Several years ago, I taught music and Latin at Hilltop Montessori School in Brattleboro, Vermont hilltopmontessori.org. While there, I rediscovered the roots of my own elementary education in the Montessori tradition, through the journey of childhood. It was there that my experience with Singing Games proved very useful as my students and I enjoyed music through exploration and invention of our own games.
In elementary music, leading group activities can be a challenging task. Focusing all the children's energy on the same activity at the same time can be tricky, but also rewarding. Working as one class creates a sense of community and cooperation that is practically valuable as well as an important life lesson. One kind of group activity that has been a favorite in my classes is Singing Games. These activities have several attractive features for teachers and students alike. From a teacher's perspective, singing games include a variety of features that engage students aurally, kinesthetically, and imaginatively. Singing games are simply enjoyable for kids.
Most obviously, when students are engaged in Singing Games, they are singing. Especially with the lower elementary grades, singing games are a wonderful way of encouraging the kids to sing as they also focus on other aspects of the game. Usually the melodies are short, sometimes include vocal exploration, and are quickly learned by rote during repetitions of the game. Some particularly melodic singing games are "Old King Glory," "Sally Go 'Round the Sun," and "The Crayon Game." Frequently, singing games also include movement that adds to students' experience of the game. The movements often illustrates the lyrics or introduces a challenge beyond the melody itself. With some students, this kinesthetic involvement is an important way for them to get involved and participate in the game. Some examples of singing games that highlight movement are "My Aunt Came Back," "Round de Bop," and "Alabama Gal."
Imagination is another feature of some singing games that are in effect mini-dramas. Creative play in these singing games allows the students to act out characters as they re-tell the story as a mini-play. Examples of dramatic singing games are "Thorn Rosa" and "Mouse, Mousie."
One well-known book of singing games is Choksy and Brummitt's 120 Singing Games and Dances for Elementary Schools (1987). Other great published resources for SG and dances especially suited for the elementary classroom are The New England Dancing Masters' Chimes of Dunkirk (1991) and Jump Jim Joe (1991). Visit their web site at Dancing Masters.com. Other resources for Monetssori-related games and songs are Cycle of the Seasons and Music Makers: At Home in the World published by Music Matters. Visit Music Matters at: Music Matters. Previously, those authors wrote for Kindermusik International which continues to publish its own curricula for the young child. Visit Kindermusik International at Kindermusik.
While the above resources are protected by copyright, I've learned a few games that (as far as I know) are not published. Here are two:
THE LOST KEY
(do, re, mi are used as solfege syllables)
The teacher asks for two volunteers. Child A hides his/her eyes while child B hides a key (which could be a cardboard cut-out or some other prop which child A will be able to find). The teacher then has child be sing:
I
do |
have
do |
lost
mi |
the
mi |
Clo-
do |
set
do | 
key
mi |
to
mi |
my
mi |
la-
re |
dy's
re |
gar -
mi |
den
do |
(repeat if desired)
Then child A opens his/her eyes and looks for the key. As he/she searches, the rest of the class sings:
Help
do |
me
do |
find
mi |
the
mi |
Clo-
do |
set
do |
key
mi |
to
mi |
my
mi |
la-
re |
dy's
mi |
gar -
re |
den
do |
(repeat until key is found)
As child A gets farther away form the key, the class sings softer and as he/she gets closer the class sings louder. The dynamics give a clue to child A as he/she searches.
When child A finds the key, he/she sings alone:
I
do |
have
do |
found
mi |
the
mi |
Clo-
do |
set
do |
key
mi |
to
mi |
my
mi |
la-
re |
dy's
mi |
gar -
re |
den
do |
You may find the lyrics above to be a bit stilted if you teach older children. The "lady's garden" refers to a princess or a queen and her royal court. Instead, I have seen this game use the lyrics, "I have lost the only key to my new Ferrari."
THE PENNY GAME
The teacher has child A go to the front of the room or the center of a circle while the rest of the class puts their hands in front of them. The teacher then gives one child a penny which he/she passes to his/her neighbor while hiding it from child A. The object is to pass the penny while concealing it from child A.
As they pass the penny, the class sings:
(the so and la are below the do in the first section of this melody)
(4/4 time with a quarter note pick up in each line)
There's
so |
a
la |
pen -
do |
ny
do |
in
so |
my
la |
hand
do |
And
so |
it
la |
tra -
do |
vels
do |
through
mi |
the
re |
land
do |
O-
so |
ver
la |
here,
do |
O -
so |
ver
la |
there,
do |
it
so |
may
la |
tra-
do |
vel
do |
an-
mi |
y -
ri |
where.
do |
(repeat the whole song once or twice)
The teacher sings to child A:
(the so and la are above the mi in this section of the melody)
Dan Johnson is a graduate teaching assistant and doctoral student at the University of Arizona. He has had over ten years of experience teaching music in public, private, and community-based schools. He has taught music education courses, applied lessons, and education seminars as an Adjunct professor at Keene State College and Franklin Pierce College. He has also taught Kindermusik® and other pre-school music programs. His stage experience includes productions with the Vermont Theater Company and directing numerous student musicals. A multi-instrumentalist, he teaches and performs on over two dozen instruments. As a composer, he has written several vocal and instrumental pieces, some of which can be heard on the CD recording A Season of Songs (2001) featuring the students of New Boston Central School where he was the music specialist for several years.