Ring Your Bells, Ring Your Bells

To the tune of jingle bells:

Ring your bells, ring your bells, ring your bells today.
Oh, what fun it is to ring, ring your bells today, ay!
Ring your bells, ring your bells, ring your bells today.
Oh what fun it is to ring, to ring your bells today!

Marching to the Drum

Now we are going to march around the circle together and when it is time to stop, each child will have a chance to hit "stop" on the drum.

We're marching to the drum; we're marching to the drum.
Hi-ho the derry-o we're marching to the drum.
We're marching around the room; we're marching around the room.
Hi-ho the derry-o we're marching around the room.
We're marching to the drum, we're marching to the drum.
Hi-ho the derry-o we're marching to the drum
and the drum says STOP! (go around the circle and give each child a chance to hit the drum)

As each child hits the drum reward them with a positive word

* Can use the variations of running, creeping, tiptoeing,

Musical Instruments: We Ring our Bells Together

We ring our bells together,
We ring our bells together,
We ring our bells together because it's fun to do.

Ring them up high, (alter voice in a high pitch)
Ring them down low,(alter voice in a low pitch)
Ring them in the middle,

We ring our bells together because it's fun to do.

STORYTIME: Music and Rhythm

Books:

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont

I Love to Sing by Anna Walker- A simple charming read where a little unidentifiable creature sings all over the place, even in a bathtub with a cup of tea. A great way to encourage kids to sing everywhere they go. Since we all know singing is a fantastic introduction to vocabulary for young children.

Fiddle-I-Fee by Melissa Sweet

What Did You Put in Your Pocket? by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

Zin!Zin!Zin! a Violin by Lloyd Moss

How Do You Wokka-Wokka by Elizabeth Bluemle

Dancing Feet! by Lindsey Craig - A great short rhyming book where kids can help guess which animal is the one dancing on the page by only seeing their feet. I do often wish though that these kinds of books would use some more difficult to guess animals. It seems that would be a little more challenging for kids and would introduce them to new animals.

Jazzmatazz! by Stephanie Calmenson - So much fun to read aloud. Give the kids musical instruments to play along with the story at the appointed time. There is even time for an all out jam session at the send of the story.