Fall is in full swing! Everywhere I look I see beautiful Fall leaves in the trees, pumpkins on porches, and decorations for Halloween. Here in Ohio, the weather is also starting to become cooler. During this season, I have several early childhood songs I use in my music therapy sessions with this seasonal theme. Keep reading to learn my top five!
"Fall is Here" by Patina Jackson
This active movement song depicts common sensory experiences in Autumn such as the feel of cool breezes, the sound of crunchy leaves, and the sight of scurrying squirrels. Kids are prompted during the song to act out the various sensory experiences by spinning in "windy" circles, stomping on "crunchy" leaves, and scurrying around like a squirrel.
Check it out here.
"Blowing in the Wind" by Stephanie Leavell
This song pairs well with a scarf as a movement prop. I prompt the children to wave the scarf around to make it, "blow in the wind". We crouch down and touch the ground with our scarf everytime I say, "falling down". I model bringing the scarf upwards as I sing the sound effect, "whoosh" and then drop the scarf on the ground when I sing the sound effect, "plop". During the chorus of the song, we ball the scarf up small and hide it in our hands before throwing it up in the air. We also follow cues in the song to "dance" and "swirl" the scarf (or we dance and swirl/twirl our bodies for some increased gross motor movement).
Find it here.
"Five Perfect Pumpkins" by Stephanie Leavell
"Five Perfect Pumpkins" tells the story of five perfect pumpkins in a pumpkin patch. But pretty soon, each of the five pumpkins start to roll away until they go...SPLAT! I prompt the children to clap their hands together whenever I say, "SPLAT!", which promotes attending to task and impulse control. I also pair this song with pumpkin props that I send rolling across the floor as I sing the song. Sometimes, I roll them to a client to catch. I pause amid the phrase, "Now there are..." to allow for the children to fill-in-the-blank with the correct number of pumpkins remaining in the pumpkin patch, until there are none left! This addresses basic subtraction as well.
Click here to listen.
"Swirly Whirly Scarves" by Stephanie Leavell
This scarf song addresses following directions, including the spatial cues of waving the scarf high and low. Kids enjoy twirling the scarves around, tossing them in the air, and watching them float back down to the ground.
Follow the link to listen to the song.
"Falling Leaf" by Stephanie Leavell
This song pairs well with a parachute and some fake Fall leaves as props. I throw fake leaves onto the parachute and then begin singing the song while we shake the parachute to send the leaves falling and spinning. During the section where I sing about the wind calming down, I prompt the children to set the parachute back on the ground and to help "reset" by putting any leaves that have fallen off back on the parachute. Sometimes I change the words to include musical cues of, "The wind calms down so I pick up all the leaves" while I model throwing them back onto the parachute. Singing the phrase, "Until the wind comes back again!" cues the kids to pick the parachute back up and send the leaves flying again. This music experience addresses impulse control, group cohesion, and following directions.
Listen here.
Blooming Bridge Music Therapy, LLC specializes in early childhood and early intervention. We provide group and individual services. If you or your loved one are interested in music therapy or music enrichment services, you can find more information here.
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