Baby Rock

  • Coming in Classical: Tchaikovsky – March, from The Nutcracker

    Activity Instructions:

    Play music as children are coming in. Give children an instrument we are not using, such as shakers or maracas, to play during the song.

    Historical information:

    The Nutcracker is a 2-act Russian Ballet. Although the original production was not a success, the complete Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s, and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in North America. Major American ballet companies generate around 40 percent of their annual ticket revenues from performances of The Nutcracker.



  • Baby Rock Hello

    CASIO-SA-77:
    Pattern 01, Tempo 5


    Activity Instructions:

    Call children to circle. Start rhythm on Keyboard, and use each child’s name in the song.

    Lyrics:

    I’m gonna rock rock rock with with my baby
    Rock, rock rock with my baby
    Rock, rock rock with my baby
    in Rockin’ Rhythms music class

    Let’s all rock with [Name Here]
    Let’s all rock with [Name Here or “together”]
    Let’s all rock with [Name Here or “and have fun”]
    in Rockin’ Rhythms music class


  • Song w/Instrument: Jingle Bells

    Equipment:

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out cage bells to students. Explore shaking and tapping on ground, shake with one hand, pass to the other hand. Then sing song through, keep beat with bells on verses and choruses, try matching rhythms to what is sung on the word” jin-gle bells” in the choruses.

    Lyrics:

    CHORUS
    Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
    Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh
    Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
    Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh

    VERSE
    Dashing through the snow
    On a one horse open sleigh
    O’er the fields we go
    Laughing all the way

    Bells on bobtail ring
    Making spirits bright
    What fun it is to ride and sing
    A sleighing song tonight

    CHORUS


  • Lapride: Sleigh Ride

    Activity Instructions:

    Have children seated on parents lap. Follow directions next to phrases in song. Repeat 3x.

    Lyrics:

    Ha ha ha and ho ho ho  [ bounce on legs ]
    Riding on a sleigh
    Dashing quickly through the snow [lean child l & r ]
    on this winter day 

    Up the hill and down the hill  [follow directions in song ]
    Roll back out of sight
    Bouncing bouncing up and down
    On this bumpy ride [both legs move quickly, then drop through center @ end]


  • Song w/Instrument: Up on the Housetop

    Equipment:

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out castanets to students. Explore clicking them together, clicking with one hand, with the other hand. Then click along with the words in the song.

    Lyrics:

    Up on the housetop reindeer pause
    Out jumps good old Santa Claus
    Down thru the chimney with lots of toys
    All for the little ones, Christmas joys

    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Up on the housetop, click, click, click
    Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick

    First comes the stocking of little Nell
    Oh, dear Santa fill it well
    Give her a dolly that laughs and cries
    One that will open and shut her eyes

    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Upon on the housetop, click, click, click
    Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick

    Next comes the stocking of little Will
    Oh, just see what a glorious fill
    Here is a hammer and lots of tacks
    A whistle and a ball and a whip that cracks

    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Up on the housetop, click, click, click
    Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick

    Historical information:

    Up on the House Top” is a Christmas song written by Benjamin Hanby in 1864 .According to William Studwell in The Christmas Carol Reader, “Up on the House Top” was the second-oldest secular Christmas song, outdone only by “Jingle Bells“, which was written in 1857. It is also considered the first Yuletide song to focus primarily on Santa Claus. According to Readers Digest Merry Christmas Song Book, Hanby probably owes the idea that Santa and his sleigh land on the roof of homes to Clement C. Moore’s 1822 poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (also commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas”).[4] Benjamin Russell Hanby was born in 1833 near Rushville, Ohio, the son of a minister involved with the Underground Railroad. During his short life, he wrote some 80 songs before dying of tuberculosis in 1867.



  • Peek-a-boo w/scarves: Carol of the Peek-a-Boos

    Equipment:

    Activity Instructions:

    Distribute scarves and explore peek-a-boo. Then play peek-a-boo with recording.

    Historical information:

    Carol of the Bells” is a popular Christmas carol composed by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914[1] with lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on a Ukrainian folk chant called “Shchedryk“.[2]  Wilhousky’s lyrics are copyrighted, although the original musical composition is not. The song is recognized by its iconic four-note ostinato motif. It has been arranged many times for different genres, styles of singing and settings and has been covered by artists and groups of many genres.



  • Signing Song: Gift

    Activity Instructions:

    Demonstrate how to make a letter x with both of your hands (pointer extended, thumb resting on middle finger. Then move both hands from near the top of your chest, out and downwards. That’s how you say gift. (Feel free to add the Thank You sign or not during the last line of the song).

    Lyrics:

    I put my hands in an X x3
    I put my hands in an X
    and move them downward from my chest

    Watch me now as I sign gift
    I sign gift, I sign gift
    Watch me now as I sign gift
    Thank you for my gift 


  • Song w/Ball: Ball Song (Joy to the World)

    Equipment:

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out playground balls. Explore rolling the ball, tapping the ball, and bouncing on top of the ball.
    Then start song and follow directions in song.


  • World Music Dance: Mele Kalikimaka – Jimmy Buffet

    Activity Instructions:

    Introduce the song, and give some background, then let children and parents dance to the song. Doing similar movements in similar parts of the song allows parents and children to more easily hear the different musical sections.

    Historical information:

    Mele Kalikimaka” is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by Robert Alex Anderson. The song takes its title from the Hawaiian phrase Mele Kalikimaka, meaning “Merry Christmas”.[1] The phrase is borrowed directly from English but since Hawaiian has a different phonological system—Hawaiian does not have the /r/ or /s/ of English and its phonotactic constraints do not permit consonants at the end of syllables or consonant clusters—”Merry Christmas” becomes Mele Kalikimaka. [From Wikipedia]



  • Baby Rock Exploration

    Activity Instructions:

    Dump a variety bucket of instruments out for children to play with. Allow them to explore and try different instruments. Please make sure there is nothing sharp or swallowable. Teacher’s choice on music, make sure that the song lyrics are clean and the topic is child-appropriate. You may want to find out some of your participants favorite popular songs and include them here!


  • Song Time
    Sing through favorite songs of children. You may choose to introduce the english only to the solfege song from other levels.

  • Puppet: New Year’s Wish (Star)

    Activity Instructions:

    Sing song with star puppet several times. Then give kisses. :)

    Lyrics:

    Star light, star bright,
    First star I see tonight;
    I wish I may, I wish I might,
    Have the wish I wish tonight.

    I wish for peace and love to reign
    For joyful hearts, and dreams to chase
    For kindness and compassion too
    Happy New Year, all of you!


  • Lullaby: Silent Night Lullaby

    Activity Instructions:

    Parents may stand and sway or sit and rock with children.

    Lyrics:

    Silent Night
    Sleepy Time
    Close your eyes
    Rest tonight

    Time to relax, and time to dream
    Time rest, and time to sleep
    I’ll be here when you wake
    I will be here when you wake


  • Goodbye Song

    CASIO-SA-77:
    Pattern 12, Tempo 8


    Activity Instructions:

    Start rhythm on keyboard. Then sing song, putting each child’s name in the song. Adjust the ending based on the number of children you have – feel free to repeat or not, and add goodbyes to mommies, daddies, instruments, etc, if needed to finish the musical phrasing, depending upon the size of your class.

    Lyrics:

    Goodbye, Cya later, adios my friends
    Our time in Rockin’ Rhythms class has come to an end
    au revoir, auf wiedersehen, bon voyage, chiao
    Until we meet again my friends, I’ll say goodbye for now

    |: Goodbye [Name goes here]
        Goodbye [Name here]
        Goodbye [Name goes here]
        Goodbye [Name here]
        Goodbye [Name goes here]
        Goodbye [Name here]
        We’ll rock again next time :|

    Tot Rock

  • Coming in Classical: Tchaikovsky – March, from The Nutcracker

    Activity Instructions:

    Play music as children are coming in. Give children an instrument we are not using, such as shakers or maracas, to play during the song.

    Historical information:

    The Nutcracker is a 2-act Russian Ballet. Although the original production was not a success, the complete Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s, and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in North America. Major American ballet companies generate around 40 percent of their annual ticket revenues from performances of The Nutcracker.



  • Tot Rock Hello

    CASIO-SA-77:
    Pattern 01, Tempo 5


    Activity Instructions:

    Call children to circle. Start rhythm on Keyboard, and use each child’s name in the song.

    Lyrics:

    I’m gonna rock rock rock with with my Tots
    Rock, rock rock with my Tots
    Rock, rock rock with my Tots
    in Rockin’ Rhythms music class

    Let’s all rock with [Name Here]
    Let’s all rock with [Name Here or “together”]
    Let’s all rock with [Name Here or “and have fun”]
    in Rockin’ Rhythms music class


  • Song w/Instrument: Jingle Bells

    Equipment:

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out cage bells to students. Explore shaking and tapping on ground, shake with one hand, pass to the other hand. Then sing song through, keep beat with bells on verses and choruses, try matching rhythms to what is sung on the word” jin-gle bells” in the choruses.

    Lyrics:

    CHORUS
    Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
    Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh
    Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
    Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh

    VERSE
    Dashing through the snow
    On a one horse open sleigh
    O’er the fields we go
    Laughing all the way

    Bells on bobtail ring
    Making spirits bright
    What fun it is to ride and sing
    A sleighing song tonight

    CHORUS


  • Lapride: Sleigh Ride

    Activity Instructions:

    Have children seated on parents lap. Follow directions next to phrases in song. Repeat 3x.

    Lyrics:

    Ha ha ha and ho ho ho  [ bounce on legs ]
    Riding on a sleigh
    Dashing quickly through the snow [lean child l & r ]
    on this winter day 

    Up the hill and down the hill  [follow directions in song ]
    Roll back out of sight
    Bouncing bouncing up and down
    On this bumpy ride [both legs move quickly, then drop through center @ end]


  • Color or Shape Song w/Instrument: Decorate the Christmas Tree

    Activity Instructions:

    Draw a Christmas tree on a piece of green posterboard. Bring some colored bows to be ornaments.
    Have the children put the ornaments onto the tree when you sing about the color they are.

    Lyrics:

    Decorate the Christmas Tree, Christmas Tree, Christmas Tree
    Decorate the Christmas Tree, bring me a [SHAPE OR COLOR ORNAMENT]


  • Song w/Instrument: Up on the Housetop

    Equipment:

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out castanets to students. Explore clicking them together, clicking with one hand, with the other hand. Then click along with the words in the song.

    Lyrics:

    Up on the housetop reindeer pause
    Out jumps good old Santa Claus
    Down thru the chimney with lots of toys
    All for the little ones, Christmas joys

    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Up on the housetop, click, click, click
    Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick

    First comes the stocking of little Nell
    Oh, dear Santa fill it well
    Give her a dolly that laughs and cries
    One that will open and shut her eyes

    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Upon on the housetop, click, click, click
    Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick

    Next comes the stocking of little Will
    Oh, just see what a glorious fill
    Here is a hammer and lots of tacks
    A whistle and a ball and a whip that cracks

    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Up on the housetop, click, click, click
    Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick

    Historical information:

    Up on the House Top” is a Christmas song written by Benjamin Hanby in 1864 .According to William Studwell in The Christmas Carol Reader, “Up on the House Top” was the second-oldest secular Christmas song, outdone only by “Jingle Bells“, which was written in 1857. It is also considered the first Yuletide song to focus primarily on Santa Claus. According to Readers Digest Merry Christmas Song Book, Hanby probably owes the idea that Santa and his sleigh land on the roof of homes to Clement C. Moore’s 1822 poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (also commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas”).[4] Benjamin Russell Hanby was born in 1833 near Rushville, Ohio, the son of a minister involved with the Underground Railroad. During his short life, he wrote some 80 songs before dying of tuberculosis in 1867.



  • Body Awareness: I’m Running (What Child is This)

    Activity Instructions:

    Play song, dance and follow motions/movement in lyrics.

    Lyrics:

    I’m running, running, running, running,
    Running, running, then I stop. 
    I’m running, running, running, running,
    Running, running, then I stop.

    Jumping, Jumping, Jumping, Jumping,
    Turn around, then touch the ground,
    Jumping, Jumping, Jumping, Jumping,
    Turn around, then touch the ground.


  • Solfege Song: Deck the Halls

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out microphones to children. Ask for some of their favorite songs, and sing them together. Then sing through solfege syllables, allowing class to echo. Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, Fa, Mi, Re, Do. Then introduce song for the week.

    Lyrics:

    Sol Fa Mi Re
    Do Re Mi Do
    Re Mi Fa Re Mi
    Re Do Ti Do

    Deck the halls with
    boughs of holly
    Fa la la la la
    La la la la


  • Song w/Ball: Ball Song (Joy to the World)

    Equipment:

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out playground balls. Explore rolling the ball, tapping the ball, and bouncing on top of the ball.
    Then start song and follow directions in song.


  • World Music Dance: Mele Kalikimaka – Jimmy Buffet

    Activity Instructions:

    Introduce the song, and give some background, then let children and parents dance to the song. Doing similar movements in similar parts of the song allows parents and children to more easily hear the different musical sections.

    Historical information:

    Mele Kalikimaka” is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by Robert Alex Anderson. The song takes its title from the Hawaiian phrase Mele Kalikimaka, meaning “Merry Christmas”.[1] The phrase is borrowed directly from English but since Hawaiian has a different phonological system—Hawaiian does not have the /r/ or /s/ of English and its phonotactic constraints do not permit consonants at the end of syllables or consonant clusters—”Merry Christmas” becomes Mele Kalikimaka. [From Wikipedia]



  • Musical Exploration

    Activity Instructions:

    Dump a variety bucket of instruments out for children to play and try different instruments. Teacher’s choice on background music, make sure that the song lyrics are clean and the topic is child-appropriate. You may want to find out some of your participants favorite popular songs and include them here!


  • Musical Game: Freeze Dance – Rockin Around the Christmas Tree

    Activity Instructions:


  • Puppet: New Year’s Wish (Star)

    Activity Instructions:

    Sing song with star puppet several times. Then give kisses. :)

    Lyrics:

    Star light, star bright,
    First star I see tonight;
    I wish I may, I wish I might,
    Have the wish I wish tonight.

    I wish for peace and love to reign
    For joyful hearts, and dreams to chase
    For kindness and compassion too
    Happy New Year, all of you!


  • Goodbye Song

    CASIO-SA-77:
    Pattern 12, Tempo 8


    Activity Instructions:

    Start rhythm on keyboard. Then sing song, putting each child’s name in the song. Adjust the ending based on the number of children you have – feel free to repeat or not, and add goodbyes to mommies, daddies, instruments, etc, if needed to finish the musical phrasing, depending upon the size of your class.

    Lyrics:

    Goodbye, Cya later, adios my friends
    Our time in Rockin’ Rhythms class has come to an end
    au revoir, auf wiedersehen, bon voyage, chiao
    Until we meet again my friends, I’ll say goodbye for now

    |: Goodbye [Name goes here]
        Goodbye [Name here]
        Goodbye [Name goes here]
        Goodbye [Name here]
        Goodbye [Name goes here]
        Goodbye [Name here]
        We’ll rock again next time :|

    Kid Rock

  • Coming In Classical: Tchaikovsky – March, from The Nutcracker

    Activity Instructions:

    Play music as children are coming in. Give children an instrument we are not using, such as shakers or maracas, to play during the song.

    Historical information:

    The Nutcracker is a 2-act Russian Ballet. Although the original production was not a success, the complete Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s, and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in North America. Major American ballet companies generate around 40 percent of their annual ticket revenues from performances of The Nutcracker.



  • Kid Rock Hello Song

    CASIO-SA-77:
    Pattern 01, Tempo 5


    Activity Instructions:

    Call children to circle. Start rhythm on Keyboard, and use each child’s name in the song.

    Lyrics:

    I’m gonna rock rock rock with with my big kids
    Rock, rock rock with my big kids
    Rock, rock rock with my big kids
    in Rockin’ Rhythms music class

    Let’s all rock with [Name Here]
    Let’s all rock with [Name Here or “together”]
    Let’s all rock with [Name Here or “and have fun”]
    in Rockin’ Rhythms music class


  • Song w/Instrument: Up on the Housetop

    Equipment:

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out castanets to students. Explore clicking them together, clicking with one hand, with the other hand. Then click along with the words in the song.

    Lyrics:

    Up on the housetop reindeer pause
    Out jumps good old Santa Claus
    Down thru the chimney with lots of toys
    All for the little ones, Christmas joys

    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Up on the housetop, click, click, click
    Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick

    First comes the stocking of little Nell
    Oh, dear Santa fill it well
    Give her a dolly that laughs and cries
    One that will open and shut her eyes

    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Upon on the housetop, click, click, click
    Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick

    Next comes the stocking of little Will
    Oh, just see what a glorious fill
    Here is a hammer and lots of tacks
    A whistle and a ball and a whip that cracks

    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Up on the housetop, click, click, click
    Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick

    Historical information:

    Up on the House Top” is a Christmas song written by Benjamin Hanby in 1864 .According to William Studwell in The Christmas Carol Reader, “Up on the House Top” was the second-oldest secular Christmas song, outdone only by “Jingle Bells“, which was written in 1857. It is also considered the first Yuletide song to focus primarily on Santa Claus. According to Readers Digest Merry Christmas Song Book, Hanby probably owes the idea that Santa and his sleigh land on the roof of homes to Clement C. Moore’s 1822 poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (also commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas”).[4] Benjamin Russell Hanby was born in 1833 near Rushville, Ohio, the son of a minister involved with the Underground Railroad. During his short life, he wrote some 80 songs before dying of tuberculosis in 1867.



  • Body Awareness: I’m Running (What Child is This)

    Activity Instructions:

    Play song, dance and follow motions/movement in lyrics.

    Lyrics:

    I’m running, running, running, running,
    Running, running, then I stop. 
    I’m running, running, running, running,
    Running, running, then I stop.

    Jumping, Jumping, Jumping, Jumping,
    Turn around, then touch the ground,
    Jumping, Jumping, Jumping, Jumping,
    Turn around, then touch the ground.


  • Alphabet Song w/Instrument: Letter T – Turtles on the Train

    Activity Instructions:

    Show the children a picture of the letter T and talk about the sound it makes. Then prompt the children to guess the things that start with the letter T in the song. Sing several times while tapping the beat.

    Lyrics:

    Two turtles on the train went round the tree, round the tree, round the tree,
    Two turtles on the train tickled the toes on my feet,
    Then the tiger in the truck threw tomatoes at me


  • Solfege Song: Deck the Halls

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out microphones to children. Ask for some of their favorite songs, and sing them together. Then sing through solfege syllables, allowing class to echo. Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, Fa, Mi, Re, Do. Then introduce song for the week.

    Lyrics:

    Sol Fa Mi Re
    Do Re Mi Do
    Re Mi Fa Re Mi
    Re Do Ti Do

    Deck the halls with
    boughs of holly
    Fa la la la la
    La la la la


  • Song w/Pitched Instrument: Jingle Bells (w/Handbells)

    Activity Instructions:

    Lyrics:

    EEE EEE EGCDE 
    FFFF FEEE EDDE  D G
    EEE EEE EGCDE
    FFFF FEEE GGFD C


  • Composing Activity: Snowman Composing Activity

    Activity Instructions:

    Before the lesson, make there is a gaffe tape a line on the wall with six measures, and that you have printed the printables for this activity. Students will decide how to order the snowmen so that there are three snowballs in each 3/4 measure. Then tap the beat together, shuffle, and repeat. We are working on composing rhythm.

    Snowman with 3 balls = 3 beats
    Snowman with 2 balls = 2 beats
    Snowman with 1 ball = 1 beat.


  • Song w/Ball: Ball Song (Joy to the World)

    Equipment:

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out playground balls. Explore rolling the ball, tapping the ball, and bouncing on top of the ball.
    Then start song and follow directions in song.


  • World Music Dance: Mele Kalikimaka – Jimmy Buffet

    Activity Instructions:

    Introduce the song, and give some background, then let children and parents dance to the song. Doing similar movements in similar parts of the song allows parents and children to more easily hear the different musical sections.

    Historical information:

    Mele Kalikimaka” is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by Robert Alex Anderson. The song takes its title from the Hawaiian phrase Mele Kalikimaka, meaning “Merry Christmas”.[1] The phrase is borrowed directly from English but since Hawaiian has a different phonological system—Hawaiian does not have the /r/ or /s/ of English and its phonotactic constraints do not permit consonants at the end of syllables or consonant clusters—”Merry Christmas” becomes Mele Kalikimaka. [From Wikipedia]



  • Musical Exploration

    Activity Instructions:

    Dump a variety bucket of instruments out for children to play and try different instruments. Teacher’s choice on background music, make sure that the song lyrics are clean and the topic is child-appropriate. You may want to find out some of your participants favorite popular songs and include them here!


  • Musical Game: Freeze Dance – Rockin Around the Christmas Tree

    Activity Instructions:


  • Puppet: New Year’s Wish (Star)

    Activity Instructions:

    Sing song with star puppet several times. Then give kisses. :)

    Lyrics:

    Star light, star bright,
    First star I see tonight;
    I wish I may, I wish I might,
    Have the wish I wish tonight.

    I wish for peace and love to reign
    For joyful hearts, and dreams to chase
    For kindness and compassion too
    Happy New Year, all of you!


  • Goodbye Song

    CASIO-SA-77:
    Pattern 12, Tempo 8


    Activity Instructions:

    Start rhythm on keyboard. Then sing song, putting each child’s name in the song. Adjust the ending based on the number of children you have – feel free to repeat or not, and add goodbyes to mommies, daddies, instruments, etc, if needed to finish the musical phrasing, depending upon the size of your class.

    Lyrics:

    Goodbye, Cya later, adios my friends
    Our time in Rockin’ Rhythms class has come to an end
    au revoir, auf wiedersehen, bon voyage, chiao
    Until we meet again my friends, I’ll say goodbye for now

    |: Goodbye [Name goes here]
        Goodbye [Name here]
        Goodbye [Name goes here]
        Goodbye [Name here]
        Goodbye [Name goes here]
        Goodbye [Name here]
        We’ll rock again next time :|

Family Rock

  • Coming In Classical: Tchaikovsky – March, from The Nutcracker

    Activity Instructions:

    Play music as children are coming in. Give children an instrument we are not using, such as shakers or maracas, to play during the song.

    Historical information:

    The Nutcracker is a 2-act Russian Ballet. Although the original production was not a success, the complete Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s, and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in North America. Major American ballet companies generate around 40 percent of their annual ticket revenues from performances of The Nutcracker.



  • Family Rock Hello Song

    CASIO-SA-77:
    Pattern 01, Tempo 5


    Activity Instructions:

    Call children to circle. Start rhythm on Keyboard, and use each child’s name in the song.

    Lyrics:

    I’m gonna rock rock rock with with my families
    Rock, rock rock with my families
    Rock, rock rock with my families
    in Rockin’ Rhythms music class

    Let’s all rock with [Name Here]
    Let’s all rock with [Name Here or “together”]
    Let’s all rock with [Name Here or “and have fun”]
    in Rockin’ Rhythms music class


  • Song w/Instrument: Up on the Housetop

    Equipment:

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out castanets to students. Explore clicking them together, clicking with one hand, with the other hand. Then click along with the words in the song.

    Lyrics:

    Up on the housetop reindeer pause
    Out jumps good old Santa Claus
    Down thru the chimney with lots of toys
    All for the little ones, Christmas joys

    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Up on the housetop, click, click, click
    Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick

    First comes the stocking of little Nell
    Oh, dear Santa fill it well
    Give her a dolly that laughs and cries
    One that will open and shut her eyes

    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Upon on the housetop, click, click, click
    Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick

    Next comes the stocking of little Will
    Oh, just see what a glorious fill
    Here is a hammer and lots of tacks
    A whistle and a ball and a whip that cracks

    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?
    Up on the housetop, click, click, click
    Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick

    Historical information:

    Up on the House Top” is a Christmas song written by Benjamin Hanby in 1864 .According to William Studwell in The Christmas Carol Reader, “Up on the House Top” was the second-oldest secular Christmas song, outdone only by “Jingle Bells“, which was written in 1857. It is also considered the first Yuletide song to focus primarily on Santa Claus. According to Readers Digest Merry Christmas Song Book, Hanby probably owes the idea that Santa and his sleigh land on the roof of homes to Clement C. Moore’s 1822 poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (also commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas”).[4] Benjamin Russell Hanby was born in 1833 near Rushville, Ohio, the son of a minister involved with the Underground Railroad. During his short life, he wrote some 80 songs before dying of tuberculosis in 1867.



  • Peek-a-boo: Carol of the Peek-a-Boos

    Equipment:

    Activity Instructions:

    Distribute scarves and explore peek-a-boo. Then play peek-a-boo with recording.

    Historical information:

    Carol of the Bells” is a popular Christmas carol composed by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914[1] with lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on a Ukrainian folk chant called “Shchedryk“.[2]  Wilhousky’s lyrics are copyrighted, although the original musical composition is not. The song is recognized by its iconic four-note ostinato motif. It has been arranged many times for different genres, styles of singing and settings and has been covered by artists and groups of many genres.



  • Color or Shape Song: Decorate the Christmas Tree

    Activity Instructions:

    Draw a Christmas tree on a piece of green posterboard. Bring some colored bows to be ornaments.
    Have the children put the ornaments onto the tree when you sing about the color they are.

    Lyrics:

    Decorate the Christmas Tree, Christmas Tree, Christmas Tree
    Decorate the Christmas Tree, bring me a [SHAPE OR COLOR ORNAMENT]


  • Body Awareness: I’m Running (What Child is This)

    Activity Instructions:

    Play song, dance and follow motions/movement in lyrics.

    Lyrics:

    I’m running, running, running, running,
    Running, running, then I stop. 
    I’m running, running, running, running,
    Running, running, then I stop.

    Jumping, Jumping, Jumping, Jumping,
    Turn around, then touch the ground,
    Jumping, Jumping, Jumping, Jumping,
    Turn around, then touch the ground.


  • Song w/Pitched Instrument: Jingle Bells (w/Handbells)

    Activity Instructions:

    Lyrics:

    EEE EEE EGCDE 
    FFFF FEEE EDDE  D G
    EEE EEE EGCDE
    FFFF FEEE GGFD C


  • Solfege Song: Deck the Halls

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out microphones to children. Ask for some of their favorite songs, and sing them together. Then sing through solfege syllables, allowing class to echo. Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, Fa, Mi, Re, Do. Then introduce song for the week.

    Lyrics:

    Sol Fa Mi Re
    Do Re Mi Do
    Re Mi Fa Re Mi
    Re Do Ti Do

    Deck the halls with
    boughs of holly
    Fa la la la la
    La la la la


  • Song w/Ball: Ball Song (Joy to the World)

    Equipment:

    Activity Instructions:

    Pass out playground balls. Explore rolling the ball, tapping the ball, and bouncing on top of the ball.
    Then start song and follow directions in song.


  • World Music Dance: Mele Kalikimaka – Jimmy Buffet

    Activity Instructions:

    Introduce the song, and give some background, then let children and parents dance to the song. Doing similar movements in similar parts of the song allows parents and children to more easily hear the different musical sections.

    Historical information:

    Mele Kalikimaka” is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by Robert Alex Anderson. The song takes its title from the Hawaiian phrase Mele Kalikimaka, meaning “Merry Christmas”.[1] The phrase is borrowed directly from English but since Hawaiian has a different phonological system—Hawaiian does not have the /r/ or /s/ of English and its phonotactic constraints do not permit consonants at the end of syllables or consonant clusters—”Merry Christmas” becomes Mele Kalikimaka. [From Wikipedia]



  • Musical Exploration

    Activity Instructions:

    Dump a variety bucket of instruments out for children to play and try different instruments. Teacher’s choice on background music, make sure that the song lyrics are clean and the topic is child-appropriate. You may want to find out some of your participants favorite popular songs and include them here!


  • Musical Composition Activity: Snowman Composing Activity

    Activity Instructions:

    Before the lesson, make there is a gaffe tape a line on the wall with six measures, and that you have printed the printables for this activity. Students will decide how to order the snowmen so that there are three snowballs in each 3/4 measure. Then tap the beat together, shuffle, and repeat. We are working on composing rhythm.

    Snowman with 3 balls = 3 beats
    Snowman with 2 balls = 2 beats
    Snowman with 1 ball = 1 beat.


  • Musical Game: Freeze Dance – Rockin Around the Christmas Tree

    Activity Instructions:


  • Puppet: New Year’s Wish (Star)

    Activity Instructions:

    Sing song with star puppet several times. Then give kisses. :)

    Lyrics:

    Star light, star bright,
    First star I see tonight;
    I wish I may, I wish I might,
    Have the wish I wish tonight.

    I wish for peace and love to reign
    For joyful hearts, and dreams to chase
    For kindness and compassion too
    Happy New Year, all of you!


  • Goodbye Song

    CASIO-SA-77:
    Pattern 12, Tempo 8


    Activity Instructions:

    Start rhythm on keyboard. Then sing song, putting each child’s name in the song. Adjust the ending based on the number of children you have – feel free to repeat or not, and add goodbyes to mommies, daddies, instruments, etc, if needed to finish the musical phrasing, depending upon the size of your class.

    Lyrics:

    Goodbye, Cya later, adios my friends
    Our time in Rockin’ Rhythms class has come to an end
    au revoir, auf wiedersehen, bon voyage, chiao
    Until we meet again my friends, I’ll say goodbye for now

    |: Goodbye [Name goes here]
        Goodbye [Name here]
        Goodbye [Name goes here]
        Goodbye [Name here]
        Goodbye [Name goes here]
        Goodbye [Name here]
        We’ll rock again next time :|