Christmas / Winter Concert
Songs for “Littles” (Grade K-1)
Songs for Kindergarten and grade 1 students (“Littles”) need to be chosen carefully. Students who are in their first, or even second year of school have a special set of needs when December concert time rolls around.
* The youngest students in the school have been in music class for less than four months before we put them in their first performance situation.
* Many will not have found a singing voice
* Regardless of pitch, students will not have a large volume of sound (nor do we want to encourage them to sing loudly!) to be heard in a concert setting.
Did You Ever See a Snowman?
Here is a fun action song that has options for both Christmas and winter lyrics added to the tune “Did You Ever See a Lassie?” This is another versatile song for the Littles in your elementary school concert.
Five Little Snowflakes
This is a winter adaptation of a very old song “Raining” by Lucille Wood. Including actions with all the verses is visually interesting for the audience and it helps the students remember the words they are supposed to sing. Music teachers can write their own snowflake verses or use the original rain version of the song for a spring concert. I love songs that have multiple uses!
If You’re Happy and You Know It
...has been sung by children for decades. Sing it in its original form, add instruments, or change the words to fit your winter or Christmas theme. There are lots of options for using this song in your elementary school music concert. You might even catch a few parents humming along!
Jingle Bells
...is a well-known song and would seem to be a good song for the “Littles” to sing. However, the verses are tricky and the intervals are not easy for young singers. An easy solution is to add fun scarf movement to instrumental verses and have the students only sing the familiar chorus. It is colourful and fun and a great concert idea for very young singers.
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Composer, Elementary Music Specialist
Donna Rhodenizer
Donna Rhodenizer has been composing music for young singers for over 35 years. Donna LOVES composing Christmas and winter songs, and her students are always keen to see what she will pull from her imagination and turn into a song. She has used her original compositions in the many school Christmas concerts she has organized during her years as an elementary music education specialist in schools in Nova Scotia. Donna’s Christmas concerts are “legendary”, and have been well-loved by her students and appreciative audiences. Donna is delighted to plan and organize concerts and create music memories for her students. She is keen to share her years of concert-planning expertise to help her music-teaching colleagues with their concert plans.
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