Aesthetic: My Own Song

My Own Song (For Children of All Ages) 

Goal: Recognize themselves as artists

Materials: none

Procedure: Model and encourage children to select familiar tunes and sing their own words to them. For example, to the tune of “Frere Jacques,” or Are You Sleeping?” sing, “Going home now, going home now, going home, going home, going going home, going going home, going home, going home.” 

To simplify: Suggest that children sing their name using the melody of a familiar, simple song. Encourage them to only use one word in their songs.

To Extend: Encourage children to use more extensive personal descriptions with the melody. “Frere Jacques” can sound like “My name’s Sandy, my name’s Sandy, how are you, how are you, I live in a yellow house with a dog named Patches, I like school, I like school.” Have students think of words that go along with a content area you are studying rather than just themselves.