gone Pen.  Remember that the staff must be doubled to give it more thickness.  Cut out the treble clef and wipe off any white from the  Mark B Gone pen.

(I do not paint the clef sign on the carpet.  I make separate clef signs so that I can interchange between treble and bass clef.  If you are only going to teach treble clef to your preschoolers, then by all means go ahead and paint a treble clef sign right on to your staff.)

Use these pictures as guidelines for your staff making project!

You can use this staff to teach lines and spaces, steps and skips or the actual note names for each line and space on the staff.  You can read some of my other posts for ideas on how to use teach these musical concepts.

Preschoolers Become Kindergartners

School starts next week in my area.  So for my preschoolers that are entering into kindergarten next week, this will be the last music class I will have with them.  It is a bittersweet time for me.  I have taught some of these little ones since they were 3 years old and have watched them mature and grow over the last three years.  It's been fun to watch how some of them have come out of their shell and learned to be more independent or conversely, to watch some who were little wiggle worms learn how to be more self-controlled.  It's also been interesting to see how their musical aptitude has developed over the years:  As three year olds, many of them could not keep a steady beat, sing a simple tune in pitch and had difficulty following simple movements in an action song.  One of the goals of my music classes is to prepare young children for future music instruction - whether it is elementary school music classes or even the study of an instrument with a private music teacher.  Naturally, there are things I wish I would've done differently in my classes the last three years, but for the most part, I am thrilled with the progress of my students and I am confident that they are prepared for their kindergarten music classes.  My students are able to recognize simple rhythmic patterns, they are able to keep a steady beat, they have been free to improvise movement, melodies and rhythms - they have the foundation to build upon to achieve musical success.

I will miss those little rug-rats!  But I know that a new crop of children will be taking their place and that next year, my now 4 year olds will be heading off to kindergarten.  Good Luck little soon-to-be-kindergartners!  I will miss you and I know that you will do great things!

Using "Listen to the Rain" by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault in the Preschool Music Class

Listen to the rain, 
the whisper of the rain...
the singing of the rain...
the roaring pouring rain


Bill Martin, Jr., the author of many children's books, including Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?  and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, has also written this delightful little book along with John Archambault.  With illustrations by James Endicott, the large, exaggerated drawings are the perfect complement to the simple poetry of the book.

The book describes rain in its different forms:  the soft, gentle sprinkling of rain, the steady pitter-patter of rain, and the full blown down-pour of rain.  The last verse addresses the silence and solitude after a rain. You can easily use this book in a preschool music lesson by pairing up instruments to describe the different types of rain described in the book:  For a soft, gentle sprinkle of rain, you can use triangles or a single note played on a hand held bell or on the piano.  For a steady rain, use tambourines, maracas, sand blocks or egg shakers.  And for the full-out rain storm, use rhythm sticks, hand drums, wood blocks and child-sized cymbals.  For the silence after the rain, tell the children to lay down and just listen - no talking allowed!

Books and poetry are a great asset to the preschool music class and Listen to the Rain will not only engage the children visually, but can also help the children expand their creativity and their ability to work cooperatively.