“His Hat was Made of Pumpkin Pie?”…
“Every child is an artist. The problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”
- Pablo Picasso
There I was toward the end of the preschool class. The kids were getting tired, a little loopy, and totally distracted.
I had one more song to lead, the silly one about the man in the moon. I had pre-written lyrics, and no matter how awesome I thought the song was, I was losing the kids.
Then it hit me… “Make it about THEM.”
I sang…
“There was a man lived in the moon,
lived in the moon, lived in the moon,
There was a man lived in the moon,
and his name was Aiken Drum.
And his hat was made of…
“Joey, what was his hat made of?”
He thought… and thought… “Hmm. Pumpkin Pie!” (Yes, this was the class before Thanksgiving.)
And the kids lit up, and they focused.
We went around the circle, inventing these silly, goofy notions about this man in the moon, and the ideas the kids had were BRILLIANT! They sang with so much more energy because they were seeing this man in the moon with their own eyes.
His hair was made of “pink paint”!
His buttons were made of “strawberries”!
Here’s how you can help reveal your child’s imagination at home:
Ask Your Child to Make up New Words to Well- Known Songs
In my house, you’ll hear songs like “Twinkle Twinkle In the Sun”, as re-worded by Sarah, my 3-year old, or many adaptations of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”.
You can start out slow and easy by asking your child to alter one word. Like, “Mary Had a Little_________?” It starts out small, but eventually, you’ll hear them making up their own words entirely.
Ask Your Child Make up Motions to Well- Known Songs
With fresh eyes, kids will find ways to move their bodies in ways you wouldn’t think of.
Take a song like “Rock-a-bye, Baby” and ask them to show you a rocking motion.
Or… “Gia, when we sing “when the wind blows”, how should we move our hands or our feet?”
One of the best parts about being a parent is that we get to see the world through our kids’ eyes. We get to see everything fresh. Music is a vessel for that vision.
Stay Creative!
Use the comments section to share how you see the world through your child’s eyes.
