I recently shared my top 5 fall books and in this post I'm going to share my top 5 songs for fall.
Highlighting the season we're in with different songs, books, and activities is always fun. You can take advantage of the specific themes like pumpkins, turkeys, and leaves to practice important skills while keeping your students or children engaged and having fun.
Keep reading for my list of top 5 songs for fall as well as some free resources and links to each one.
"Thanksgiving Song" With a Fill-in-the-Blank Songwriting Activity
by Kathy Schumacher
This simple and easy to implement fill-in-the-blank song is a staple every November. It ends with pointing to everyone in the room and saying, “I am thankful….. for you, and you, and you and you and you and YOU!” You can click here to see the song in action. I always love hearing what everyone is thankful for and for kids who might struggle with that level of communication, they can communicate this important message by simply pointing.
Blowing in the Wind
by Stephanie Leavell
Kids never get tired of this song. “Blowing in the Wind” showcases the songwriting abilities of Stephanie Leavell from Music for Kiddos. It has an interesting minor melody and is great for days when my voice is feeling fatigued.
For the end of October, we adapt it by using white scarves and saying, “my ghost is blowing in the wind!”. To purchase your own scarves, check out Bear Paw Creek. They not only have white creative movement scarves to use as ghosts but a variety of other colors to choose from as well.
You can see a video of this song in action and get your own free mp3 of the song by clicking here. You can also get this song (and several other wonderful fall songs) from Stephanie on her new album, "Fall Songs for Kids". Click here to check it out!
Gobble Gobble
by Matthew West
We always use this song the week of Thanksgiving. It’s especially fun because it has some adult humor thrown in—straw in the gravy boat, stretchy pants, and politics!—so kids and adults both love it. We use the following actions:
Flap arms — 1
Flap arms — 2
Flap arms — point to self (me)
Flap arms — point to someone else (you)
Flap arms — 3
Flap arms — 4
Sign Language — “please”
Sign Language — “more”
Five Perfect Pumpkins
by Stephanie Leavell
Another hit from Stephanie Leavell! It's fun to sing with and without the recording, which is available on all streaming services. If using the recording, we like to bend our knees or move a variety of body parts in sync with the beat. You can tell the songwriting is effective because lots of kids are able to clap right on the beat for “splat!”
To hear the melody of this song, check out this cute video. In this video, Stephanie demonstrates some hand motions that you could incorporate as well. This would also be a fun song to use with Bear Paw Creek's Pumpkin Balloon Ball!
Squirrel Theme
This is actually a series of three songs. One of my favorite things for fall session planning is to do a squirrel theme. This squirrel from Amazon is a great visual!
⁃ “Grey Squirrel, Grey Squirrel Shake Your Bushy Tail” — common finger play readily available online. We sometimes use hoop streamers from Bear Paw Creek and hold them behind us for a tail, followed by putting the hoop around our nose for "wrinkle up your funny nose" and then between our hands for "hold a nut between our toes."
⁃ “Oh, the Frisky Little Squirrel” — lap bounce for littles to the tune of “Noble Duke of York”
Oh, the frisky little squirrel
He gathers nuts and seeds
He stores them for the winter months
So he’ll have all he needs
Oh, up up up he climbs
Down down down he comes
Up down, up down
His work is never done.
⁃ “Hop Old Squirrel” — my favorite version of this folk song is recorded by Kindermusik and unfortunately not available for the general public. We use a little jingle bell clip and attach a scarf “tail” to the back of their shirts so they can swish their squirrel tail. If you sing this song live, I recommend a series of three actions: 1) hop, 2) dig for nuts and 3) swish your tail. Here are the lyrics:
Hop hop squirrel, eidel dum, eidel dum
Hop hop squirrel, eidel dum dee
Hop hop squirrel, eidel dum, eidel dum
Hop hop squirrel, eidel dum dee
Dig dig squirrel…
Swish your tail…
We also make a literacy connection by talking about first, middle, last. This is important for the skill of sequencing and learning concepts that will be helpful for manipulating CVC (consonant vowel consonant words).
If you use any of these songs in your next music therapy session or music class, be sure to tag me on social media in any videos and pictures you share. I love to see others using them. And, if you have any more song ideas for fall, send them my way! I'm always on the lookout for new songs to add to my repertoire. If you need some book ideas for fall, check out my “Top 5 Books for Fall” blog post.