georgianewlin.com NEWSLETTER October 2019

Why Public Schools Have Said to Halloween Celebrations

1. Religious Concerns Some parents have long condemned Halloween as a holiday celebrating devil worship while others simply do not recognize it as part of their religion or cultural traditions.

2. Scarier Costumes Children kept coming to school with more realistic — and more disturbing — costumes.

3. Academic Concerns With ever-increasing pressure to raise the academic bar, educators were concerned that Halloween hoopla was overshadowing learning.

4. Party Concerns Although not the primary reason, schools had growing concerns about food allergies. Schools were adapting how they approached classroom treats and because many parents were working, few were available to help coordinate and supervise parties.

5. Economic Concerns As costumes became more elaborate and expensive, schools worried about the pressure Halloween functions put on family budgets — educators were uneasy about the festivities dividing students financially. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2016/10/18/why-your-school-isnt-celebrating-halloween/91851350/

Instead, Sing of Autumn…

PreK-Grade 1 Turn Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around into Scarecrow, Scarecrow Turn Around.

Scarecrow, scarecrow, turn around, Scarecrow, scarecrow, touch the ground; Scarecrow, scarecrow, arms up high, Scarecrow, Scarecrow, wink one eye. Scarecrow, scarecrow, jump and fall, Scarecrow, scarecrow, climb up tall; Scarecrow, scarecrow, bend your knees, Scarecrow, scarecrow, flap in the breeze. ADAPTED FROM https://www.preschooleducation.com/sfall.shtml Play Here We Go’Round the Mulberry Bush with verses about Autumn activities. “This is the way we…” put on jackets, rake the leaves, jump in the leaves, build a leaf fort, collect acorns, play football, play field hockey (use the fall sports that are played in your school district: cross country, tennis, volleyball, golf), sit by the fire, roast s’mores, stuff a scarecrow, take a hay ride, weave through a corn maze, churn pumpkin ice cream, pick ripe apples, make caramel apples, bake apple pie, stir warm soup, or plant spring bulbs. Play Hop Old Squirrel

https://georgianewlin.com/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_We_Go_Round_the_Mulberry_Bushhttp://kodaly.hnu.edu/song.cfm?id=744

…or Squirrels!Squirrels build their winter nests (called ‘dreys’) during the fall because their babies are often born in January.

The nests of Red Squirrels and Eastern Grey Squirrels can be built as high as 30 feet above the ground in different types of trees. They build multiple nests so that they can move quickly in case of emergency.

Ground Squirrels use their paws to dig little caves in the ground.

During the fall, squirrels store food in many places around their habitat and return to these caches during the winter months.

Grades 2-3 Sing Let Us Chase the Squirrel +Play a fun activity for Let Us Chase the Squirrel Play Peep Squirrel

Grades 4-5 Play Chase the Squirrel play-party Sing The Squirrel song (in sol pentatonic!)

October Celebrations for Older Students October 8 (1871) = The Great Chicago Fire – legend has it that Mrs. O'Leary left a lantern in the barn and a cow kicked it over, thus starting the fire sometime in the evening. Mrs. O’Leary – the singing in from young camp counselors but the motions are there. The tune comes from A Hot Time in the Old Town, Joe Hayden/Theo Metz (1896) published by Woodward & Fanner (below). Not sure where the current text originated (Girl Scouts Song Books?).

October 24 = United Nations Day – sing songs in many languages. Ask your students to share songs with each other.

October 26 (1825) = The Erie Canal Day: the man-made canal that connects Lake Erie to the Atlantic Ocean by the way of Hudson River, opened. The Erie Canal – sung by The Boss. An excellent choral arrangement of The Erie Canal, arranged by Cyndee Giebler, is available from Music Is Elementary (Crooked River Choral Project).

October 28 (1886) = The Statue of Liberty was Dedicated – sing songs of Americana: • America• America the Beautiful• Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean• Star Spangled Banner, The

• Take Me Home, Country Roads• This Land Is Your Land• We Shall Overcome• You’re a Grand Old Flag

OR French folk songs as the statue was a gift from France: • Ah! Vous Dirais-j,e Maman• Alouetta• Au Claire de la Lune

• Fais Dodo• Frère Jacques• Sur le Pont d’Avignon

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http://kodaly.hnu.edu/song.cfm?id=876#analysishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UELHCt7WdXQhttp://kodaly.hnu.edu/song.cfm?id=1016http://kodaly.hnu.edu/song.cfm?id=875http://kodaly.hnu.edu/song.cfm?id=569https://www.ultimatecampresource.com/camp-videos/camp-songs-with-videos/old-lady-leary/http://www.eriecanal.org/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Koj5yGigFNUhttps://musiciselementary.com/product/crooked-river-choral-project-vol-5-the-erie-canal-song/

Younger instrumentalists – ½ the ensemble plays a simple bassline as the other ½ sings the song with motions:

Older instrumentalists – choose a part from the score (transposing as necessary) and sight-read together.

Notice that you only need two chords to accompany the melody: I, V

Make sure you let the lower instrumets give the melody a try!