See the Bunny – a composing activity

Click here to find the prereading composing bundle in the store. 

Click here for the on-the-staff composing bundle in the store.

One of  my younger students like to write rhymes. He told me they go through his head all the time and he can’t get them to stop, so he has to write them down. I told him I know exactly what he means. The same thing happens to me except mine have melodies that go along with them.  I jot them down on scrap paper, napkins, receipts, anything really. If I don’t write the melody down, I’ll forget it, so in my purse there are little scraps of paper with sol-fa syllables written under these simple rhymes. I have no idea where they come from in my head, but it’s been going on all my life. They’re not suitable for anything but children’s primer music.  Still, I hope my students and maybe some of yours, too, enjoy my efforts.

Several students wanted a composing activity for Easter, and as I was stopped at a red light a few days ago, I wrote this one down. The hardest part, really, is when my students start making up their own melody to go with the words. I have to try very hard not to suggest the tune in my head and let them come up with their own ideas.

A rhyme this long might take too long at a lesson, so maybe it would be a good idea to do one line a week. The average child has a hard time doing this at home, so that’s why I do it at the lesson. Most children like to create melodies, just as they like to draw and do crafts. We just have to help them along a little.