Nursery Music: Once There Was a Snowman

I love "Once There Was a Snowman" for Nursery age children because it has a lot of the qualities in a song that this age child loves and needs.

• Not many words, and words that repeat

• Melody that repeats and has a small range of notes

• Lively rhythm

• Words describe something concrete that the child can see, touch, hear, or smell

Here are a couple of fun ideas to teach the song;

As you sing, build a paper (or felt) snowman.  On the words "In the sun he melted,...," I begin to take OFF the round circles of the snowman so that he "melts."

I found that if I add a hat and a scarf of different colors, I can build the snowman two or three times and hold the children's interest.  Of course after seeing the paper/felt snowman be built, we become snowmen ourselves.  We start in a little ball on the floor and grow to be as tall as we can while we sing.  Then we melt down back into a little ball as we sing the "small, small, small" words of the song.

A fun idea that is interactive for the children is Draw the Song.  Take in a small whiteboard and while you sing the first part of the song, draw a snowman.  When you come to the part where the snowman melts, have a child erase the snowman from the whiteboard as you sing.  If you have a lot of children, you might consider two erasers.

With this activity, you are also teaching patience and rewards.  

• "You will get the eraser next, Johnny.  Wait on your carpet square!"  

• "I like the way Jill is waiting for her turn to have the eraser. She is sitting right on her carpet square until it is her turn."  

• "Such good waiting!"

There is so much more than music being taught in Nursery singing time!