This was my twin 3-year-olds’ first year of
preschool, and we were all so excited! The second week of school, there was a
note sent home saying they needed a new music teacher. My initial thought was
that I would love to take that job! Before the twins were born, I taught second
grade, and absolutely loved it. I had missed being in the classroom, and this
sounded like a great opportunity. But on the other hand, I was so excited to
finally have a few hours a week to myself. Did I really want to give up some of
those hours? It would only be one day a week for a couple hours, but my time
without kids is so precious!
Ultimately, I decided that I would enjoy being
back in a classroom for a few hours a week, and it would be a fun way to be
involved in my girls’ preschool experience.
Fast forward a few months, and I am really
enjoying teaching music. It’s so fun to see those little 3 and 4-year-olds
dancing and singing. It’s especially fun when there is a holiday and we get to
sing festive songs to go along with the holiday.
Last week we celebrated Valentine’s Day. I found
some great activities that I tweaked to fit the needs of my cute little
preschoolers.
If you haven’t heard of Jbrary, you need to
check them out. I have used a lot of their songs in my music class. Here is a
little Valentine rhyme to do:
But I added a tune to it; you can hear it here:
***********************
Then we sang Valentine words to the song, Bluebird, Bluebird Through My Window.*****
Valentine, Valentine, through my window,
Valentine, Valentine, through my window,
Valentine, Valentine, through my window,
Will you be my Valentine?
Find a friend and give them a Valentine,
Find a friend and give them a Valentine,
Find a friend and give them a Valentine,
Happy Valentine's Day!
Here's one of my 3-year-old classes:
I cut out a heart for each child and put tape on the back of it. On each child's turn, they pick up a heart and weave in and out of the windows as the class sings. When the song is done, they put the heart on the shirt of a person they end near. Then trade places with that kid, and it is the new kid's turn.
FOR OLDER CHILDREN: Instead of trading places with the kid they give the Valentine to, they take their hand and lead them through the windows as they sing the next verse. Eventually everyone in the class will be in the train of kids going through windows. If you do this way, you probably want to be the leader; it can get a little crazy:
(credit: Deborah K. Oates)
The last activity we did was a matching game to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb:
Who will be my Valentine, Valentine, Valentine,
Who will be my Valentine, be my Valentine
I cut out enough hearts for each child to have one, so that there were two hearts of every color. The students stood in a big circle with their hands behind their back. I put a heart in each child's hand and told them not to look or let anyone else see their heart. Then they sang the song and showed everyone their hearts. When they saw someone with the same color heart as them they went over to that person, gave them a high five and said, "Happy Valentine's Day!"
FOR OLDER CHILDREN: Instead of cutting the hearts out by color, make the hearts all the same color. Then you can write anything you want to on the hearts. You could write sight words, a number problem with an answer on the matching heart, money (pics of the coins on one heart and the total value on the other heart)
We had a blast with these Valentine's Day songs, and I hope your class will too!
