well, well

Who else noticed that Miss Ellie, despite seeming to be off doing her own thing a lot of the time, remembered the words and tune to the Gambian song she's heard maybe twice (and not for several weeks?)

Also, the girls love to sing the friends song while showering.  Just an observation.  SMG

In the Zone...

I felt like we were all in the Zone today!  I think my favorite activity was "Draw a Bucket" - seeing how the kids organized themselves into pairs; seeing how they made decisions about how the activity would go; seeing them enjoy the movements and the sounds; seeing them make eye contact with each other.  "Valentine" was another fun one - on the floor in the middle of the "party" I got to share special eye contact moments with a bunch of these little valentines.  It's also so interesting to me to see how the children are starting to want to change the games...agency!!  I love hearing stories about what they're doing with the games at home, so feel free to post, email, or call with stories (and videos)!

Feel Free to Post!

I just added you all as authors, so feel free to post videos, pictures, stories about your kids doing MPZ things if you would like to!  Consider adding labels as to the activity ("Punchinella") and the interesting aspect ("Creating new words") - that will help us track things.  Looking forward to seeing the kids in action out in the world!  :)

Those Little Papers...

The little papers with kids' initials on the outside and song titles on the inside seem like a hit!  When we got home Linnea told me we should always do it, and this morning she helped me decide which songs and games to do next week and who would be the leader for each one.  She told Jed, "It was great, instead of running up to the board in between each song, we had these little papers and we knew what to do."  I'm debating about having the children attach their little papers to the board (match them up) so they're not in the way during games...

Making this Blog Useful

I wonder if I should separate out the songs and games we do, one per blog post, and people can write in if their kids do something fun at home with those (like Helen singing "Now we go snoring" last week...)  Thoughts?

Week 1 & 2: Activities and Lyrics

Here are some of the activities/lyrics from Week 1 (1/11) and Week 2 (1/18)

Hello Song

Ha-Ha This-a-Way

Round & Round the Mango Tree - Unobagha, Off to the Sweet Shores of Africa (Chronicle Books)
Round and round the mango tree, who did run but little me.  With ten bananas in my pail, and ten red monkeys at my tail!

Punchinella - folk game (many versions)
http://www.songsforteaching.com/folk/punchinella.php

I Like It, Bein' Me (origin unknown)
Chorus: I like it, bein’ me.  And I like it, bein’ me.  Shake my hand, ‘cause I’m a special person and I like it bein’ me. (once soft, once loud; in circle, swinging arms)

When I think kind, I’m kind.  It’s all in my mind, I find.  I can be the special kind of person that I want to be. (in circle – walk one way)

Chorus

When I think proud, I’m proud.  I don’t have to shout out loud.  I can be the special kind of person that I want to be. (in circle – walk other way)

Chorus

I’m Looking for a Friend

Set-up: Children in seated circle, “It” walks around outside of circle

I’m looking for a friend (x2), I’m looking for a special friend whose name is __________.

Spoken:  Where shall we go?  What shall we do there?

We’re going to ______________ (x3) to ____________________.  (Example:  Going to Target to buy some markers.)

Twinkle Twinkle

Set-up: Children in circle; “finder” with eyes hidden; “hider” hides Star

Class sings “Twinkle Twinkle” louder when finder is getting closer (hotter) and softer when farther away (cooler)

A-Rig-a-Jig-Jig (folk song, many versions)

http://www.kidsongs.com/lyrics/rig-a-jig-jig.html

Go Now in Peace (Sleeth)
Go now in peace, go now in peace.  May the love of God surround you.  Everywhere, everywhere, you may go.  (I substitute "love of friends" in some settings)

Ginte Walli Ma (children's game I learned in The Gambia, West Africa)  This is from the Wolof language.

MPZ 6: Enjoyment & Agency in Children's Music Making

My inspiration for this round of Music Play Zone is enjoyment!  The kids work hard at school, we work hard throughout the day in a variety of settings.  Let's get together for 45 minutes every Wednesday in the mid-winter of Cleveland and ENJOY - enjoy one another's company, enjoy friendships, enjoy community, enjoy musicking together!

Many of the songs and games we'll do this sessions are those I learned from Dr. Dale Topp at Calvin College as an undergrad in a course called "Music and Community."  Taking the course was a transformative experience - it was what made me decide to go into music education!  More about Dale and his approach, "Interactive Music," in coming weeks.

For now, welcome, and may we all - kids and grown-ups - enjoy this session of MPZ together!