Here's a fun seasonal game that I learned from Dave Noyes while taking Kodály levels at Portland State University. This is one that I hang onto until 3rd grade as it works well for tika-tika practice.
Formation: scattered
Action: All children except one are scattered, curled up into little balls on the floor, representing the pumpkins in a pumpkin patch. One child wanders through the pumpkin patch, singing as they go. By the beginning of the second line, the child selects and stands by a pumpkin. On the words "just like that", the child taps lightly three times on the back of their chosen pumpkin, which causes the pumpkin to turn into a "jack-o-lantern" by standing up and making a face. That child then joins the search and the game begins again. Therefore, each time the song us sung, the number of children who are up and "picking pumpkins" doubles. This continues until there are no pumpkins left in the patch.
An alternate way to play is that when the child picks a pumpkin, the new child becomes the picker and the old child joins the pumpkin patch as a pumpkin.
You can also add solo singing by having the pumpkin picker sing "here is one, nice and fat" by him or herself.
Love it, stealing it! I need more scattering opportunities!
ReplyDeleteSteal away!!! :)
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ReplyDeleteI'm stealing it, too. Thank you for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteLaura
I love your Halloween posts! I just moved from teaching HS band to elementary classroom music and I am finding your posts INCREDIBLY helpful as I develop a curriculum. Question about this activity- do you have problems with the "nice and fat" being what kids are singing as they point to other students? I have some rather immature 3rd graders and I don't want anyone to feel as if they're being made fun of. Or am I creating problems that don't exist? Thanks for your help!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're finding my posts helpful! You know, I've never even thought of that and I've never had a problem with it. I think because the kids are "objectifying" (is that a word) themselves it's not a problem- they want to be picked so I don't think they think about the fact that they're being pointed to when it's sung "nice and fat." However, you know your kids best and if you think they're going to take it the wrong way play around with changing the words (you might have to alter the rhyming word too). Thanks again for your comment!
DeleteHow Do The Kids "Curl Up Into A Little Ball?
ReplyDeleteWhat Position Do They Have To Make
I Have one question
ReplyDeleteHow do the kids "Curl up into a ball"
What position do the kids need to get into?