We follow up our Royalty and Magic storytelling in music series this month by introducing the next set of characters in the Magical Musical Kingdom and their related rhythms. As children become used to musical ideas, they begin to see similar patterns and relationships in everyday life as well! And as always, all songs are available on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTY5SAFQR66050SlQGRJlKQ.
Recap
As a quick reminder, our background planning to the Magical Musical Kingdom included:
Time: 10 parts, 10 characters, 10 musical skills
Rhythms: movement-based (gross motor), progressively halving or doubling note lengths
Melodies: pentatonic-based (5 notes), progressively using more notes
Ages: non-walkers, toddlers and walkers (broadly, birth to 7)
Week 5: Princess Semiquaver (Semiquaver, sixteenth note)
(4 quick jogging steps: jogging quickly, jogging quickly, jogging quickly, jogging quickly)
Physical Warm up:
Shoes off, calmly (no talking) listen to instrumental music while jogging quickly, jogging quickly around the room, any direction, either holding baby, or holding hands with our new walker or preschooler.
Vocal Warm up:
Warm up our voices: Do you have your whispering voice? Yes, I have my whispering voice. Do you have your speaking voice? Yes, I have my speaking voice. Do you have your princess voice? Yes, I have my princess voice! Do you have your singing voice (singing like an ambulance tune)? Yes, I have my singing voice (ambulance tune). Ready to sing!
Song 1: Princess Semiquaver (game)
Circle dance together, holding a scarf between you in each hand, and doing the actions in the song. Stop and give yourself a cuddle when you sing the last line: “you’re the one my darling!”.
Song 2: Built My Princess (instruments – body percussion)
Clap against your partners hands together on the beat while you sing the song, and then when you say “farewell”, wave, and find a teddy or soft toy, and clap their hands the next time you sing the song!
Story Part 5:
In this household lived the King’s most precious person, his daughter, Princess Semiquaver. Semiquaver moved even more quickly than the Queen and was often running quickly or spinning in fields, forests and near ponds with all the animals of the Kingdom. Starting very quietly she got louder and louder as she got further away from the Castle. One day when she was at the pond, she saw a little frog. He had a beautiful golden head and she thought he looked like a little prince so she called him Frog Prince.
Craft:
Make and decorate a frog with a golden head. Dance around the room with it, singing the song!
Activity:
Have a dance competition or a disco!
Week 6: Forg-Prince Dotted-quaver-semiquaver (Dotted eighth-note – sixteenth note)
(Gallop – short-long step: short-long, short-long, short-long, short-long)
Physical Warm up:
Shoes off, calmly (no talking) listen to instrumental music while doing a gallop (short-long, short-long steps) around the room, any direction, either holding baby, or holding hands with our new walker or preschooler.
Vocal Warm up:
Warm up our voices: Do you have your whispering voice? Yes, I have my whispering voice. Do you have your speaking voice? Yes, I have my speaking voice. Do you have your prince voice? Yes, I have my prince voice! Do you have your singing voice (singing like an ambulance tune)? Yes, I have my singing voice (ambulance tune). Ready to sing!
Song 1: Hopping hopping (game)
Hop around the room, either like a frog or on one leg (depending on development), and then on the last line, blow kisses: “kiss, kiss, kiss!” and stand up tall for, “now I am a prince”.
Song 2: The Little Bells (instruments)
Find instruments that chime like bells and take turns playing them each time you sing the song.
Story Part 6:
Princess Semiquaver always visited Frog Prince with a juicy bug and one day, Frog Prince did a froggy somersault trick and told a funny joke. She laughed out loud, and thought he was so clever that she gave him a kiss. Poof! Suddenly he disappeared and a handsome prince appeared in his place, from a spell that a naughty Goblin put on him. He loved his new name so much that he was known by everyone as Frog Prince. He used to croak very loudly and was so glad that now he could speak quietly, too. His favourite sport was horse riding and now that he was a person again, Frog Prince could ride his horse.
Craft:
Make and decorate a paper horse. Walk around the room with it, singing the song!
Activity:
Find some funny jokes to tell everyone!
Week 7: Goblin (6/8 timing)(dotted-crotchet / dotted quarter note)
(slower steps with a rocking motion: slow-step, slow-step, slow-step)
Physical Warm up:
Shoes off, calmly (no talking) listen to instrumental music while doing a slow, rocking step (slow-slow) around the room, any direction, either holding baby, or holding hands with our new walker or preschooler.
Vocal Warm up:
Warm up our voices: Do you have your whispering voice? Yes, I have my whispering voice. Do you have your speaking voice? Yes, I have my speaking voice. Do you have your goblin voice? Yes, I have my goblin voice! Do you have your singing voice (singing like an ambulance tune)? Yes, I have my singing voice (ambulance tune). Ready to sing!
Song 1: Goblin (game)
Scatter scarves, pages, small things that can easily be gathered around the room, and take 2 slow steps to reach them and collect them up as you sing the song.
Song 2: Goblin Protector (instruments)
Use instruments with a long sound, like bells, and tap them as you sing the song.
Story Part 7:
Far away from the Magical Kingdom, in a dark and dreary cave full of broken instruments lived Green Goblin, the naughty, creeping goblin who turned Frog Prince into a frog. He didn’t like musical instruments, only the sound of voices and when he was cross he crept around and broke all the instruments he could find. He was very cross with Princess Semiquaver for changing the Prince back so he did another magic spell and crept into the castle and stole the King’s Jewels, taking them to a secret tower, far away from the castle. Everybody was very sad and King Crotchet and Frog Prince were furious.
Craft:
Draw the Goblin’s messy cave. Walk around the room with it, singing the song!
Activity:
Choose something to be the king’s jewels, and play “hot-and-cold hide and seek”! (Call out cold if the seeker is far away, or hot if the seeker gets closer to it!)
The next article in this series includes the final characters, again, with ideas and tips on game, craft and activity suggestions.
