Thanksgiving Activities for the Music Classroom

I try to do at least one day of Thanksgiving activities for the kids. I will add to this in the next week.

Here is the list I choose from:

Cherry Pie song

(younger)

Students love singing about their favorite kind of pie and it is a great way to also assess their i-tune singing.

Quilla Bung (I always do this for every grade)- a folk tale from the Singing Sack book. The students love singing the song of the geese and I love the suspenseful ending.

The Singing Sack: 28 Song Stories from Around the World (Music Series)

Twas the Night before Thanksgiving

A fun rhyming book

I love the rhyming in this book and the twist on the traditional “Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving” poem.

‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

Old Turkey Stan

(Play the game and sing the tune of Old Mother Witch)

I do this with K-2nd grade. We get into a circle with one child in the middle and sing the song while stepping on the beat. The child in the middle points to one child as he or she sings “Are you my turkey?” Then the other child sing, “Yes, Ma’am or yes, sir”. The third child say, “no you mean old turkey!” and then runs around the circle while the farmer chases.

This is part of a pack in which I have a costume piece and many other verses for this game. Old Mother Witch Song, Game, Variations, and Costume Pieces

Skim, Skim, Skim (I make butter with the first graders, but you could do this with other ages too)- Butter Making Song

This is a Pumpkin Happy Poem

The Kindergarteners love it. Teach rhyming and emotions.

It has visuals, a reader, a coloring book, and a butter making pack with a fun song. This is great for K and 1st.

Get it HERE.

The Turkey Song

Every grade loves this. We act it out as we sing and on the refrain, we put hands on hips and shuffle our feet on each beat.

Here it is from the Koda’ly Holy Names website. A favorite of my students and it get them up and moving! The Turkey Song

Over the River and Through the Woods

(Sing the book and then have kids play bells to it)

Over the River and Through the Woods

Ho Ho Watanay– Iroquois song

We discuss the meaning (sleep sleep, little one…now go to sleep, now go to sleep). I often have older grades conduct this in 4 with me.

Thanksgiving Drumming

My students also love doing Thanksgiving drumming. We learn about Thanksgiving customs, say a word, read the rhythm, play it on our drum, and repeat it. We layer 4 rhythms to make a composition and I let the kids make their own in small groups. (This takes a couple of class periods). I have a simple rhythm pack for my younger sttudents and an advanced rhythm pack for my older students.

This is the first rhythm: