Folk Songs and Activities for Young Children

Folk songs and chants are so important in speech, language, and vocal development. They are also an important part of our cultural heritage. The tell the story of our grandparents, great grandparents, and are worth passing on to future generations.

This PDF includes a copy of the words for each song/chant that you can project onto the board, create posters or a flip book.

Each song/chant has a vocal exploration. Project onto the board and follow the dashed line with your voice. Teacher will need to model the first time if kids have never done this kind of activity before inviting the kids to try it. Once they know how to do it, they love getting to come to the board to “be the teacher” and lead the class. I use big pointers so that they can reach.

After you have done the vocal exploration as a class, you can do the vocal exploration worksheets where the kids get to create their own patterns to take home.

There is a beat chart for each song/rhyme with icons. This is also a great "pre-music reading activity" because it allows them to track from left to right and move on to the next line when the finish the first line, also reinforcing literacy concepts from their classroom.

Many of these folk songs have concepts that I would not present in preschool or kindergarten, such as la or ta rest, but they are well suited for other kindergarten/preschool concepts such as fast/slow, loud/soft, high/low, steady beat, four voices, and vocal timbre. I have included a copy of each song with ideas of ways to use it specifically for kindergarten and younger.

Last but not least is a crown that has the title and clip art for each song/chant on the front and the lyrics/words on the back. I thought this would be a neat way for the kids to “take the songs and chants home”. So many times, music is not a part of our students’ home lives. Maybe these crowns will help parents find little ways to interact musically with their kids.

Song/Rhyme List:
Bow Wow Wow
Lucy Locket
Starlight, Starbright
Cobbler, Cobbler,
Snail, Snail
Bee, Bee Bumblebee
Doggie, Doggie
Bounce High, Bounce Low
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Queen, Queen Caroline

*I have plans to add to this set in the future. When I add to it, the price will go up, but those who have already purchased will be able to receive the updates for free!

If you like this file, you may be interested in:
Songs and Nursery Rhymes for Young Children

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Check out my teaching blog for more ideas: Pursuit of Joyfulness