Encourages listening and waiting skills

• Choose an instrument each. This could be instruments in your home, saucepans with a wooden spoon, a homemade shaker or elastic bands stretched over a plastic box.
• Play along to the start and stop recording, stopping each time the music stops.
• Can you go slow and fast, quiet and loud? Listen to the music and follow.
• Maybe you could put your hands in the air each time the music stops.
• You could quickly change instruments each time the music stops.
• How about you repeat this without the recording and take it in turns for one of you to lead. Play only when the leader plays.

Supports desensitisation and offers sensory stimulation

• Find a selection of different materials and objects – for example, silky fabric, fury fabric or a teddy, a soft brush, a feather, piece of pasta, a sponge, a small piece of bubble wrap etc
• Listen to the song and join in the actions, stroking the chosen item gently on hands, feet and face as child can cope with, following the steady pace of the song.
• Repeat with different items to give a sensory experience.

  Stroking ___’s hands,

  stroking _____’s hands,

  stroking _____’s hands with a stroke, stroke, stroke.’ etc.

Encourages listening, multi sensory play

• Have to hand a selection of instruments or sounds – something for sunshine, something for wind, a water spray or glass with a little water in to sprinkle.
• Listen to the song and follow with actions. Hold hands to move together or be ready to push wheelchair backwards and forwards when its time to march according to the lyrics so make sure you have a bit of space! Might be a good one outside!

  Sunny weather, sunny weather,

  When the sun shines, lets go out together!  (sound the sunny noise!)

  March, March, March, March, Out, Out, Out, Out,

  Rainy weather, rainy weather,

  When the rain pours, we all go in together! (sprinkle the water on everyone!)

  March, March, March, March, In, In, In, In,

  Windy weather, windy weather,

  When the wind blows, we all go out together! (use your windy sound or everyone blow)

  March, March, March, March, Out, Out, Out, Out

Supports learning to blow. Good for developing facial muscles for speech and development

• You will need a pot of bubbles. If you don’t have any you can make your own by following the link:-
• https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-make-bubble-mixture
• Follow the lyrics of the song and blow bubbles for your child – can he/she pop them on their own?
• Encourage your child to blow bubbles themselves.

  Bubbles, bubbles,

  Bright shining Bubbles

  All the bubbles you can blow,

  Like the colours in the rainbow,

  When they pop, where do they go?

Developing awareness of ‘self’ and developing awareness of ‘self’ in relation to others

• Find a mirror you can pass around or one you can sit in front of.
• Pass the mirror to each person in turn, encouraging them to look at themselves.

  Look in the mirror,

  What can you see?

  Oh, I can see _____

   ______, _______, I can see you

  _______, _______, I can see you.

• You could extend this by looking in it together and singing about who you can see.

Develop turn-taking, sharing and awareness of each other

• Everyone sit in a circle so you can see each other. One person chooses an instrument – bells if you have them or maybe another instrument.
• One person starts with the bells, listen to the song and pass the bells around from one person to another with the lyrics. The person who is holding the bells at the end of the verse is the King or Queen and gets to play while everyone else sings and claps their hands. Keep going until everyone has had a turn to be the leader.

   ______ pass the bells to -_____

  ______ pass the bells to _____

  ______ pass the bells to _____

  ______ pass the bells to ______

  ______ is the king/queen of the bells today

  ______ is the king/queen of the bells today

  ______  is the king/queen of the bells today

  So clap, just clap your hands!

Developing a sense of anticipation/ listening/ waiting

• Everyone choose an instrument or sound.
• Sing the song with the sound track. When Humpty falls down, everyone play loudly.
• Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall
• Humpty Dumpty had a great fall……… (play very loud)
• All the king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Supports development of body awareness and sense of anticipation

• This song can be sung in a variety of ways – using arms, legs or maybe even the whole body for those that are small – perhaps lying safely in a large sheet and rocked with at least two adults.
• Follow the actions of the song, really focus on the ‘Ready and…..’ to help develop an awareness of what is coming next and a sense of anticipation.

  Here we go up and down

  Up and down

  Out and in

  Out and in

  Side to side

  Side to side

  Here we go again…..

  Ready and……. Up and down

Supports the development of body awareness and sense of anticipation

• Everyone have a shaker – remember these can be easily homemade with a container or bottle which seals well filled with rice, pasta, lentils or even small dog or cat biscuits!
• Follow the song – can you keep up with the changes of pace? Can you play quiet and loud? Can you stop with the music stops and listen to where you need to place your shaker?!

Good for encouraging listening, body awareness, co-ordination and gross motor skills

• Make sure everyone has some space to move around and has the ability to move around – this can be done standing, sitting in a wheelchair or even lying on the floor.
• Follow the actions in the song… maybe you can make up a few versions yourself with different actions which are important for your child to help develop specific movements?

Everybody clap your hands

Clap your hands, Clap your hands

Everybody clap you hands, clap them just like me!

Everybody sway like trees

Sway like trees, sway like trees,

Everybody sway like trees, sway like trees today!

Follow the lyrics for more actions – kick your legs, turn around.

Supports body awareness; gross motor movement and anticipation

• There are different ways to do this action song; either find a large sheet and ask everyone to sit or lie on the floor with two or three people holding the sheet over the top of them like a parachute
• OR – you can hold hands or hold child’s legs and follow the actions.

Here we go up, right up today,

Here we come down again,

Here we go up , right up today,

Here we come down again.

Develops social interaction and gross motor movement

• Maybe you could use this to start your music time together?
• Lie your child on the floor and sit next to him or her. If you are together as a family, maybe all the children could lie on the floor forming a circle with their heads. Sit with your children as necessary to assist.
• Sing the song and encourage the child/children to roll (assist if necessary) so that they turn to face another family member to say hello.

  Roll, right over now, Roll right over now, stretch out to say hello, hello!

  Roll round the other way, roll round the other way, stretch out to say hello, hello!