Grade 1-3 (age 6-9) Archives - Donna & Andy

4 Turkey Songs and Games

Andy Duinker — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 16:07:34 +0000

0 shares

Share 0

Share this page using these social links!

4 Turkey Songs and Games

arranged by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

The download for 4 Turkey Songs and Games includes the vocal scores and audio accompaniment tracks as well. However, I'm sorry you don't have any sample tracks to listen to here at this time.

Teacher Tips

Why are singing games important?

Singing games are a foundational part of elementary music classroom activities. Singing games have a variety of purposes:

Provide the opportunity for students to learn through play-based learning. This is one of their primary, inherent learning methods.
Prepare music elements that will be identified and presented in later classes (sometimes in the next school year!).
Provide examples of music elements to be identified and labelled.
Review and practice music elements that have been labelled.
Provide students the opportunity to make physical responses, assisting in internalizing the concepts in the song.
Provide physical movement “brain breaks” within a lesson.

A well-planned music class will include one or two singing games. Use a singing game early in the lesson to prepare concepts. Close to the end of a class, a singing game can be used to review something the students already know and to practice those elements in a fun, musical context. In a music class that requires concentration and focus, a fun singing game is a great way for students to relax.

Singing games are best used unaccompanied. This allows students to hear vocal modelling from the teacher without obscuring pitches with an instrument. Singing games include the expectation that students are singing. Unaccompanied singing allows them to hear their own voices as they learn to make vocal changes and match pitch/sing in tune with others.

Composer's Notes

4 Turkey Songs and Games

I didn’t compose these four turkey songs but as soon as I discovered them, they became favourite seasonal songs I enjoyed sharing with my students leading up to Thanksgiving. Although it is great to be a composer and write what I want to sing with my students, finding great songs written by someone else is also a great way to go. Each turkey song in my collection serves a different purpose in the music classroom: a sing-along song, a simple finger play, an action song, and a game that is always a great end-of-class activity.

I grew up on a family farm, but my farming background did not include any experience with turkeys. My visit to a local farm was very informative and the turkeys had a few tricks to play on me! I am glad my students are not inclined to wander off when I am explaining a game. I am also happy that my students are MUCH better at participating in the turkey songs that I use in my music classroom.

You are Invited

When you have enjoyed singing these songs and doing the activities with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review on this page. Thanks!

Please send us your performing video - we might be able to post it on this page!

Send us your video of 4 Turkey Songs and perhaps we can post it here.

The post 4 Turkey Songs and Games appeared first on Donna & Andy.

Ed the Invisible Dragon – Illustrated Children’s Book

Andy Duinker — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 15:49:57 +0000

0 shares

Share this page using these social links!

Ed the Invisible Dragon

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the song as you read Ed the Invisible Dragon.

Stream and Purchase Audio Tracks / CD

Stream or Purchase Ed the Invisible Dragon from many streaming sites including: Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer ...etc.

"Ed" is also available on the Donna & Andy CD Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me

Also:

Do an online search and find Ed the Invisible Dragon all over the internet.

Colouring Page - download

Download (pdf), print and have fun colouring this page while you listen to the song Ed the Invisible Dragon.

Author/Composer's Notes

Ed the Invisible Dragon

Ed was inspired by my three boys who seemed to think that the Lego blocks left scattered about on the floor could not have possibly been left there by them. My response was to imagine that some invisible house guest must be making all the messes. Ed, the invisible dragon was the result.

The first children to sing this song were my students at Gaspereau Valley Elementary School in Nova Scotia, Canada. Some of those students went with me to a recording studio where we recorded a cassette that included Ed, the Invisible Dragon plus several other songs I had written. I created a printed book to go with the cassette and made it available to music teachers and other interested folks. This foray into publicly presenting my songs was exuberantly embraced by my mother, who loves to sell things. I think she single-handedly sold most of the first run of those books and cassettes. In any case, Ed and the other songs in that collection started to become well known within music education circles. Over 40 years later, Ed is still going strong. He has travelled to almost every continent, being sung by elementary school children and vocal studio singers in countries around the world. He has worked his way into music festivals, Royal Conservatory vocal exams, school concerts and vocal studio recitals.

Ed was one of the very first songs I sang with Andy Duinker and Wendy LaPierre as a trio performing music for children. As we went on to establish a career as the singing duo, Donna & Andy, Ed has been with us every step of the way. The song Ed the Invisible Dragon has been enthusiastically received by school children at Donna & Andy concerts for the past 30 years.

From early on, we thought Ed would make a great illustrated children’s book. It was a dream that took a long time to come true. We started working with artist, Matth Cupido who painted the covers for all our book and CD covers. We had many philosophical discussions about Ed’s invisibility. Is he invisible, but a solid being? Is he invisible and like a ghost that doesn’t take up any physical space? Is he real at all, or only to the child in the song? There was much we didn’t know how to answer about Ed. Matth’s first renditions of Ed included him wearing a hat. Matth asked us if Ed had hair. We didn’t really know. We were at the mercy of the paint brush!

Sadly, Matth passed away before we had time to work on the illustrated book for Ed, the Invisible Dragon. We had to put our illustrated book plans on hold for several years. Eventually, we were delighted to find out that Richard Bennett, a music teacher colleague of mine, was also an artist. Being retired, he had some time on his hands, and he agreed to try his hand at creating art for our book. We had great fun revisiting the philosophical points we had discussed with Matth. We still didn’t have all the answers! We threw ideas at Richard and he sent us sketches and drafts of wonderful artistic ideas. Richard was a good sport to take on the task of creating an illustrated picture book featuring an invisible dragon. All the pictures cannot be of the dragon hiding behind different objects. At some point, that dragon has to come out from behind the tree and be seen by someone! It took almost four years to bring this project to completion, and for a while, it seemed like Ed might stay hidden away forever. However, we are excited that Ed is finally ready to take this new form to be shared with the world.

Ed, the Invisible Dragon, the illustrated children’s book, is now ready to take its place on the shelf along with earlier iterations: a cassette, a CD, a printed music book, and a single song digital download. I can’t wait to see where he will show up next!

"Ed for Education"

Free Download

You are invited to download the complete Ed the Invisible Dragon music package including 19 cross-curricular activities FREE when you use coupon code EDFOREDUCATION or edforeducation at checkout. (does not include illustrated book)

Free Download includes:

Vocal score
Director/piano score
Lyrics
Accompaniment – with melody guide
Accompaniment – piano
Donna & Andy band – instrumental track
Donna & Andy – performance track
Ed For Education – 19 Cross-curricular Activities in various subject areas including Fine Arts: music, visual art, and drama, Physical Activity, Science and Technology

Enjoy!

Part of a Song Collection

The song Ed the Invisible Dragon is one of 12 songs from the Juno-nominated song collection "Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me" Donna Rhodenizer has written these songs using a variety of styles including lullaby/tango, bluegrass, blues and pop in a variety of skill levels for singers from ages 5-12+.

Learn more about this fun collection for elementary-aged kids, choirs and solo vocal students. The 122-page song book provides the vocal score, full score and separate lyrics pages for 12 songs. Enjoy!

Please note: audio tracks for the e-book version are sold separately. Print copies of the book include CD (24 tracks)

The print book (Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me - song collection - without CD) is also available on Amazon

Performance videos

Ed the Invisible Dragon has been performed by thousands of young vocal students and elementary school students around the world.

You can see performance videos further down this page. Enjoy!

Also available on Amazon

Print copies are also available on Amazon.

Also, go to Donna's Amazon Author Page and click the "Follow" button to get notified when additional new books become available.

You Are Invited

Please drop by again and leave a Review of Ed the Invisible Dragon on this page. Thanks!

"Ed" is on this CD

Ed the Invisible Dragon - music performances

Here are a few of many performances of "Ed".

Enjoy!

The post Ed the Invisible Dragon – Illustrated Children’s Book appeared first on Donna & Andy.

A Robin’s Tale

Andy Duinker — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 21:29:37 +0000

0 shares

Share this page using these social links!

A Robin's Tale

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for A Robin's Tale.

Teacher Tips

Introducing the song

Pre-singing discussion connects students’ interest to the song content. Questions may include:

Have you ever seen a robin pulling worms out of the lawn?

How do you think they know where the worms are? Do they hear the worms? Do they feel the vibration with their feet? (Both would be amazing skills!)

What facts do you know about robins?

Do you have a favourite bird?

Score Study

Dotted quarter note/eighth note combinations.

The melody of A Robin’s Tale is written with dotted quarter note/eighth note combinations.

While the teacher sings the song, have the students listen and follow the score.

Find all the bars where there are dotted quarter note/eighth note combinations.

Have students tap or clap the rhythm of the song as the teacher sings one more time.

Have half the students sing the song and the other half tap the rhythm. Switch.

Phrases

Listen for phrases that are the same or almost the same. Finding these similar phrases helps when learning the melody of the song.

Major/minor tonality

The B section of A Robin’s Tale is written in a minor key for a few short bars. Find the bars that are written in the minor key. Where does the melody return to the major tonality?

Expressive Singing

Use good breath energy to sing the long, legato phrases.

Breath marks show where the singer will take a breath even thought the notes look like there is no spot to breathe. Take as much time as needed to take a comfortable breath.

How will you sing differently to create a contrast in the B section when the melody is written in the minor key?

Use clear diction so the story can be understood.

Add dynamics to create musical interest and highlight the lyrics as part of your expressive performance.

Composer's Notes

I enjoy watching the birds in my backyard. A bird feeder of seeds encourages certain birds to make regular visits. Robins don’t frequent the feeder. They prefer worms and stay on the lawn to forage for their snacks. The robins hop from spot to spot. It is interesting to watch the tug-of-war that ensues when they locate a worm and try to pull it from its hiding spot. Because they eat worms and grubs, robins leave Canada to go to warmer climates for the winter. We know spring has arrived when they show up again. A Robin’s Tale was written as I watched this vignette playing out in the backyard. Andy and I worked on the words together and we ended up with this short song for young singers.

You are Invited

When you have enjoyed singing this song and doing the activities with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review on this page. Thanks!

Please send us your performing video - we might be able to post it on this page!

Send us your video of A Robin's Tale and perhaps we can post it here.

The post A Robin’s Tale appeared first on Donna & Andy.

4 Penguin Songs

Andy Duinker — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 17:41:22 +0000

0 shares

Share this page with your Teacher Friends 0

Share this page using these social links!

Four Penguin Songs

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for these Four Penguin Songs

I Wonder

Penguin Parade

Pondering Penguins

The Penguin Ball

Part of a Song Collection

These Four Penguin Songs are included in the award-winning song collection "Computer Cat" (total of 12 songs). Donna Rhodenizer has written these songs in a variety of styles and skill levels for singers from ages 5-12+.

Learn more about this fun collection for elementary-aged kids, choirs and solo vocal students. The 93-page book provides the vocal score, full score and separate lyrics pages for 12 songs. Enjoy!

Please note: audio tracks for the e-book version are sold separately. Print copies of the book include CD (24 tracks)

I only want one Penguin song - can i do that?

You can purchase each Penguin song separately.

Save 25% when you purchase all Four Penguin Songs together.

Stream and purchase Audio tracks

Stream or Purchase the Four Penguin Songs from many streaming sites including:

Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer.

The Computer Cat CD (Donna & Andy performance and instrumental) tracks (24) is available for download or purchase physical CD on this website.

53 cross-curricular activities

53 Cross-curricular activities are provided in the PDF download (divided over 4 penguin songs) extending the focus of these songs to other subject areas including:

Fine arts: music, visual art, dance, drama,
Language arts
Math
Social studies
Science
Technology

Teacher Tips

Teaching tips are provided with each individual song. See the teaching tips when you visit each penguin song webpage.

Save 25% when you purchase all Four Penguin Songs together.

Colouring Pages - Free Download

Download (pdf), print and have fun colouring these Penguins as you li sten to the Four Penguin Songs. Enjoy!

Composer's Notes

Four Penguin Songs

I wrote my collection of penguin songs as a result of a request made by a classroom teacher at my school. She was doing a penguin unit with her students and she asked me for a penguin song. I didn’t know any, so I wrote my own! When her students came to my music class they told me lots of penguin facts to give me ideas for my songs. I discovered that penguins are amazing creatures. The conditions in which they live and the way they survive, live, and raise their babies are all fascinating. With all the facts I found out, I ended up writing four penguin songs.

Some of the songs rely on the facts that the students told me, but other songs in the set dive into the world of imagination with penguins checking their closets for clothing options, attending the ”penguin ball” for some romantic moonlit dancing on the beach, or having a parade in the snow. All in all, I had a grand time writing these four songs and the students enjoyed singing them. After almost three decades, I am happy to report my penguin songs are still being sung and enjoyed by young singers (and their audiences) around the world!

You are Invited

When you have enjoyed singing these Four Penguin Songs, and doing the activities with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review on this page. Thanks!

Please send us your performing videos - we might be able to post them on this page!

See more penguin song videos on these pages.

Save 25% when you purchase all Four Penguin Songs together.

Send us your videos of 4 Penguin Songs and perhaps we can post them here.

The post 4 Penguin Songs appeared first on Donna & Andy.

Hanukkah, Hanukkah

Andy Duinker — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 12:37:51 +0000

0 shares

Share this page with your Teacher Friends 0

Share this page using these social links!

Hanukkah, Hanukkah

by Donna Rhodenizer

Background Information

See background information for the song Hanukkah, Hanukkah

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Hanukkah, Hanukkah.

Teaching Tips

Discussion

Use Hanukkah, Hanukkah as a discussion starter.

Read aloud the lyrics and explore the vocabulary:

Menorah
Dreidel
Nun, Gimel, Hei, Shin

For context and to add some fun, bring a dreidel to class and let students try playing this Hanukkah game.

Add instruments

Add unpitched percussion instruments to augment the feel of the strong, percussive accompaniment.

A sections: Add a steady stepping/stamping beat on beats 1 and 3 and add a tambourine strike on beats 2 and 4. Players must listen carefully to the accompaniment in the final A section when the accelerando affects the speed of the song.
B sections: Create a contrasting percussion addition. Continue using the tambourine, but shake it every time the word “dreidel” is sung. The jingling of the tambourine will be a different and contrasting sound compared to the percussive strike used in the A section.
Add a vibraslap every time the word spin or spinning is sung.

Invite students to explore different instruments and combinations to accompany the song. Encourage them to make musical decisions to create their own unique accompaniment.

Add Visual Interest

Add colourful scarves or ribbons to the performance.

Choose two different scarf movements to coordinate with the A and B sections of the song.

When adding instruments or visual elements to a performance, it is a good time to discuss with students how to use sound/no sound and movement/no movement combinations to create a musically interesting performance. Encourage them to include variety when adding rhythmic or visual elements: change the rhythmic pattern or movement for different phrases or sections, add elements to only selected sections, vary the instruments that are used, etc. Think of it like adding spice to a recipe – a little goes a long way!

Composer's Notes

I was working with a teacher to create a school concert program with a multi-cultural focus. The teacher wanted songs to address a variety of holiday observances and traditions of students in her school. I had great fun doing online research and using information provided to me from the school and I learned a lot! I ended up writing four new songs which were sent off to the music teacher to use in the concert.

Hanukkah, Hanukkah is one of the songs I wrote during the process of working on the multi-cultural concert repertoire. It mentions two of the most common symbols associated with this holiday, the menorah and the dreidel. Working on this song brought back a memory of playing a game of Dreidel with my students. A Jewish colleague on staff at my school explained how the game was played and provided enough dreidels for an entire class to play in small groups. I remember that the two best things to land on are “Nun” which means you don’t have to do anything (a position of safety) or “Gimel” which means you win ALL the items contributed to the winner’s pot throughout the game to that point. It created much excitement in music class that day!

You Are Invited

When you have enjoyed singing this song with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review on this page. Thanks!

Please send us your performance video - we might be able to post it on this page!

Send us your video of Hanukkah, Hanukkah and perhaps we can post it here.

The post Hanukkah, Hanukkah appeared first on Donna & Andy.

5 Halloween Songs

Andy Duinker — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 19:38:19 +0000

5 shares

Share this page using these social links!

5 Halloween Songs

by Donna Rhodenizer

Blog Post - 5 Halloween Songs

Learn more about Donna's most popular 5 Halloween Songs in this blog post.

You Are Invited

When you have enjoyed singing these songs with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review on this page. Thanks!

Please send us your performance videos as well - we might be able to post them here on this page!

27 New Singing Games for Young Singers

Andy Duinker — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 17:43:32 +0000

12 shares

Share this page using these social links!

New Singing Games

for Young Singers

by Donna Rhodenizer

Vol. 1 Grades K-1, ages 5-7

New Singing Games for Young Singers Vol. 1 Grades K-1, ages 5-7

Donna Rhodenizer has written twelve original singing games for Kindergarten and Grade 1 students, singers ages 5-7. These songs focus on the early skill development of emerging singers including galloping, action songs, fast and slow, as well as songs with simple tone sets (mainly s-m-l combinations). Individual singing opportunities are built into many of the singing games. Students have the opportunity to work on discerning differences in pitch and pitch matching, leading to singing in tune with others. All of the singing games provide young singers with a play-based learning experience, inherent to their innate learning style and crucial to their skill development. All songs include scores and game instructions, plus adaptations for small group and individual instruction.

Vol. 2 Grades 2-3, ages 7-9

Donna Rhodenizer’s second volume of singing games focuses on singers in grades 2-3, ages 7-9. Eleven original singing games focus on providing practice for skills learned earlier and adding songs and skills with expanded tone sets and more complex rhythmic elements. Individual singing games are still a mainstay as students continue to hone their ability to sing in tune with others. Repetition is a key element of singing games, creating opportunity for internalizing musical concepts for labelling and practicing in future lessons. Games with movement, guessing games and even a few chasing options make these singing games interesting and motivating for students. All songs include scores and game instructions, plus adaptations for small group and individual instruction.

Vol. 3 Grades 4-5, ages 9-11

The third volume of Donna Rhodenizer’s singing games is created for singers in grades 4-5, ages 9-11. Ten original singing games delve into more complex musical elements such as minor tonalities, wider tone sets and complex rhythms. Singing games with individual responses include singing as well as rhythmic and melodic improvisation. Musical challenges for this age group are offered using a play-based learning style that creates a relaxed atmosphere for exploring and learning without pressure. All songs include scores and game instructions, plus adaptations for small group and individual instruction.

Print copies Available on Amazon

Print copies are available on Amazon.

Go to Donna's Amazon Author Page to purchase your print copy.

Also, click the "Follow" button to get notified when additional new books become available.

Composer's Notes

New Singing Games for Young Singers

My music classroom has been singing based from day one. Everything we did hinged on singing, and the best way to get kids to sing is to make it a game. Singing games were part of my music education courses and my approach was influenced by my training in the Kodaly teaching method, also founded on the use of singing games to teach concepts to children.

Over the years I have had certain singing games that I enjoyed sharing with my students. I knew they liked those particular games, it was exciting to play them, and they were motivated to participate. As time and political correctness became an issue in our classrooms, some of the singing games from decades (centuries?) ago began to come into question. Old singing games that were based on less than favourable past-times and ways of doing things began to be considered inappropriate and needed to be removed. Song context aside, the games that went with some of those songs were favourites of my students (and of mine as well) so I set about to create new songs that would fit the games that went with the old songs. I had collected quite a few singing games by the time I was chatting with Nikki Loney (Full Voice Music) about doing a question and answer online session with teachers about singing games. With my collection already started (sort of) it seemed like an opportune time to put together an official version of these songs.

What started out as a single collection across grade levels (K-5) started to get too large and unwieldy for a single book. We decided to split the book into K-2 and 3-5. Then THAT got too big so we revised and split the book into 3 volumes. Now there were not quite enough songs to make a reasonable sized book (in my estimation) so in addition to the songs I already had, I designed some new ones. Trying to figure out games that would work for each of the songs had us galloping, passing sticks to the beat, counting bars to match dance steps and having lots of fun! I also needed to think outside of my elementary classroom focus and create adaptations for singing games that could be used by private vocal teachers with small groups or just one student. That was a fun challenge!

I ended up writing six new songs in a week to insert into various age groupings. I was reminded of my days in the classroom when I needed songs for specific events and I ended up writing them. It was an intense, productive two weeks and I was exhausted but creatively energized by the whole process.

You Are Invited

When you have enjoyed doing these singing games with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review on this page. Thanks!

Please send us your performance videos - we might be able to post them on this page!

New Singing Games - Vol. 1 - grade 1-2 (age 5-7)

New Singing Games - Vol. 2 - grade 2-3 (age 7-9)

Also found in New Singing Games - Vol. 1

Also found in New Singing Games - Vol. 3

New Singing Games - Vol. 3 - grade 4-5 (age 9-11)

More Singing Games

Send us your videos of these New Singing Games and perhaps we can post them here.

The post 27 New Singing Games for Young Singers appeared first on Donna & Andy.

Christmas A to Z / Winter A to Z

Andy Duinker — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 17:43:21 +0000

0 shares

Share this page with your Teacher Friends 0

Share this page using these social links!

Christmas A to Z / Winter A to Z

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Christmas A to Z.

Part of a Song Collection

Christmas A to Z is one of 12 songs from the song collection "It's Christmas Time". Donna Rhodenizer has written these songs in a variety of styles and skill levels for singers from ages 5-12+.

Learn more about this fun collection for elementary-aged kids, choirs and solo vocal students.

Purchase print copy from Amazon

Stream and purchase audio tracks

Stream or Purchase Christmas A to Z (It's Christmas Time CD) from many streaming sites including:

Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer.

The It's Christmas Time CD (Donna & Andy performance and instrumental) tracks (20) are available for download or physical CD on this website.

Teacher Tips

Concert presentation

Creating a simple introduction to a song can set up the performance without involving a complicated, dramatic script. Here is a short introductory narration I wrote for Christmas A to Z:

Narrator: I can think of lots of things I like about Christmas. Let’s listen to the next class sing at least 26 things that make Christmas a great time of year.

If there are two speakers, here is another option for introducing Christmas A to Z:

Narrator 1: I was trying to think of things that make Christmas special but I keep losing count.

Narrator 2: Let’s listen to the grade 2s. They have organized the whole Christmas season into 26 easy to remember sections.

Visual Cue – flip book

To help students remember the lyrics for the long list of items in Christmas A to Z, create a flip book. It is easy to manage and a great way to provide the visual cues the students may need.

Create a page for each letter
Use card stock to create a more stable book. Note: Laminating may make the image shiny and difficult to see.
Add a simple image for each letter. Be sure that the image can be easily identified from where your students will be standing
Fasten the pages at the top with binder rings so the pages will flip up and over and out of the way.
Hold the flip book in front of you so the students can see it but it isn’t in view of the audience.

An alternate option to the flip book is to create individual cards that are not fastened together. Hold all the cards and remove the top image, placing it out of the way on a music stand, stool or other nearby surface.

Expressive singing

Combining classes is a great way to increase the volume of the performers without requesting that they “sing louder”. Young singers have smaller voices and less ability to project their sound, so a combined group helps address this issue without straining young voices.

If remembering the lyrics is an issue, when combining classes or a small group class in a vocal studio, divide the verses up so there are small groups of students who are responsible for specific letters. Be careful not to create groups that are so small that the volume issue mentioned above becomes problematic.

If a microphone is being used be sure to practice with the students before the concert. They need to know that the microphone is going to do the work of amplifying their voice. They also need to know how close to be to the microphone and get used to using it to allow them to give their best performance.

Alternate lyrics

This song has both Christmas and winter lyrics for versatile concert programming.

Student ukulele lead sheet

A lead sheet with simplified chords (only using D, G and A) is provided for use with ukulele players. NOTE: The simplified chords will clash with the more complicated chords played in the recorded accompaniments. If using piano and ukuleles, the accompanist is advised to follow the ukulele lead sheet and use the same chords supplied in the student version.

Props

Represent each letter on a card or use a letter-shaped cutout.

When each letter is sung, have a student hold up the corresponding card.

If there are more than 26 students, they can hold up cards with pictures of some of the items or include more than one card for each letter.

Composer's Notes

Christmas A to Z / Winter A to Z

List songs can be hard to remember unless there is an organizational framework. The alphabet makes a pretty good foundation! I created the words for this song for my students for a school Christmas concert. It was fun to think of all the things that make Christmas special and include those things in the song. I thought the alphabet would help them remember the words, but there were a lot of things! I created a flip book with pictures for each letter which I held up so they could see what to sing for each letter. It turned out to be a fun song (with our helpful lyrics visuals) and it was a successful performance.

In later years, our school Christmas concerts changed and more winter elements were added. This accommodated students who didn’t celebrate Christmas, but who were happy to sing winter songs as part of our concert. The alternate winter lyrics also meant the song could be used any time in our Canadian winter when we wanted to celebrate the winter season. I love versatility and songs that can be used for multiple things. This song filled the repertoire search for a variety of performances using different lyrics to suit each occasion.

You Are Invited

When you have enjoyed singing this song with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review on this page. Thanks!

Please send us your performance video - we might be able to post it on this page!

Send us your video of Christmas A to Z & Winter A to Z and perhaps we can post it here.

The post Christmas A to Z / Winter A to Z appeared first on Donna & Andy.

Umbrellas

Andy Duinker — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 00:46:08 +0000

0 shares

Share this page with your Teacher Friends 0

Share this page using these social links!

Umbrellas

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Umbrellas.

Teacher Tips

Introducing the song

Discus:

who likes to play in the rain, in puddles, or to walk with an umbrella in the rain?
Who has an umbrella, a raincoat or rain boots? How do these things add to the enjoyment of being outside in the rain?
Who looks forward to a rainy day?

Expressive singing

Read the lyrics aloud. Decide which words need to be accentuated to sing expressively and convey the sentiment of the song.

Score study

Using the printed music, read and/or clap the rhythm.
Find bars/phrases that use the same melodic pattern. The overall form of the song is ABAC.
Follow the printed music as the teacher sings the song. Can you see the notes ascending, descending and repeating?
Use your hand to show the shape of the ascending, descending and repeated notes of the song as the teacher sings. Can students sing the song and show the shape of the note movement at the same time? (Hint: wait to try this until the song is well internalized.)
There is an accidental added in this song. Discuss how the accidental affects the notes in bar 9.

Performance suggestions

Adding an umbrella as a prop is a lovely way to add visual interest to a performance. Bring the open umbrella to the stage and then place it next to the singer(s). The umbrella adds colour but the singer is free to concentrate on the performance. Include Umbrellas in a weather-themed concert presentation.

Additional weather-related songs by Donna Rhodenizer:

It’s Raining Cats and Dogs

Five Little Snowflakes

I’d Rather Be a Bear

Sing an Umbrella warm-up

An umbrella warm-up exercise (with a printable student worksheet) is included.

Download and print this student worksheet separately.

Composer's Notes

Umbrellas

I was asked to write a song for young singers. The melody needed to be simple, both rhythmically and melodically and I could choose any topic I wished. Sometimes having a wide-open set of options can be daunting! However, I know that when my grandchildren visit me, they love to go outside with an umbrella and enjoy the rainy day. I crafted my song while thinking about how lovely rain is when the right gear is available. I like walking in the rain with an umbrella, and adding a pair of rubber boots means there are also puddles to explore. (Boots and puddles are included in a different rainy day song!) I enjoy the smell of rain as it waters the plants in my garden. I also like the sound of rain on the roof of my house. All in all, umbrellas, raincoats and rubber boots mean that a rainy day can be enjoyed as an exciting adventure.

You Are Invited

When you have enjoyed singing this song with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review on this page. Thanks!

Please send us your performing video - we might be able to post it on this page!

Send us your video of Umbrellas and perhaps we can post it here.

The post Umbrellas appeared first on Donna & Andy.

5 Valentine Singing Games

Andy Duinker — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 00:07:39 +0000

3 shares

Share this page with your Teacher Friends 0

Share this page using these social links!

5 Valentine Singing Games

by Donna Rhodenizer

Teacher Notes

Use singing games to create a play-based environment for students to explore using their singing voices.

Individual responses assist students developing pitch matching and singing in tune with others.

Singing games encourage multiple repetitions, an important factor in skill development.

When asking for individual responses: Model the pitch for their response, but allow the student to sing their response at whatever pitch is comfortable for them. After confidence and trust is established, the teacher may ask if a child can move their voice to match a pitch. If the pitch is matched, congratulate their effort. If not, ask the class which pitch was higher and which was lower. Without any judgement, the different pitches are labeled. This teaches students to listen for differences and gives them the vocabulary they need to label what they are hearing. The student who has responded should not feel any pressure or anxiety with this process, and the game continues.

Use fun singing games as a “treat” at the end of a music class. Singing games are a fun way of reviewing concepts that have been learned, or preparing new ones that have not yet been isolated and labeled.

See More Valentine Resources

Have a look at Valentine Rhythm Activity for young singers.

More Tunes about Friendship and Love

More February repertoire suggestions - Songs about friends and love.

Review, free Download or Print!

Enjoy!

Composer's Notes

Donna’s childhood valentine memories include making her own valentines to give to her friends, and remembering the spicy flavour of cinnamon hearts. Donna still loves the taste of cinnamon and she loves the fact that Valentine messages and hearts can create an opportunity for her students to develop their composing skills. Donna is enthusiastic about promoting creative manipulation of music elements (composing!) with students from Kindergarten to Grade 6. Her personal composing efforts have resulted in well over 500 songs written for solo voice, choir, handbell, recorder, violin and piano.

You Are Invited

When you have enjoyed playing these singing games with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review on this page. Thanks!

Send us your videos of these Valentine songs and perhaps we can post them here.

The post 5 Valentine Singing Games appeared first on Donna & Andy.

Grade 1-3 (age 6-9) Archives - Donna & Andy

4 Turkey Songs and Games

Audio & Lyrics

Teacher Tips

Composer's Notes

You are Invited

Ed the Invisible Dragon – Illustrated Children’s Book

Ed the Invisible Dragon

Audio & Lyrics

Stream and Purchase Audio Tracks / CD

Colouring Page - download

Author/Composer's Notes

"Ed for Education"

Part of a Song Collection

Performance videos

Also available on Amazon

You Are Invited

A Robin’s Tale

Audio & Lyrics

Teacher Tips

Composer's Notes

You are Invited

4 Penguin Songs

Audio & Lyrics

Part of a Song Collection

I only want one Penguin song - can i do that?

Stream and purchase Audio tracks

53 cross-curricular activities

Teacher Tips

Colouring Pages - Free Download

Composer's Notes

You are Invited

Hanukkah, Hanukkah

Background Information

Audio & Lyrics

Teaching Tips

Composer's Notes

You Are Invited

5 Halloween Songs

Blog Post - 5 Halloween Songs

See also - Dark Night Sky

You Are Invited

27 New Singing Games for Young Singers

Vol. 1 Grades K-1, ages 5-7

Vol. 2 Grades 2-3, ages 7-9

Vol. 3 Grades 4-5, ages 9-11

Print copies Available on Amazon

Composer's Notes

You Are Invited

New Singing Games - Vol. 1 - grade 1-2 (age 5-7)

New Singing Games - Vol. 2 - grade 2-3 (age 7-9)

New Singing Games - Vol. 3 - grade 4-5 (age 9-11)

More Singing Games

Christmas A to Z / Winter A to Z

Audio & Lyrics

Part of a Song Collection

Stream and purchase audio tracks

Teacher Tips

Composer's Notes

You Are Invited

Umbrellas

Audio & Lyrics

Teacher Tips

Composer's Notes

You Are Invited

5 Valentine Singing Games

Teacher Notes

See More Valentine Resources

More Tunes about Friendship and Love

Composer's Notes

You Are Invited