Red, Yellow, and Green

Teaching functional skills and real-world concepts are high on my list of priorities, since the ultimate goal for my students is independence. The Hope Institute uses a Skills Assessment to determine whether or not each student is reaching goals such as dressing, eating properly, interacting with peers appropriately, and so on. Included on this list is personal safety, which encompasses crossing the street, using the crosswalk, and identifying traffic signals.

That is the topic of today's song: learning the meaning of red, yellow, and green as related to the traffic lights. Many teachers use this concept in their classroom or when traveling with students from one place to another, using colored signs to indicate whether students should stop, slow down, or go. Learning and practicing this in a protected environment is the first step in transferring such knowledge to a real-world situation.



(you can download this or any other Listen & Learn album by clicking it!)

Stop when the light is red.
Go when it's green.
Slow down when the light turns yellow,
That's the color in between.
The traffic lights are red, yellow and green.

Red, red, is at the top,

Of the traffic light.

If you stop when you see red,

Then you know you're doing it right.

CHORUS

Yellow, yellow is in the middle,

Of the traffic light.

If you slow down when you see yellow,

Then you know you're doing it right.

CHORUS

Green, green is at the bottom,

Of the traffic light.

If you go when you see green,

Then you know you're doing it right.

CHORUS

Although the songs I've written cover many of the topics included on my school's Skills Assessment, there are many more opportunities for new tunes to cover this exhaustive list. Of course, I'll be posting them as I write them - an ongoing process that will take me well into the summer, I'm sure!

Shakers Up High!

Two songs for shakers in a row? Yep! We do a lot of shaking at the Hope Institute and in the Music Therapy Connections studio, which accounts for the plethora of such tunes in my collection. For today's song, I actually borrowed the melody I made up for "Flower, Stand Tall" since both focus on colors. It works perfectly, in my opinion, but you can decide for yourself:



(you can download this or any other Listen & Learn album by clicking it!)

Yellow, red, and green, and purple, and blue,
Shakers are so colorful and sound good, too.
There are many different ways to shake ‘em around.
Up above your head, or near the ground.

Yellow shaker, up high.
Yellow shaker, up high.
Make a great big sound up in the sky!

CHORUS

Red shaker, up high…
Green shaker, up high…
Purple shaker, up high…
Blue shaker up high…

CHORUS

I use Basic Beat egg shakers and chiquitas from West Music for this activity, though any colored shakers would do just fine. You can substitute colors in the song, too. In the Church Mice class I lead, we have always used plain black egg shakers, so I'm looking forward to changing things up with some rainbow-hued ones.

Well I need to get back to my CD burning...I'm making 500 to give away as souvenirs at Hope's upcoming Celebrity Chef fundraiser. Happy Thursday!

Colors in the Morning

It's an absolutely beautiful Saturday morning; the sun is shining in the bright blue sky, which reminded me of a great song I've been waiting to post. A couple weeks ago, a reader named Jamie emailed me with a great idea for an activity he was planning for a group of kids (his own included). The song is based on Donovan's "Colours", whose lyrics he changed to focus on color identification.

Yellow is the color of the bright, bright sun,
In the morning, when I rise,
In the morning, when I rise,
That's the time, that’s the time,
I love the best.

Blue is the color of the clear blue sky...
Green is the color of the dewy grass...
Purple is the color of the lilac bush...
Pink is the color of the flowers that bloom…
Red is the color of the cardinal bird…
Orange is the color of the butterfly…

He suggested the use of scarves for each color in the song, and then the thought occurred to me to make a poster with images for each item in the song, attachable with Velcro. Here is what I created:

I used half of a foamboard and covered it with colored construction paper. Then I attached Velcro (the prickly side) with a sticky back.

Here is the back of the images I made for each item in the song. I laminated each and attached Velcro (the fuzzy side) to the back.

The finished product. I added a verse about an ant (the color "black") so that there would be enough colors for each child in my group.

Thanks, Jamie, for sharing this wonderful idea! I tried it with one of my groups at the Autism Program last week, and it went over really well. I can't wait to do it again next week!

Flower, Stand Tall!

Flowers are popping up all over the place, and they are a great topic for a song around this time of year. Flower songs are good opportunities to address color identification, which is what I had in mind when I wrote the song below.



(you can download this or any other Listen & Learn album by clicking it!)

Red, orange, yellow, green,
White, purple, pink and blue.
Flowers are so colorful and smell good too.
There are many different kinds Mother Nature grows,
In a pot or in a field or garden rows.

Red flower, stand tall,
Red flower, stand tall,
Can you choose your favorite red flower of all?
(You just might be the fairest flower of all!)

Repeat, using each color.

My initial idea was to give each child a scarf and ask him/her to stand up as that color is mentioned in the song. I made visuals for each color flower, and to practice making choices, the child can choose which of three flowers of that color he/she likes best. For children who don't have that ability, there are alternate lyrics in parentheses.

Red and Green are the Colors of the Season

I love this time of year. Everyone is in a good mood, and there's a sense of excitement and anticipation in the air, which makes even the extremely cold temperatures tolerable. When I was younger, my family used to drive around different neighborhoods and admire the Christmas lights and decorations, and I still enjoy doing so to this day.

There's no doubt an abundance of red and green in your home, at the mall, in your workplace, and all around your city, and that is what today's song is about.



(you can download this or any other Listen & Learn album by clicking it!)

Red and green are the colors of the season,
Red and green are the colors all around,
Red and green are the colors of the things we see,
All over the town.

We’ll start with red, R-E-D,
Red is the color of the things we see.
Like candy canes and berries and Santa’s clothes,
Poinsettias and drums and big red bows.

Red and green are the colors of the season,
Red and green are the colors all around,
Red and green are the colors of the things we see,
All over the town.

Next is green, G-R-E-E-N,
We see this color again and again.
Like Christmas trees and wreaths and mistletoe,
Wrapping paper, ornaments, and lights aglow.

Red and green are the colors of the season,
Red and green are the colors all around,
Red and green are the colors of the things we see,
All over the town.

You can make this song interactive by asking your students to identify objects in the classroom that are red and green, which - I can tell you from experience - kids love. Another idea: make pictures of each item in the song and have the children name them during the verses. Or insert your own red and green items to make the song unique.

More Color Songs

Recently, a staff member at my school shared with me the color songs that her son was learning in kindergarten. They were so cute and easy to sing that I just had to pass them along to you - they are perfect for preschool and primary grades, and the best part is that anyone can sing them!

I wish I could give credit to the author of these simple but effective tunes...if anyone has this info, please let me know!

BLUE

tune: "The Farmer in the Dell"

B-l-u-e spells blue,
B-l-u-e spells blue.
Hi! Ho! Did you know?
B-l-u-e spells blue.
The big sky is blue.
The ocean is too.
Hi! Ho! Did you know?
B-l-u-e spells blue.

BROWN

tune: "Bingo"

There is a color we all know.
Can you guess what it is?
B-r-o-w-n, b-r-o-w-n, b-r-o-w-n,
That’s how you spell brown.
Teddy bears and squirrels are brown.
Autumn leaves are too.
Chocolate candy’s always brown.
Chocolate cake is always brown.
Chocolate milk is always brown.
I like brown, don’t you?

GREEN

tune: "Row Your Boat"

G-r-e-e-n, g-r-e-e-n,
I know how to spell green,
G-r-e-e-n!
Caterpillars are green,
And grasshoppers too.
I know how to spell green,
G-r-e-e-n!

ORANGE

tune: "Ten Little Indians"

O-r-a-n-g-e, o-r-a-n-g-e,
O-r-a-n-g-e, orange is what that spells.
Jack-o-lanterns are always orange,
Carrots are always orange,
Oranges are always orange.
O-r-a-n-g-e.

PURPLE

tune: "Camptown Races"

P-u-r-p-l-e
Purple, Purple
P-u-r-p-l-e
Purple’s what that spells.
Purple grapes on the vine,
Purple Kool-Aid’s fine.
P-u-r-p-l-e
Purple’s what that spells.

RED

tune: "Are You Sleeping?"

R-e-d, red
R-e-d, red
I can spell red.
I can spell red.
Firetrucks are red.
Stop signs are red, too.
R-e-d, r-e-d.

YELLOW

tune: "If You're Happy and you Know It"

Y-e-l-l-o-w spells yellow,
Y-e-l-l-o-w spells yellow.
Like the early morning sun,
When the day has just begun,
Y-e-l-l-o-w spells yellow.
Daffodils and baby ducks are yellow,
Lemonade and scrambled eggs are yellow.
I like the smiley face that’s yellow,
He is such a happy fellow.
Y-e-l-l-o-w spells yellow.