Mar 1, 2012

Raffi


Raffi Cavoukian is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has been enyoyed by children audiences for over three decades. Since one of his earliest album, Singable Songs for the Very Young (1976), he has delighted young listeners with his albums and music.

Many of Raffi's published songs have become staples for early childhood caregivers throughout North America and beyond. His folk style music with mainly his voice and a guitar is conducive to teachable moments with children. The adult can put his music on, and if uncomfortable with public singing, then simply use additional aids like felt stories to encourage learning for the young children listening. If the adult likes to sing, then with our without Raffi being played, she/he can use his songs in any early childhood settings at circle time, for creative movement and so forth.

Raffi Songs for Counting

Many songs by Raffi correlate well to counting activities, particularly the songs with Five in the title. All songs with five in them can be transfered to glove puppets and other fingerplay activities. Try making these songs into felt board pieces to place on the flannel board as the song is being listened to. Similarly, making or buying glove puppets work well with Raffi counting songs.

In this way, the young children can hear the words and visually see the items being removed or added. Some suggestions that help with number recognition which are both from his album, Singable Songs for the Very Young are "Five Green and Speckled Frogs" and "Five Little Pumpkins".

Raffi Songs for Creative Movement

Many songs sung by Raffi can turn into action songs for young children simply by acting out the lyrics and adding some movements to go along with the music.


  1. "There's a Spider on the Floor" (Singable Songs for the Very Young, 1976): this song talks about a spider that goes up the body right to the head and then jumps back to the floor. For this song, find a toy spider for children to use when following the lyrics. This action works well with a group of children sitting in a circle.
  2. " Brush Your Teeth" (Singable Songs for the Very Young, 1976): when the lyrics are being sung, pretend to brush your teeth and act out any part of the song you can, such as knocking with the words, " ...and you think you hear a knock on the door".
  3. "Shake My Sillies Out" (More Singable Songs, 1977): this is a wonderful song for children to have creative movement with, doing everything Raffi suggests in his song.
  4. "Down By the Bay" (Singable Songs for the Very Young, 1976): the rhythm of this song provides many options for action, even by simply doing a follow me activity with children, such as clapping your hands, then hitting your head and patting your stomach.
Raffi Songs for Teaching Lessons

Many songs written by Raffi hold wonderful lessons for children and provide teachable moments as the words are being listened to. The following list provides just a handle of such songs.

  1. " The More We Get Together" (Singable Songs for the Very Young, 1976)---friendship
  2. " The Sharing Song" (Singable Songs for the Very Young, 1976)---friendship and sharing
  3. "Everything Grows" (Everything Grows, 1987)---life, growth
  4. "Big Beautiful Planet" (Rise and Shine, 1982)--environment
  5. " Willoughby Wallaby Woo "(Singable Songs for the Very Young, 1976)--rhyming
Raffi is more than an accomplished musician, he is an active environmentalist. For more information on Raffi, visit RaffiNews.com.

This article, written by Christine Moore, was originally published by suite101.com

Jan 10, 2012

How Does That Children's Song Go?



It use to be that when we couldn't remember the tune or lyrics of a children's song, we were left asking our friends and family members for help. Nowadays we google it!  Not only are the channels/websites great for childcare providers, young children can enjoy it as well. Here are some of the sites I have found. Feel free to add to the list!

kidsTV123

Bus Songs

Kididdles

The Teacher's Guide

CullensAbcs

Children Love To Sing

The Advantages of Singing for the Early Childhood Educator



Children enjoy singing songs with their teachers. Music is an important part of a child's development. But, singing is also an effective tool for educators in an early childhood setting, such as a preschool or daycare, to guide children, create structure and teach!

Using Singing for Guidance

When a teacher changes her tone in speaking it will often grab a child's attention. If she lowers her voice and speaks clearly in short sentences with an authoritative voice, it helps the child understand the importance of her message. On a similar and lighter note, singing can grab the attention of a child or an entire group of children and will help guide towards more appropriate behaviour.


A teacher does not necessarily have to know a song with specific lyrics to use in a guidance situation, but rather she can just sing her words. Often using one or two common tunes will be helpful at the beginning and then it will become more natural of a process and any song can be used. So, for instance if a group of children are running around in a circle inside, a teacher could start singing to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star: Walking walking when inside, put those running feet away. Another example for using singing for guidance is when walking in a group, such as for a fire drill or a field trip, is this song sung to the tune of She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain:

Oh, our quiet train is leaving here we go, sshh, sshh

Oh, our quiet train is leaving, here we go, sshh, sshh

Oh our quiet train is leaving, our quiet train is leaving,

Our quiet train is leaving, here we go, sshh sshh.

Using Singing to Create Structure

In early childhood settings, singing is commonly used to help children learn the routine of their day. Songs are used for cleaning up, transitions, gathering for circle and much more. To illustrate, here are some favourite clean up songs:

  1. Time to put the toys away, toys away, toys away, time to put the toys away, so we can have our snack (this can be changed to suit a program).
  2. Now we've had our time to play, it's time to put the toys away.
  3. Clean up, clean up everybody, everywhere, Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share.
  4. I see Sally picking up toys, I see Johnny putting them away.
There are many songs that can be used for circle time and transitions as well. Find some songs that can be remembered and use on a daily basis. The children will then learn the songs, and be cued for transitions in the curriculum.

Singing is a Teaching Tool

Singing can be used for teaching, of course. Children love to hear songs, and learn them as well. Some songs are more educational then others and when used in connection to a theme being used in all areas of a curriculum, the song will contribute to the learning process of a child.

Educators can find songs at circle time that will correlate to a preschool lesson plan. Sometimes a song cannot be found in available sources and so making one up can always do the trick. For instance, let's say a preschool teacher is teaching the children about dinosaurs and there are no preschool songs that are quite right. She decides to make up her own song using the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:


We are dinosaurs from long ago, you could find us high and low.

In the grass and on the land, in the sea and on the sand

We are dinosaurs from long ago, you could find us high and low.

As the children continue along the learning lesson of dinosaurs she puts in more lyrics. They do not have to rhyme, but repetition and simplicity work well with young children.

One tactic to use for making up songs is to find a tune and the first two lyrics to start the process each time, then the rest will often fall into place. For instance, "I am a ____ look at me, I'm as happy as a I can be..."

Young children love singing and music, and a classroom that is filled with singing with age appropriate lyrics, helps create a fun and appealing space for preschoolers to learn.