<h3>Mouse and Cat on instruments (structure, pitch, tempo)</h3><p>Divide the children into two groups. One group is the mouse, the other the cat. Everyone chooses an instrument from the Mouse section or the Cat selection that you have put out earlier.</p><p>A capable child (or group of children) from the Mouse group says the words of A Little Mouse expressively, one line at a time. At the end of each line, the Mouse group instrumentalists imitate the speed and loudness of OUT POPPED HE!</p><p>Next the Naughty Cat group can do the same with their poem. You now have two little performance pieces and each group gets the chance to listen to the other group. It's a good opportunity for you to ask the listening group to do Three Stars and a Wish - say three things they liked about the performance and make one, positive suggestion for improvement. The performers might then have another try.</p><h4>'Think the words'!</h4><p>A variation on this activity is for the children to 'think the words' as they play the sounds without speaking. Sound recordings are easy to do on a mobile phone and there's no problem with excluding children who are not to be filmed on video. Here's a recording of our Naughty Cat group. The cat is represented by the xylophone and the mouse by a shaker and Indian bells. I like the way the 'cat' did fast, high-pitch sounds for running round the house, then slower sounds for going to sleep. One of my 'wishes' in Three Stars and a Wish was for the sleeping cat sounds to get lower and lower in pitch, which is what happened in this second recording.</p>                                                                                                                                                    

<h3>Two Little Dicky Birds</h3><p>A traditional rhyme, with actions. You could either sing it or chant it.</p>                                                                                                                                                                                <ul class="simple lyrics">            <li>Two little dicky birds sitting on a wall</li>            <li>One named Peter, one named Paul</li>            <li>Fly away Peter, fly away Paul</li>            <li>Come back Peter, come back Paul</li>    </ul>                                                                

Two little dicky birds - Video

<h3>Ladybird</h3><p>This is a good rhyme for the children to chant rhythmically as they practise clapping in time, playing a drum in time, or walking in time. Remember that many children need to be shown how to walk in time, so let them copy you. They need lots of practice!</p>                                                                <ul class="simple lyrics">            <li>Ladybird, ladybird fly away home</li>            <li>Your house is on fire, your children are gone!</li>            <li>All except one and her name is Anne</li>            <li>And she hid under the frying pan!</li>    </ul>                                                                                                                                                    

Ladybird - Song

<h3>Two Little Dicky Birds</h3><p>A traditional rhyme, with actions. You could either sing it or chant it.</p>                                                                <div class="video">    <div class="embed">                    <iframe class="lazy_embed" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/384794861?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;color=A2D6BD" allowfullscreen="">            </iframe>            </div></div>                                                                <ul class="simple lyrics">            <li>Two little dicky birds sitting on a wall</li>            <li>One named Peter, one named Paul</li>            <li>Fly away Peter, fly away Paul</li>            <li>Come back Peter, come back Paul</li>    </ul>                                                                <h3>Humming Bee (pitch)</h3><p>Use a toy, furry bee or bee puppet for this game. The children sit on the carpet while you hold the bee and make it fly in a straight line, from your right to left as you face the children. Everyone hums on a steady pitch note (not going higher or lower).</p><p>Next make the bee fly up â€“ everyone hum higher (in pitch, not volume), and then down â€“ everyone hum lower in pitch.</p><h3>Hum the bee path (pitch, timbre &amp; graphic scores) </h3><p>You'll need to have a large picture ready of the bee going on a journey (you could use the pdf download for this). Explain the story first, pointing to the line, making the sounds yourself and inviting the children to join in. As the line goes up, the hum goes higher in pitch. When the bee sees the honey everyone says 'Yum Yum'. The hum goes lower then it rains and everyone makes a rain sound by drumming with fingers on chairs or on the floor. The bee sets off again, and the pitch goes higher. At the end the bee enters the hive and falls asleep 'Zzzzzz'. It's good to repeat with the children, as they become more confident with making the sounds.</p>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/toy_bee.png" alt="Toy Bee">    </div>                                                                <h3>Ladybird</h3><p>This is a good rhyme for the children to chant rhythmically as they practise clapping in time, playing a drum in time, or walking in time. Remember that many children need to be shown how to walk in time, so let them copy you. They need lots of practice!</p>                                                                <ul class="simple lyrics">            <li>Ladybird, ladybird fly away home</li>            <li>Your house is on fire, your children are gone!</li>            <li>All except one and her name is Anne</li>            <li>And she hid under the frying pan!</li>    </ul>                                                                <audio class="lazy_av" controls="" controlslist="nodownload">    <source src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/Ladybird.mp3" type="audio/mp3"></source></audio>                                                                    <div class="img img_sml">        <img class="lazy_img" src="https://rippleeducation.blob.core.windows.net/media/ladybird.jpg" alt="Ladybird">    </div>

Minibeasts Level: Early Years - Skills & games

Year 1

Year 2

Music

Mouse and cat on instruments (structure, pitch, tempo) - Song

Music Playtime has been created by a Key Stage 1 and Early Years Music education specialist. The schemes are built in recognition of the fact that most primary teachers are not music specialists. Access the knowledge and the ideas you need to feel confident teaching music.