Singing Books

We are so blessed at my school. We have such a great music teacher! Each year, she works with the kids to learn songs that are related to their content area objectives. Whether they're learning about the history of our state and learning the state song, the metamorphosis of a butterfly and singing about it's changes, or how to visit the library- she covers it all. Songs about sounds and word play- can't you hear it? "I like to eat. I like to eat. I like to eat eat apples and bananas.....A late to ate. A late to ate. A late to ate ate aples and banaynays."

I can't let her have all the fun, though. I get in on the singing of books with the Kindergarten kids. It's my most favorite lesson of the year. Why? Because I instill in them that singing is reading. When you know the words of the song- and go back and follow along in the book, then you are reading.

In the last few weeks- we've sung these fun books:
 

Now I must say, I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!  is my absolute favorite. I have not a clue how Karen Beaumont came up with the idea- but the kids love it. I love watching them get caught up in the artwork that David Catrow has added to the book- and their looking for details. It totally makes my day when 1/2 way through the book someones inevitably yells "it rhymes!" And so they go through telling me which body part is painted next based on the rhyme scheme- and then, at the end...when the part that rhymes with nut suddenly is the mom yelling "WHAT?" they laugh, and giggle and yell "Read it again! Read it again!"  BTW: My 5th graders still check this one out!

We discovered There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves when we were doing our lessons on fall. The old lady swallowed all of the parts necessary to make a scarecrow! Now- the kids are all about the There Was... series- they can't wait to see what she swallows next!

On Top of Spaghetti tells the harrowing tale of a restaurant owner who has lost his newest recipe to a sneeze....and we follow the meatball through the town. The chorus of the song is repeated often, and they sing it heartily each time. Again, this one is a "Read it again!" book.

So I shared these with Mrs. Huddle, our Music Teacher~ and she shared which other ones she does with the kids. She does the traditional  There Was An Old Lady when she introduces folk music... and guess what? She ties it into traditional folk telling/story telling. Did I tell you she was amazing, or what?

I know we've all heard that music improves reading. If you're interested in more information, here's a link to an article from the BBC put out in August this year. Be astounded- and sing with your kids!

Remember: singing is reading!



Comments

Popular Posts