Sound Travels #3: Folk song - Hop Old Squirrel

Folk song games have specific forms.

What are a few forms of folk song games?

Water group has been studying the folk song Hop Old Squirrel. First we played the song game where we pretend to be squirrels hopping around and stopping to listen to our surroundings. The children had a lot of fun choosing other movements (walk, run, climb) to go with the song.

Making the song map for Hop Old Squirrel

Next we tried to feel the tempo (beat) of the song. I showed a metronome app on our iPad and we marched, clapped, tapped and nodded to match the beat of Hop Old Squirrel. The children felt the song going faster when the metronome was set at a higher number and slower when the number is lower. In the end, they chose the number on the metronome to be the perfect tempo for Hop Old Squirrel.

Making the music sheet

The children also made the music sheet for Hop Old Squirrel but instead of music notes we used symbols.

Sound Travels #2: Feelings Through Instruments

Exploring sounds

Water group agreed that music can arouse emotions and feelings within us. But could feelings be expressed through music?

Painting our tambourines

No peeking

We read the book The Maestro Plays by Bill Martin Jr. and the children were captivated by the way the Maestro plays each instrument. They tried playing some of the instruments we have at Creative Minds. They played loudly, quietly, fast, slow, long, short, and many other ways just like the maestro in the book. They took turns showing others what happy, sad, or scared might sound like. Then we played a guessing game where one child hid behind a screen and the others had to guess which instrument the child was playing and the feeling that he/she was expressing.

Guess my instrument

The children loved the sound a shaker and tambourine make. So we combined elements from both instruments and made tambourine shakers.