English Language – MagicTimeKids: Recent Episodes
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Motivating young learners of English through music, movement, multiple intelligences, and much more!
What do you do with young learners on a rainy day? Sing! Dance! Make inside recess a lot of fun!
In this post you’ll find three different rain songs, all perfect for young learners. You’ll find movement suggestions, videos, and Spotify playlists for more rainy-day songs. Enjoy!
This first song is called “It Is Raining.” It’s a song that encourages noticing, a first step in learning. It invites students to listen to the various sounds created by patting on different body parts. These sounds are called “body percussion.” They can listen to the similarities and differences in the sounds. Is the sound loud or quiet/soft? Is the sound high or low?
Students learn the names of body parts, like head, arms, legs, chest, cheeks, and tummy. They can pat the rhythm of the words.
It Is Raining
by Kathy Kampa on Jump Jump Everyone
(Goals: body part names, listening for different types of sounds, rhythm of the words)
It is raining. It is raining.
Wiggle your fingers from high to low to look like it’s raining.
On my legs. On my legs.
Pat your legs to the rhythm of the words.
Pitter patter raindrops. Pitter patter raindrops.
Tap that body part (legs) to the rhythm of the words.
I’m all wet! I’m all wet!
Brush your hands along your legs. Pretend to shake off the water.
Step inside my classroom in Japan to see my young learners singing and moving to this song.
Once your students have learned this song, take it a step further.
Think, think, think. Think, think, think. What should we do?
Tap your finger to the side of your forehead. Put your hands out to the side.
Let’s sing about our elbows!
Tap your elbows. How does that sound? Loud? Soft? High? Low? I think that sounds soft or quiet. Sing in the same way.
Let’s sing about our back(s)!
Tap your back. How does that sound? Loud? Soft? High? Low? I think that sounds kind of low. Sing in the same way.
Get a rainstick or shaker if you want to add an interesting sound.
Ethnic percussion musical instruments on yellow background. Caxixi shakers, rainstick, pandeiro, maracas and musical spoons.Our second song is called “Ame, Ame.” After living in Japan for over thirty years, I grew to love this traditional song. There are many different translations for it. Here’s mine.
Japanese Rain Song “Ame, Ame”
Beth’s Notes shares this notation as well as some delightful videos.
Pitter patter falling falling, Rain is falling down,
Tap on your legs. Wiggle fingers to look like rain falling.
Mother brings me my umbrella, Rain is falling down,
Pretend to open an umbrella. Wiggle fingers to look like rain falling.
Pi-chi Pi-chi, cha-pu, cha-pu, ran, ran, ran, （らん、らん、らん）
Tap on your legs.
If you have instruments, it’s fun for students to make their own rainstorm. First the wind and gentle rain, thunder, pouring rain, then returning to the wind and gentle rain.
Students can create this with body percussion sounds, too.
Lastly, a traditional rain song is “Rain Rain Go Away.”
Rain, Rain Go Away
Rain, rain, go away! Come again another day.
Make rain movements. Show “Go away.” Show “Come again.”
All the children want to play.
Clap your hands.
Rain, rain, go away!
Make rain movements. Show “Go away.”
There are many videos for this song. This one by Cocomelon shows how we can be creative while we wait for the rain to stop.
And if three songs aren’t enough for your rainy-day plans, check out these Spotify Playlists with lots of music for kids.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0IrV1T03DY40bRXFKSUcN2?si=fc08e94eb6c244e4Are you streaming music? Go to Spotify or Apple Music to find Kathy’s music. You’ll find “It Is Raining” on “Jump Jump Everyone.”
Jump Jump Everyone, my second album, is filled with many happy songs that have grown in my young learner classroom. The songs encourage children to move. Many songs link to classroom content. Children can dance like falling leaves, bloom like a spring flower, move through the butterfly life cycle . . . . you’ll find LOTS of fun and magic in this album.
Kathy Kampa loves to bring joy to the world through her children’s music. She is passionate about making learning engaging for young learners. You’ll find more resources on Kathy’s YouTube page.
If you want a fun song to practice the sound /l/, this is for you! Looby Loo is a simple dance song. It encourages listening to the movement directions and dancing together as a group. It invites young learners to add their own ideas, too.
Check out the lyrics to this traditional song from Mother Goose.
Here we go looby loo,
Here we go looby light,
Here we go looby loo,
All on a Saturday night!
For my young students in Japan, distinguishing /r/ and /l/ can be challenging. This is a playful way to practice the /l/ sound. In addition, students hear the rhyming words, light and night.
We sing this song in a circle. Use Let’s Make a Circle to get ready.
The verses invite students to put one part of their body into the middle of the circle. For young learners, we choose body parts, like hands, feet, arms, legs, tummy, head, fingers, thumbs, etc.
Verses:
You put your hands in.
You take (put) your hands out
You give your hand/hands a shake, shake, shake (shake, shake, shake, shake . . . .)
And turn yourself about!
To build learner agency, invite students to share their ideas.
All say: Think, think, think. Think, think, think. What should we do? Think, think, think. Think, think, think. What should we do?
Teacher: Should we put in our legs? Our thumbs? Our elbows?
Student: Legs. Let’s put our legs in the circle.
Here’s a video of my young learner class in Tokyo. These children range in age from three to six. They studied English once a week with me. Listen to how well they sing along! You can see how I’m prompting the next body part to sing about by naming and showing them two or three choices. You’ll also notice that we have a lot of fun shaking longer than the standard version of this song.
For older children, practice right and left with each body part. You may want to use less repetitions of the song.
For older students, it looks like this:
You put your right hand in.
You take (put) your right hand out
You give your hand a shake, shake, shake (shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake . . . .)
And turn yourself about!
If you want to learn more about this song, check out the history of it here. The professional version of this song isn’t available yet.
About me:Kathy Kampa is a passionate educator of young learners. She seeks to nurture children’s imaginations and spark creativity through fun and engaging activities. Kathy believes music and movement should be a part of every young child’s learning.
Kathy is the co-author of Magic Time, Everybody Up, Oxford Discover, Beehive, and Buzz (all published by Oxford University Press). She has taught young learners in Tokyo, Japan for over 30 years. Kathy is also active as a teacher trainer, inspiring teachers around the world. She has currently returned to her home state of Minnesota in the US.
If you’re interested in more of Kathy’s work, check out her YouTube channel at Kathy Kampa.
Are you streaming music? Go to Spotify or Apple Music to find Kathy’s music.
You can find more engaging songs on Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and on Jump Jump Everyone
Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays has songs for the special events in children’s lives, including a loose tooth, birthdays, and many holidays.
Jump Jump Everyone is filled with many happy songs that have grown in my young learner classroom. The songs encourage children to move. Many songs link to classroom content. Children can dance like falling leaves, bloom like a spring flower, move through the butterfly life cycle . . . . you’ll find LOTS of fun and magic in this album.
For more action songs, check out this curated playlist.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with your young learners!What will you teach through songs and poems about Valentine’s Day?
Letters and Shapes: I love creating letter shapes and heart shapes. Students can use their fingers, arms, whole body, or even make a shape with a friend.
For my Japanese students, the sound /v/ can be challenging. This is a perfect way to practice it.
Movement: Students can do movements in place as well as from one place to another. As young learners grow, we can help them to learn these movement skills, like marching, tiptoeing, galloping, jumping, skipping, etc.
Working with a partner: Valentine poems and songs often invite children to face a partner and hold hands. They can talk about how they want to move together.
This poem prepares children to make a heart shape.
- Fingerplay:
I put my hands together. (put the heels of your hands together)
This is how I start. (hold)
I curve my fingers just like this (curve your fingers to touch each other)
and now I have a heart. (this should make a heart shape)
This little song is a favorite of my students and the teachers I work with. You might recognize the melody as “Cho Cho” or “Lightly Row.” It focuses on the sound /v/ for Valentine. When the children hear the word “valentine,” they make a heart shape with their fingers, arms, or whole body.
Be My Valentine song by Kathy Kampa
from Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays CD
I like you. You like me.. Will you be my Valentine?
I like you. You like me. Be my Valentine.
[v] [v] Valentine!
[v] [v] Valentine!
I like you. You like me.
Be my Valentine.
Here’s a video link to give you some ideas of how to move to the song. Special thanks to my nieces Brooke and Shannon for helping out. They were quite little when we made this video. Enjoy!
This next Valentine’s Day song is called “I’m Your Friend,” from my album Jump Jump Everyone. This song invites students to move in various ways, such as skipping, jumping, walking, and even skating! Developing gross motor skills is important for young learners.
Many songs for young learners use rhyming schemes to build language skills. You’ll hear mine, nine, and Valentine as rhyming words.
You can sing this with small or large classes. Here are the lyrics to the song.
Chorus:
I’m your friend. You are mine.
Will you be my Valentine?
I’m your friend. You are mine.
Will you be my Valentine?
Let’s walk.
- Walk, walk, walk with me. Walking, walking, 1-2-3,
4-5-6, 7-8-9, Will you be my Valentine?
*repeat with skip, jump, slide, skate, dance
With a small group, it’s easy to have all of the students join hands in a circle.
.Here’s a video clip of one of my Magic Time classes in Tokyo singing “I’m Your Friend.”
Try these variations!
-Dance with a partner. Face a partner for the chorus. On the verses, hold hands and dance together around the circle.
-Stop and clap during the counting section: 4-5-6 clap to one side; 7-8-9 clap to the other side
-Make small heart shapes with hands and big heart shapes with arms.
Need an art activity?
I love to add art activities to my Valentine’s Day lessons. Here are some fun ideas I’ve collected on Pinterest.
To find these songs, check out my CDs Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays and Jump Jump Everyone.
Kathy Kampa is a teacher, author, and teacher-trainer who specializes in working with young learners. As a former PYP (Primary Years Program) teacher in Tokyo, Japan, she uses a globally-minded and inquiry-based approach to teaching through which students develop 21st-century skills. She also supports the development of English language skills by creating songs, chants, and TPR/movement activities targeted to young learners’ needs.
Celebrate Thanksgiving with this lively song for children! This song is called “The Turkey Dance.” So use your imaginations and dance like . . . . turkeys!! Get a little silly and have a lot of fun! Here are the lyrics, which go to the tune of “Turkey in the Straw.” The Turkey Dance … Continue reading Celebrate Thanksgiving Day with “The Turkey Dance!” →
Young learners love playing with autumn leaves. Celebrate autumn with this beautiful song using scarves to build language, music, and movement skills.
"Pumpkin, Pumpkin" is a perfect song to celebrate Halloween with your young learners. They experience the change from a pumpkin to a jack-o-lantern and from being small to being BIG! Join Kathy Kampa for this delightful song.
March like monsters! Skip like skeletons! Waltz like witches, and jump like jack-o-lanterns! Build phonemic awareness and movement skills while inviting giggles and Halloween fun!
Kathy Kampa's Skeleton Dance has become a favorite tradition in many teachers' classrooms. Get up and move!
How can you successfully teach songs to young learners in your English class? What creates that special magic? Read on to find out . .
Flowers are starting to bloom. What a perfect time to try out this magical poem about flowers with your students. You'll find a video and teaching notes here. Just grab a scarf and try it out!
"Hello Spring" by Kathy Kampa captures the magic of this season with simple lyrics and powerful images.
Celebrate TWO's Day-February 22,2022 with this fun song. Everything you need to teach it is right here. Enjoy!
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay Are your students getting ready for Halloween? Mine are! This song was inspired by the book “Where’s the Halloween Treat?” by Harriet Ziefert and Richard Brown (Putnam Juvenile). As you read the book to students, you can see children dressed in different costumes going trick-or-treating. I also love the lift-the-flap … Continue reading Time for Trick or Treat! →
Photo by Jan Koetsier on Pexels.com Young children LOVE to learn about farm animals. Try out this delightful song, The Cow Says ‘Moo’ from Jump Jump Everyone by Kathy Kampa (available from ETJbookservice, CD Baby, and iTunes).
Show pictures of the various farm animals. Children might suggest additional animals from the farm, too.
cow Photo by Public Domain Pictures on Pexels.com sheep Photo by David Dibert on Pexels.com horse Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com dog Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com pig Photo by samer daboul on Pexels.com rooster Name the animals. What does each animal say? You can make a game matching the animal picture with its sound or with its name.
You can hang the picture cards on the board in the order of the words. Children can stand and sing the song. There are two parts to the song.
The first part is the animal name and sound. Did you notice the pattern in the song?
The cow says “Moo”
The cow says “Moo”
“Moo! Moo! Moo! Moo!”
The cow says “Moo”
The second part includes TPR actions. Practice these with the children. Did you notice the rhyming words? That’s important for our students!
When the cow says “Moo” you’ve got to clap, clap, clap,
When the cow says “Moo” you’ve got to pat, pat, pat,
When the cow says “Moo” you’ve got to touch the floor,
Are you ready for more? Count 1-2-3-4!
Children listen for the next animal sound. In this song you’ll find a sheep (baa), horse (neigh), dog (woof), pig (oink), and rooster (cock-a-doodle doo). The verse with the rooster is slightly different.
Once children know the song, they can be given a picture card of the animals. I like to sing this song in a circle (see Let’s Make a Circle Big and Round). In my small classes (six children or less), each child gets one animal card or puppet. I put my picture cards on strings so that the children can move around the circle. They can, however, sit or stand in place with the card on the floor. With a large class, you can take turns, or give every child a card. When each animal is called in the song, the child/children with that card goes to the middle of the circle.
The music for this song is available on the CD “Kathy Kampa’s Jump Jump Everyone!”
You can find it on iTunes, CD Baby Store, and ETJbookservice.
Have a wonderful time singing and moving with your students!
Kathy Kampa
Students love to make letter shapes with their bodies. Learning the names of the days of the week in English can be tricky. For many of us, we teach our English class on the same day each week. This song “What Day Is It?” is a fun way to practice the days of the week.
First of all, write a letter on the board or show a picture card. Model making that letter with your fingers, arms, or whole body. Make the letter so that students are able to read it. You might imagine how that letter would look when you write it on your whiteboard. Students will be able to “read” your letter. Invite students to make letters with you. They might even make letters with the entire class! Try making letters in many different ways.
We started at the beginning of the alphabet. Students made A, a, and B, b (see B below). In Magic Time (Oxford University Press) students have fun making letter shapes to learn the letter name and its sound.
Now write the names of the days of the week. Run your finger under the word as you say it (Sunday). Point out the first letter. Encourage students to make that letter with their bodies in several ways. Remind students that days of the week begin with capital letters. As you can see, sometimes the letters appear flipped around to us. The important idea is that students are making the letter shapes.
I love to catch my students making their amazing letters by taking photos. Remember CCBA (Catch Children Being Amazing!)
Pass out the “days of the week” cards, one to each student. Students line up in order around the circle starting with Sunday. Students make the initial letter shape as they sing each day of the week. When they sing “Tra la la la la” add a group movement, such as pat your knees, clap your own hands, clap your “neighbor’s” hands.
What Day Is It?
from Magic Time Two, Unit 8, Use the Words
What day is it?
Today is Sunday.
Today is Sunday.
Today is Sunday.
Tra la la la la.
*repeat with the remaining days of the week
Here are some of my students demonstrating this song. Come and join them!
Image from Graphic Stock
Are you preparing for Halloween? I know that many of my teacher friends are. I love Halloween because it invites students to nurture their creativity through imaginative activities. Students move in more expressive ways and play with facial expressions. Let’s explore moving like various Halloween characters.
First of all, I like to gather students in front of me to teach the vocabulary. I sing the transitional song “Come and Sit In Front of Me.” (by K. Kampa) The professional version of this transitional song is here for you.
Come and sit in front of me, in front of me, in front of me.
Come and sit in front of me, in front of me,
https://magictimekids.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/come-and-sit.wav
You can print the I’m a Witch picture cards and teach students the following song.
I’m A Witch
Words by Kathleen Kampa and Charles Vilina,
melody: Skip to my Lou
Spoken: Let’s be witches and fly on our broomsticks.
Hee! Hee! Hee! I’m a witch
Hee! Hee! Hee! I’m a witch!
Hee! Hee! Hee! I’m a witch!
Happy Halloween!
2. Spoken: Let’s be ghosts and float gently through the air.
Boo! Boo! I’m a ghost! (3X) Happy Halloween!
3. Spoken: Let’s be bats and fly through the night sky.
Eeek! Eeek! I’m a bat! (3X) Happy Halloween!
4. Spoken: Let’s be owls and turn our heads from side to side.
Whoo! Whooo! I’m an owl! (3X) Happy Halloween!
5. Spoken: Let’s be black cats. Put on your whiskers and sneak around.
Meow! Meow! I’m a black cat! (3X) Happy Halloween!
I’m a Witch (picture cards)
Now it’s time to be creative and move. Decide on the space that your students can move in. I usually start with movement in a circle, and then allow students more freedom to move in an open space. You can use the spoken cues to help guide your students’ movements. Students start by posing like the characters, such as the witch, then move around in a circle. I often tap a drum to the rhythm of the movement. To make it more magical, add the words “Abracadabra! You’re a witch!” When you can see that students have moved enough, say “Stop!” Continue with the other characters. I like to recognize students who are really being imaginative and creative with their movement.
Finally, either sing the song acapella or play the song on the CD Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays. My students love the special effects.
If you’re interested in the music, you can download the song from iTunes or get the CD with lyric sheets from CD Baby and Englishbooks.jp. Find more Halloween ideas here on the blog and on my Pinterest page.
Happy Halloween! Kathy and Chuck
Girls’ Day is celebrated on March 3rd in Japan. It’s called “Hina Matsuri”. Beautiful dolls called “Hinaningyo” are displayed on red stairs.
Here is a photo of the beautiful dolls from our kindergarten at Seisen International School. Starting at the top, you can see the emperor and empress dressed in traditional clothing of the Heian period. On the lower steps, you can see the attendants and musicians. Miniature furniture is also displayed.
These dolls are displayed at my school for Hina Matsuri/ Girls’ Day. At this time of year, we can find displays of these beautiful dolls in many public places. This set was on display at a local onsen.
Since we’ve been living in Japan for over 25 years, I wanted to write a song in English to help my students talk about the celebration. It’s written to the tune “Kaeru no Uta.” The melody goes up and down, just like the stairs for the dolls. My students really love it!
I’d like to gift you with this free professional recording of “We Love Hina Matsuri” for Girls’ Day on March 3rd! Scroll to the end of the post below.
Here are some notes to dance along with it.
We Love Hina Matsuri
Words by Kathleen Kampa, Music: Kaeru no Uta
We love Hina Matsuri
Students cross hands over heart. Lean side to side (R/L/R/L)
Pretty dolls for us to see
Girls: Bend knees side to side four times. Boys: Pretend to look at the dolls
Girls’ Day! Girls’ Day!
Girls: Curtsy to right, then to left. Boys: Bow two times.
Hina Matsuri is Girls’ Day.
Stand tall clap clap clap
Students sing this song all together twice.
Then, divide students into two groups.
The first group starts singing We love Hina Matsuri, and continues to sing to the end of the song.
When the first group gets to the second line, Pretty dolls . . . the second group begins singing We love Hina Matsuri.
Continue in the same way.This is called a canon.
We end by singing the song all together again.
Now you can even divide into four groups! Each group begins at a new line.
Art Projects:
After you’ve finished singing, try some origami.
Our students enjoy making origami dolls. We usually make two dolls representing the emperor and the empress.
For more ideas, check out this site. www.origami-club.com/hina/ When you click the left oval (おりかた), you can see how to make it the origami. When you click the right oval (あにめ), you can easily understand how to fold. Thanks to Yoko Matsui for sharing this site filled with lots of great ideas.
For something simpler, try these coloring activities.
.
https://magictimekids.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/we-love-hina-matsuri.mp3
These songs “grow” in my classroom. We Love Hinamatsuri is one of 15 great songs for kids on Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays.
There arealso23 great songs for kids on Kathy Kampa’s Jump Jump Everyone. This album is filled with movement songs, classroom management/transitional songs, and CLIL/content songs. They’ve grown in my young learner classroom.
These two CDs each include a handy attached booklet with lyrics, and are available for teachers in Japan at ETJ Book Service.
For teachers residing outside of Japan, the songs are available for download through iTunes.
Children’s songs for special events for pre-school, kindergarten, and elementary students Lots of great movement songs, transitional songs, and CLIL/content songs!
Japanese Sheep Happy New Year! All around the globe the new year is celebrated in different ways. Here in Japan people celebrate o-shogatsu, the new year, with many special traditions. One of the important traditions seen all over the country is the celebration of the new animal for the year. This year it is the year of the sheep. Perhaps you’re familiar with the Chinese calendar of twelve different animals.
At our first class this week, we’ll begin by wishing everyone a Happy New Year 2015, the year of the sheep. I wrote a simple song to teach the year and how to spell the word “sheep.” We had fun creating a recording for you at home with our son Christian.
It’s The Year
lyrics by Kathleen Kampa Vilina, melody (For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow/ BINGO)
sung by Christian Vilina
Intro:
Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir.
Three bags full.
It’s the year of the sheep.
It’s the year of the sheep.
It’s the year of the sheep.
It’s 2015!
s-h-e-e-p, s-h-e-e-p, s-h-e-e-p,
It’s the year of the sheep.
https://magictimekids.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/its-the-year-of-the-sheep-2015.mp3
- Show students the picture of a sheep.
Image courtesy of TCJ2020 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net When they sing the word “sheep” they can make a pose like a sheep or point to the picture. If you have lively students, they might enjoy skipping or galloping during this part of the song instead.
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On the words, “It’s 2015,” students stop moving and make the numbers 2015 with their fingers. Very young students can stop and wave their arms in the air as if saying “Hooray!”
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Write the letters for the word “sheep” on the board. Clap the rhythm below to accompany the letters. (slow, slow, quick quick, slow)
To make it more challenging, students can pat, stamp, or snap the rhythm. My students like to clap the first time they spell “sheep,” then they pat their legs, and finally they stamp their feet. If you have instruments in your classroom, you can play this part.
- The song ends with “It’s the year of the sheep!” Students make the sheep pose, or point to the picture.
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You can also celebrate the New Year with our song, “Happy New Year!” I wrote it with our son Christian, and it is always a hit with our students. You can find it on Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays. The lyrics are easy for students to follow.
Students like to pat their legs, then clap their hands to the beat.
On the last Happy New Year, they turn around and wave their hands.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Hip hip hooray!