Tuning in to Children - Youth Music Network€¦ · Don’t just make grumpy faces – happy, sad, silly, scary, tired – stretching your face will help you get ready to sing. Use

Tuning in to Children

A resource to

develop music

making in early

years settings.

Welcome to our Tuning in to Children resource cards.

These have been produced as a result of a one year

project led by St. Paul’s Nursery School in York, thanks

to funding from Youth Music.

We have selected songs that we feel have had the

greatest impact on us, the children attending our

nursery school and the parents that have been

involved in the project. These songs are shared with

you in the following cards, accompanied by ‘top tips’

and beautiful photos of the children in action. You will

find the score on the back of the cards; don’t worry if

you don’t read music, you can always make up your

own version!

The songs work best when used frequently and we

have fastened them together with a key ring so you

can keep them somewhere handy. The more you

use the songs, the more confident you and the

children will become.

Further information about the project and those

involved can be found by following the links on the

last card. We hope you enjoy using the songs as

much as we do!

Vicky Marshall ~ Head teacher ~ June 2013

How to use this resource

This material was created by St Paul’s Nursery School and Rebecca Gross with the support of funds awarded by Youth Music, reg istered charity no: 1075032

Music and lyrics: Rebecca Gross, Photography :Eloise Ross Design: Charlie Barnes. Full Resource and reference available at www.musicstpauls.wordpress.com

Hello Song

Hello everyone, hello everyone,

Glad that you are here.

Hello everyone, hello everyone,


Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye,


Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye


Top Tips:

Singing hello is a great way to open a music session.

This song is lovely because it includes everyone in the session straight away. Replace everyone’ with the names of the children you are singing with - make sure you include everybody!

Using the same hello song every time you are getting ready to make music means that you will all feel relaxed and ready to sing. It helps you all get in the right mood, and lets everybody know what is coming next.

Hello Song



Aye, aye, aye, aye,

aye,

Glad that you are

here.

Make a Circle

Make a circle big and round,

Big and round,

Big and round,

Make a circle big and round,

Make a circle.

Top Tips: Use this song to help get the job done. Change the words to suit the task you are about to do! Getting from one activity to another can be a tricky time – but with the consistent use of little songs during transition times fuss-free routines can be quickly established. Lead by example – your singing voice is one of the loveliest things that the children you spend time with will ever hear. Use it lots and always be positive about singing together.

Make a Circle



Up and down and, Up and down and, Up and down and, Up and down and, Side to side and side to side. Round and Round, And round and round. Up and down and, up and down and, Up and down and, Up and down and, Side to side and side to side.

Up and Down

Top Tips: This is a perfect song for teaching children to feel the pulse using movement and different media. You can use a sheet of stretchy fabric, a scrunchy or even a sari to make this a more sensory experience. Using paint and mark making to explore this song’s steady beat works really well too. In the above picture you can see the children enjoying our big blue piece of Lycra, which also makes a wonderful ocean or boat and works great with the Wiggle Wiggle song.

Up and Down


Music and lyrics: Rebecca Gross, Photography :Eloise Ross Design: Charlie Barnes .Full Resource and reference available at www.musicstpauls.wordpress.com

I’ve got a Grumpy Face

Top tips: This song lets us explore how we feel. It also helps us to recognise how other people might be feeling. Don’t just make grumpy faces – happy, sad, silly, scary, tired – stretching your face will help you get ready to sing. Use pictures of different facial expressions and the copy them. This is a great activity to use with children who find recognising different emotions difficult.

I’ve got a grumpy face,

A grumpy face,

A grumpy face,

I’ve got a grumpy face,

It looks like this!

I’ve got a Grumpy Face



The flowers are growing tall,

The flowers are growing tall.

What colour are the flowers?

What colour are the flowers?

Top Tips: This simple song helps us to remember our colours and to choose which ones we really like. Try using real flowers to help you choose which you like the best. Curl up small and then grow like a beautiful flower, or maybe draw or make your own flowers. Try listening to music when painting to provoke new ideas and change the way you feel.

Flowers Growing

Flowers Growing



The Sun is Shining in the Sky

The sun is shining in the sky, The sun is shining in the sky, The sun is shining in the sky, Shining down on me. The stars are shining down on me, The stars are shining down on me, The stars are shining down on me, Shining down on me. The rain is raining down on me, The rain is raining down on me, The rain is raining down on me, Raining down on me.

Top Tips: This song is very simple and the words can be changed to suit the weather outside. Using songs that help us to understand the world around us gives our music sessions a context, and allows us to put music right at the heart of our day. Explore song writing using simple tunes like this. Making up songs about the world can help us to explore our surroundings. It can also give us a real insight into how our children see the world around them!

The Sun is Shining in the Sky

This material was created by St Paul’s Nursery School and Rebecca Gross with the support of funds awarded by Youth Music, registered charity no: 1075032

Music and lyrics: Rebecca Gross, Photography :Eloise Ross Design: Charlie Barnes Full Resource and reference available at www.musicstpauls.wordpress.com

Shake the Apple Tree

Shake, shake the apple tree,

Windy, windy weather.

Shake, shake the apple tree,


One for you and one for me,

One for you and one for me,

Shake shake the apple tree,

Windy windy weather.

Blow, blow the leaves away,




Blowing here and blowing there,

Blowing here and blowing there,


Top tips: Singing is a whole body activity and is lots of fun when you combine it with movement. Try waving your arms like the branches of an apple tree, and taking deep breaths so that you can blow like the wind. Think about the trees and the apples that grow on them, maybe you could go and look at a real apple tree!

Shake the Apple Tree



Little Bird

Top tips:

This traditional Caribbean song is

great for dancing along to and

playing percussion instruments.

What other creatures could you

choose to fly through the

window?

Try to move to the pulse and

really feel that steady beat.

Little bird, little bird, fly through my window, Little bird, little bird, fly through my window, Little bird, little bird, fly through my window, buy molasses candy. Fly through my window my sugar lump, Fly through my window my sugar lump, Fly through my window my sugar lump and buy molasses candy!

Little Bird



Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle stop. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle stop. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle stop. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle stop. Wiggle up high, wiggle down low, round and round and round you go. Wiggle up high, wiggle down low, round and round and round you go!

Everybody loves this song because

it is so catchy and energetic.

Use a giant scrunchy or a piece of

Lycra to hold on to and try wiggling

quietly, loudly, quickly and slowly.

We always use this song just before

the end of the music session, so

that the children know that it is

nearly time to finish and say

goodbye.

Wiggle, Wiggle

Wiggle, Wiggle



Goodbye Song

Top tips:

Always use a goodbye song at the end of the

session. Put any instruments away and get back

into your circle before you sing so that

everyone is feeling calm and relaxed.

Music sessions can be really energetic and

exciting, but it’s good to know that you are

always in control, and you can do this by

carefully choosing the songs you use.

Goodbye, goodbye, it’s time to go.



We’ll see you all next time,

We’ll see you all next time.

Goodbye Song



I was really excited when I heard about the Youth Music funding and could see the potential for using it to do

great things with children, parents and staff! When I started at St. Paul’s Nursery School in York, staff offered lots

of opportunities for singing and music making, but these were often done with CDs as backing tracks and

without planned musical progression. Many of the staff felt that they couldn’t sing and were unsure how to

provide high quality musical experiences for the children.

Working with Rebecca over the past year has dramatically influenced our practice and there has been a

huge increase in the musical confidence of staff. We now frequently use songs to support our routines, often

changing the words as we go along in order to suit any given situation ~ it is not unusual to hear staff

cheerfully burst into song as they go about their daily routine!

The children have also really embraced having high quality music sessions on a regular basis and staff feel

that the impact on their overall development has been vast. In particular staff have been thrilled with the

positive effect that these sessions have had on children with additional needs, for example helping individuals

to gain confidence, join in with group activities, as well as develop their language and communication skills.

Frequent use of the core songs shared with you in this resource has created an inclusive musical language

that flows throughout the nursery school, bringing everyone together in harmony.

Vicky Marshall ~ Headteacher

On the Last Note

St Paul’s Nursery School has worked in collaboration with

Rebecca Gross throughout the Tuning in to Children

project, thanks to funding from Youth Music.

We are grateful to the many partners that have made the

project and this publication such an outstanding success.

Many of these partners have already been thanked in

person but we would like to give special thanks to the

following:

The children for their enthusiastic participation and sweet

singing voices. You have made all the hard work worth it!

The staff for embracing the project and being willing to try

something new.

The parents for their fantastic support and positive feedback.

Rebecca Gross for gathering the music and lyrics and

contributing the top tips!

W: rebeccagrossmusic.wordpress.com

Charlie Barnes for the artistic design of this resource,

W: www.reviewthecube.com/charlie-barnes

Eloise Ross for the photography and design support,

W: eloiserossphotography.co.uk

Youth Music for giving us the chance to embark on such a

wonderful creative journey!

W: youthmusic.org.uk/what-we-do/our-projects/tuning-in-to

-children.html

Many Thanks



www.skillspace.com/stpaulsnursery

Tuning in to Children - Youth Music Network€¦ · Don’t just make grumpy faces – happy, sad, silly, scary, tired – stretching your face will help you get ready to sing. Use

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