[HANASHIR:16808] Tu B'Shevat Songs

[Lisa Baydush <LisaB...>]

Hi, all!  I just got home from teaching Tu B'Shevat music at school, and
just had to write to let you how successful a few of the songs were.  I'm
attaching my MS Word docs with these songs typed out for anyone who would
like to have them.

*         Normally I don't like to use re-writes/parodies of existing
secular songs, but there were two I thought were really terrific for this
holiday. "A Whole New World" from Aladdin, and
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidosis" ("Fruit Salad") from Mary Poppins.  I
used these songs with the 3rd-6th graders, and they really enjoyed them.
Because they were familiar with the tunes, it made learning the songs
instantaneous, so we had a lot of fun with them. The older kids especially
enjoyed the challenge as we sang the chorus to "Fruit Salad" faster and
faster each time.  And with "A Whole New World," I was able to talk about
the meaning of Tikkun Olam and relate it to Tu B'Shevat.

*         The younger kids in grades K-3rd adored Karen Daniel's "Tu
B'Shevat Cha Cha!"  I incorporated instruments to go with each fruit or nut
(wooden clackers for the walnuts, egg shakers for the dates, bells for the
grapes, and shakers for the bananas), and the kids really seemed to get into
the rhythm of the instruments and sang the chorus with gusto.

*         I also really enjoyed teaching the younger kids "Look at Me, I'm a
Tree" by Gordon Lustig. the kids stood up and became trees (I asked them
what kind of trees they were, and then they acted out the song, just singing
the echo-style chorus with me).   Very sweet.

*         I taught the older kids "Hashkeidiya" which has very difficult
Hebrew, but I used the English translation as well, and incorporated
instruments which made it fun and surprisingly melodic.  I also used the
"Garden Song" (Inch by Inch) with a Tu B'Shevat verse which made it all the
more appropriate for this holiday.

*         And a huge favorite with all the grades (much to my surprise) was
the oldie "The Green Grass Grows All Around!"   Great suggestion, Audrey
Katz!  I hadn't intended to sing it with the older kids, but they
specifically requested it once they saw it in my songster.  The older ones
enjoyed the challenge of singing it faster and faster - total tongue
twister!  And the little ones acted it out, becoming the nest on the twig on
the branch on the tree in the hole in the ground. great fun!

 

All in all, this was a highly successful morning. it felt more like a song
session than music class.  I had a blast!  Thanks to all of you who made
suggestions for this holiday, to Nell Hirsch who shared a lot of her music
with me, and to Robin Selinger for posting most or all of these songs on
TotShabbat.com.

 

Lisa Baydush

 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org [mailto:owner-hanashir (at) 
shamash(dot)org] On
Behalf Of Jewish Songleading/Music
Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2004 3:00 AM
To: Jewish Songleading/Music
Subject: HANASHIR digest 2137

 

 

                                        HANASHIR Digest 2137

 

Topics covered in this issue include:

 

  1)  Re: HANASHIR digest 2136

            by "Ilana G" <ilanat (at) whale-mail(dot)com>

  2)  Hava Nashira application

            by DavidSings2 (at) aol(dot)com

  3)  RE: Hava Nashira application

            by "Adrian Durlester" <adrian (at) ehavanashira(dot)org>

Fruit Salad.doc
Description: MS-Word document

Tu B'Shevat Cha Cha.doc
Description: MS-Word document

Hashkeidiya.doc
Description: MS-Word document

Garden Song.doc
Description: MS-Word document

Look At Me.doc
Description: MS-Word document

A WHOLE NEW WORLD.doc
Description: MS-Word document