I am a musician. I am a woman, a mom, a therapist, an advocate. a nurse, a chauffer, a maid and much more. But I am also a musician. I take any words and make them into a song. Whether the words are actually from a song or not, I can sing it.
One song I think of to help kids get through the day are “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush.” It is a great one because you can change the words to anything you need the kids to do. For example: “This is the way we drink our milk, drink our milk, drink our milk. This is the way we drink our milk at the breakfast table.” Or “Johnny knows how to put on his shirt, put on his shirt, put on his shirt. Johnny knows how to put on his shirt all by himself.”
Singing the directions is a great alternative to yelling or repeating yourself over and over again. Singing can be cathartic and calming while still getting the point across.
Another good song to change the words to is “Skip to My Lou.” Sometimes I change the words of this song to walk with children to a new place. For example: “Walk, walk, walk with me. Walk, walk, walk with me. Walk, walk, walk with me. Walk with me to the bathroom.” I have also created it as a ‘first/then’ song: “First, you eat your beans. First, you eat your beans. First, you eat your beans. Then you get dessert.”
These tunes are catchy and easy for kids to learn and remember.
The only way we can get a toothbrush in my daughter, Mary’s mouth is if we sing to her. After she does well during teeth-brushing, we sing the Dora “We Did It” song!
Are there songs that you find help your kids to do things?