In first and second grade this week we learned the song “Down By The Bay.” This classic song is all about rhymes and echos. The beginning of the song is all echoing – the teacher sings the phrase and students echo it back. Then, there’s a silly rhyme; in the original song, these are, “Have you ever seen a bear, combing his hair?” or “Have you ever seen a fly wearing a tie?”
An important aspect of music education in elementary school is connecting music to other art forms. To do this today, each student composed their own rhyme and drew it on a piece of paper, connecting composition and song with art.
A few rhymes from second grade:
“Have you ever seen mice eating some rice?”
“Have you ever seen a tiger wearing a rider?”
First graders came up with these verses:
“Have you ever seen a llama, causing some drama?”
“Have you ever seen a bunny, eating some honey?”
“Have you seen ever a spider being a rider?”
“Did you ever see a llama eating his pajamas?”
It’s not abnormal to incorporate cross-curricular subjects into a music lesson. We regularly incorporate math through our rhythm and counting activities, and language arts make their way in with words and composition that the students do. It was great to see the little ones lining up, so excited to present their picture and rhyme to the class when it was their turn!
Mrs. Isaac's Music Room 