The Thanksgiving Story

This is a re-posting of an antiphonal story (call and response) I wrote for my preschool music students.  Antiphonal stories shared with your children or students teach them listening skills, cooperation, focus, and they are fun!

The horses were in the barn and Farmer Joe was busy putting each horse into their own stall for the night.  He was just putting the last horse away in her stall when he heard a sound.  What was it?  The noise sounded like this: (The teacher sings quietly on the word Oooh--use any musical pitches you would care to use. Ask your children/students, "Can you make that sound?")

As Farmer Joe led the last horse to her stall, the horses in the barn became very quiet so they could listen, too.  The sound, which had started to sound like singing, became a little louder and sounded like this: (The teacher sings the Oooh pitches a little louder. Ask your children/students, "Can you sing just a little louder?")

Well, even though Farmer Joe was hungry for his dinner and wanted to go into his house to eat, he could hardly wait to walk outside the barn to see where that singing was coming from!

As Farmer Joe walked from the barn door to the corn field toward his house, he saw a great flock of birds had landed to eat the leftover corn left from the harvest.  They were the ones singing!

 The huge flock of blackbirds was happily eating the leftover corn and they were singing, “We are grateful”.  (The teacher sings the same musical pitches for the words, "We are grateful") (Ask your children/students, "Can you sing those words?")

Farmer Joe could hardly believe what he was seeing and hearing!  Could blackbirds really sing?

Farmer Joe walked closer to the flock of birds eating corn in the field.  They stopped singing and there was a hush. (Can you say "hush"?)

One of the blackbirds looked up at Farmer Joe and said, “Caw, caw!” (Can you say “Caw, caw!”?)
Farmer Joe said, “Hello there, I walked over here because I thought I heard you singing.”
The blackbird fluttered his wings a little bit. (Can you flutter your wings a little bit?  Children/students gently flutter their arms)  Then the blackbird went back to eating the corn.

Since the singing had stopped and Farmer Joe was hungry for his dinner, he walked toward his house.
Suddenly, he heard the music again.  (Use the same musical pitches to sing “We Are Grateful”) (Ask your children/students, "Can you quietly sing "We Are Grateful?")

Could blackbirds really sing?  Farmer Joe will never know.

Happy Halloween 2019!

Here's a great Halloween song using the tune to The Wheels On The Bus.

The witches and their cats say hee, hee, hee!

Hee, hee, hee!

Hee, hee, hee!

The witches and their cats say hee, hee, hee!

We love Halloween!

                                                                                     

The ghosts and the goblins say boo, boo, boo!

Boo, boo, boo!

Boo, boo, boo!

The ghosts and the goblins say boo, boo, boo!

We love Halloween!

We knock on the door and say trick or treat!           

Trick or treat!

Trick or treat!

We knock on the door and say trick or treat!

We love Halloween!

Part III of Summer Story

The Third And Final Part To Summer Story Starts Here!

The Rainbirds began to sing their rain song.  It sounded like this:

(Loosely Based on the melody "Ring Around The Rosie")

Mother Earth, Mother Earth

Help Us Now, Help Us Now

We Call The Rain!

And suddenly, the pitter pat of raindrops came gently and then more forcefully from the sky.  The wind became very strong and the trolls were pushed into a safe area that the Rainbirds had magically created.  The rain stopped and a rainbow appeared.

The Queen Rainbird called to the trolls and asked them why they had come to planet Earth to eat their precious fairies.  One troll explained.  “Your majesty,” said the troll, “We are starving on our planet.  Our Queen and King Trolls did not take good care of our planet and all our food dried up.  We heard that you had fairies on your planet and that they were just the right size for us to eat!”

The Queen Rainbird became very angry after hearing the troll’s explanation and took two deep breaths to calm down. (Teacher to students: "Should we take two deep breaths?"  Take two deep breaths together)

Then the Queen Rainbird spoke.  She said, “I understand now.  If I was hungry, I would go wherever I could to find food.  But, I must tell you, you may not hurt our fairies!” (Teacher to students: Let’s all say, “You may not hurt our fairies!” Repeat with students: "You may not hurt our fairies!")  She went on to say, “The fairies and Rainbirds are magic.  We will bring you as much delicious food as you can possibly want AND you may bring it back to your planet so you may feed everyone that is hungry.”

The trolls clapped their hands (everyone clap hands) and said “hooray!” (everyone says hooray!) and were so happy.

The End

Part II of Summer Story

Part II of our summer story begins here!

Long ago, the Rainbirds had flown over the earth with their large wings. (Teacher to students or children:  "Should we see what it feels like to stretch our wings?") They were protectors of everything.  They were called Rainbirds because when the earth became too dry, they could make it rain and then a huge rainbow would appear.

One day while flying, the Rainbirds heard a big noise striking the planet earth.  They quickly flew toward the noise to see what it was.  The noise sounded like one big boom! ("Can you help me make one big boom?") As the Rainbirds approached the spot, they could see giant men falling from the sky.  The giant men were called trolls and when their giant bodies hit the earth, there was one big boom. ("Ready for one more big boom?")

The Rainbirds could hardly believe their eyes!  Why were these huge men falling from the sky?  They soon found out.  The large men, called trolls, came to their planet because they had heard the fairies were delicious to eat!  Well, I know what you are thinking.  You are thinking, “Oh no!” (Shall we all say that together? “Oh no!”)  As soon as the Rainbirds figured this out, they went into action.

Another Call And Response Story That Children Love!

Summer Story  

For Children Ages 4 - 7

The forest was quiet.  Except for the toads making their croaking sound and the loons in the lake behind the forest.  The sun was setting and the stars in the sky would be out soon.  

One little fairy said to another little fairy, “Is it safe to come out now?”  The second little fairy looked around and said, “Yes!”  Suddenly many little flying fairies, both girls and boys, came out of the tall trees to play in the moonlight.  There were so many different colored fairies that it was like watching a rainbow at night.  They soared and dived and playfully chased each other because at night they were safe from the trolls.  

Of course, the fairies wanted to talk to one another but they wanted to do it quietly so the trolls would leave them alone.  This is the way they talked to one another. (Teacher demonstrates snapping of fingers and whistling.  Ask your children/students: "Can you snap your fingers?  Can you whistle?")

The fairies were magic.  They could fly near you and make you happy.  If you were sick, they could make you well.  If there was any problem at all, the fairies could fix it.  The only thing the fairies could not do was get along with the trolls.  Thank goodness they had the Rainbirds to keep them safe from the trolls.

Making A Summer Listening List

This is a recent article from Minnesota Public Radio.  It's a great idea!

Make a summer listening list Maybe you are making a summer reading list. Why not make a summer listening list? Connect your listening to summer holidays and events, or pair with favorite summertime activities. Create a listening journal. Track each piece by using this free grid worksheet we've prepared for you. Feel free to draw pictures in the "observation" box if that's more your style (or your child's developmental stage). At the end of the summer, you'll have a wonderful memento of your listening experience. Modify or extend this activity by including live music. Free concerts in the park are a great way to enjoy summer listening as a family.    Samples Here are sample summer listening lists, paired with special summer themes and events. Some pieces have a direct link to their respective activity or event; others simply suggest a certain mood or atmosphere. Use this distinction in talking about what you hear. Edit, add to, or eliminate pieces based on the age and interests of your child. Bugs! Flight of the Bumblebee, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov • The Song of the Flea, by Modest Mussorgsky • Les Abeilles, by Francois Couperin • From the Diary of a Fly, Mikrokosmos 6, No. 142 - Ostinato, by Bela Bartok Flag Day & Fourth of July: Variations on America, by Charles Ives • Feux d'Artifice (Fireworks), by Claude Debussy • Stars and Stripes Forever, by John Philip Sousa Lake Life: En Bateau, by Claude Debussy • Gymnopedies, by Erik Satie • Ballade for Piano and Orchestra, by Germaine Tailleferre • "Summertime," from Porgy and Bess, by George Gershwin • Trout Quintet, by Franz Schubert Nature: Deep Summer Music, Libby Larsen • Blue Cathedral, by Jennifer Higdon •The Lark Ascending, by Ralph Vaughn Williams • Im Wunderschönen Monat Mai, by Robert Schumann • "The Fairy Garden," from Ma Mère L’oye, by Maurice Ravel • "Peace of the Woods," from Lyric Pieces, by Edvard Grieg Parades, Carnivals & Fairs: Circus Polka, by Igor Stravinsky • "Mad Tea Party," from Alice in Wonderland, by Unsuk Chin • "Grand March," from Aida, by Giuseppe Verdi • Solace, by Scott Joplin • "Juba Dance," from Symphony No. 1, by Florence Price Road Trips: Grand Canyon Suite, by Ferde Grofe • The American Scene, by William Grant Still • "Introduction: The Open Prairie," from Billy the Kid, by Aaron Copland Summer Solstice: Lightscape, by Daniel Godfrey • "Hunter," from Orion, by Kaija Saariaho • Pavane, by Gabriel Faure Thunderstorms: Piano Sonata No. 17 (The Tempest), by Ludwig van Beethoven •Thunder and Lightning Polka, Johann Strauss II • Presto, from "Summer," fromThe Four Seasons, by Antonio Vivaldi • Rain Spell, by Toru Takemitsu Exclusive giveaway Classical 15 coloring book   We've created a coloring book, featuring illustrations by Nancy Carlson, to promote Classical 15, our initiative to give kids at least 15 minutes of classical music every day. Enter our giveaway for a copy of the coloring book now. ClassicalMPR.org | Donate | Listen Preference Center This email was sent by: Minnesota Public Radio  480 Cedar Street Saint Paul, MN, 55101 Unsubscribe

Live Music Is Best!

Remember to check your Sunday paper arts section for age appropriate concerts for your children. There are many reasonably priced and free concerts listed every week. Concerts are artistically stimulating as well as being a family bonding time.

Another resource for quality and inexpensive concerts would be your local university arts or music website.  Taking your child or family to a campus is energizing and inspiring as you watch college age men and women performing music that they love.