Rope them in!

Today's tip is Jump Rope. "What on earth does jumping rope have to do with musical foundations" you may ask... Remember when we were kids and would jump rope and sing songs? We were keeping a steady beat, learning about sub-divided beats, multi-tasking by singing, jumping and sometimes twirling the rope when we were jumping solo, not to mention getting some wonderful exercise! So get your kids out and jump rope with them-teach them the rhymes (you can find a wonderful list here).

www.gameskidsplay.com/jump_rope_ryhmes

Don't worry about explaining what they are learning to them...all that's important is that they have fun and learn through play!

Hand Jive

My sister and I spent countless hours playing hand clapping games in the car during long road trips. One of our favorites began, "See, see my playmate, come out and play with me...." Another one was, "Count down, when Billy was one, he learned to suck his thumb...". Over and over we would play those games, until one of our parents would finally lose it and tell us to knock it off! Every time we played one of the games, we were practicing keeping a steady beat, clapping on the beat, sub-dividing the beats on multiple syllable words, crossing the mid-line of the body, and matching our partner in movement too.

So many educational foundations wrapped up in a little hand game....gotta love it!

Click here to find a huge list of popular hand games!
Hand Clapping Games

Eenie, Meenie, Minee, Mo...

...catch a tiger by his toe. If he hollers, let him go! Eenie, meenie, minee, mo.

This rhyme came about in the 1800's and has had many different variations. It is a great way for kids to resolve conflict, take turns, etc. It is even better at sneaking in rhythm work! It uses a 4/4 beat, sub-divided beats, patterened rhythms and emphasizes down beats. Sing-say it with your kids at normal speed, then to be silly try it at a slower pace or faster pace.

Have fun!