Please Recycle

I firmly believe we should honor the earth we live on everyday, by recycling the things we use everyday, and not just on April 22 each year. I’m certainly not against this date slated for national recognition; it’s just too bad it’s not a holiday we can take off from work! Ha! With this mentality, I would be on a constant holiday, never work again, because I would be recycling everyday!

I understand that not all cities and towns have recycling programs, however, our students should be taught the value of recycling. This year, my students will engage in an extended recycling theme because of an activity kit I stumbled upon at Dollar Tree. (Pictured below). If you don’t have access to this store, don’t fret, because the basic idea can be easily replicated with your own ingenuity and resources. 

Music Therapy Experience Name:

Please Recycle

Materials / Assembly needed:

(2) Recycle Activity (Sticker) Kits by Teaching Tree (available at Dollar Tree):

First kit is to be used as a guide by adhering stickers to the appropriate labeled front and then laminated.

Second kit: Cut the bottom ½ lines of each labeled front drop hole to allow stickers to drop through. Cut flaps to open the top of each cardboard box and size to height of labeled front if necessary. Glue each front to 4 small standing cardboard boxes (organic fruit rope box pictured).

Glue sticker pages to cardstock. Laminate. Cut each sticker out.

Memorize song lyrics.

Non-kit Material Ideas:

Use magazine or Board Maker pictures; or downloaded images; glue to cardstock, laminate, and cut out.  Make a double set of pictures if you wish to make guide sheets.      
(4) small Kleenex boxes with cut open tops, covered with plain contact paper and labeled: Aluminum, Compost, Paper / Cardboard, and Plastic.

Song Lyrics:  (to the tune of “Frere Jacques” / “Are You Sleeping?”)

Please recycle, please recycle

What do you have?  What do you have?

Is it food you’ve eaten?

Is it made of paper?

Plastic or tin?  Plastic or tin?

Procedure:

On a table or desk top, line up the 4 recycle boxes and box guides, if using, as pictured.

Spread the individual stickers (pictures) face down.

Have one student at a time pick up a sticker and look at it while you sing the lyrics.

Have the student determine which box the sticker should be dropped into by using the guide (matching).  Verbally or physically assist as necessary, to get the sticker into the correct box. Depending on your group size, each student will get several stickers to drop into the correct container. 

Extension:

When all the stickers have been dropped into the appropriate box, you and/or the students could conduct a short recap naming the contents of each box.

Teach and sing the following lyrics to the same tune:

We recycled. We recycled.

It was fun. It was fun.

The earth is better for it.

The earth is better for it.

Happy are we. Happy are we.

Pass out paper plates, plastic cups (or plastic castanets), and triangles to accompany the additional verse to end the activity. Ask your students which container they would place their "instrument" in. (Notice that I'm not asking you to pass out 1/2 eaten food!)

Liz and Sue

Rainbow Round Me

Spring is starting to bloom here in Michigan, and all the colors start to appear after a long grey winter.  And so today's blog post was inspired...  This is a song that can be used with younger students who are working on color identification, following directions, and/or vocalizing. 

Music Therapy Experience Name: 

Rainbow Round Me

Materials Needed:

pictures of animals (or other things you might see outside) OR stuffed animals/objects

bag

streamers (on a hoop if available-see note below)

sheet music for "Rainbow Round Me" (see below)

Procedures:

Give everyone a streamer.  Let children move their streamers freely during the verse.  On the chorus, move streamers in the following manner:

Rainbow                      {move streamers in an arc, like a rainbow}

Rainbow                      {move streamers in an arc, going the other way}

Rainbow round me     {move streamers around your body OR turn your body in a circle}

Before each new verse, encourage the students to peek out the pretend window.  This can be done by either looking through the hoop that the streamers are on or by holding your hand over your eyes like you are looking for something.  Pull one of the pictures or stuffed animals out of the bag.   Have group members identify the object and the color.  Insert the object and color in the song and sing the next verse while moving streamers freely. Repeat procedures until you have sung about each object.  If you would like to sequence each object as you do each additional verses, you can do that as well. 

Rainbow Round Me by Ruth Pelham

D                                       A7                                          D

Oh the world outside my window is a world of color I see

D7             G                      D                     A7                       D

Fiddle dee dee outside my window, it's a world of color I see!

CHORUS:

G              D            A7                   D

Rainbow, rainbow, rainbow round me

G             D            A7                    D

Rainbow, rainbow, rainbow round me!

Additional verses:

D                                             A7                                                       D

Oh the OBJECT outside my window is as COLOR as COLOR can be

D7             G                       D                     A7                                   D

Fiddle dee dee outside my window, it's as COLOR as COLOR can be!

Here is a link to the video so you can learn the tune...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXLxJ0Ktc18

Note about streamers:

Here are 2 different links that I found to purchase streamers on hoops (similar to what I have in the picture).

http://www.musicmotion.com/Teaching-Aids/28009-ribbon-hoops-set-of-6.asp

http://www.flaghouse.com/Physical-Education/Dance-Rhythm-Music/Rainbow-Hoops---24-Ribbons.axd

They are kind of expensive ($5-6 each), but you might be able to find them somewhere else for less money.  I think I got mine from Oriental Trading Company, but they don't carry them any more.  You could also make hoop streamers, but we'll save that for another day.......  :) 

Variation:

If you don't have streamers (or don't want to use them), you can make the motions with just your hands.

Liz and Sue