I love a good children’s song or finger play! Now that Liam and Cohen are at the ages where they enjoy a good song n’ dance gig from mommy, I have started bringing out all the ones my mother taught me and those I learned while studying Child Development in college. There are a lot of old ones and quite a few new ones, but it wasn’t until I started working in a classroom that I really started paying attention to the lyrics of some of these songs. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for rough and tumble play, but when children start acting out in pure violence something needs to change.
A couple years ago, I was the head teacher in a infant/toddler class in my community. I loved my “babies” and I loved teaching them songs and finger plays….action songs with props were the best! In part of the curriculum, we were provided an adorable fuzzy bumblebee puppet and these lyrics:
I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee,
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me,
(Cup hands together as if holding bee)
I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee,
Ouch! It stung me!
(Shake hands as if just stung)
I’m squishing up the baby bumblebee,
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me,
(‘Squish’ bee between palms of hands)
I’m squishing up a baby bumblebee,
Ooh! It’s yucky!
(Open up hands to look at ‘mess’)
I’m wiping off the baby bumblebee,
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me,
(Wipe hands off on shirt)
I’m wiping off the baby bumblebee,
Now my mommy won’t be mad at me!
(Hold hands up to show they are clean)
So I pulled out my puppet, gathered the children and started singing. It took the children a couple times through to really get into it, but when they did, I realized the problem with these lyrics. When the song calls for “squishing” the baby bumble bee, the toddlers started to hit and attack the puppet, so we’d stop, I’d show them to squish their hands together, then continue on. That didn’t last. Why would they want to squish a pretend one when they had the “real” thing right in front of them?! Then they’d turn to the child next to them, and you could see it in their little eyes, “Hey, you look like you’d be a good bumblebee!” SMACK! Song n’ Dance time became very violent, very fast.
That night, while lying in bed and thinking about the day, I became worried for my “babies” little good natured hearts and the viciousness they showed. In real life, I probably would “squish” a bee that was trying to get me, but some of these sweet children were not yet ready to compare song lyrics with real life. I started playing with the words of the song, trying to adjust them, to ward off any further vicious attacks to the puppet (my hand), and the toddler next to them. Here is what I came up with:
I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee,
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me,
(Cup hands together as if holding bee)
I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee,
Ouch! It stung me!
(Shake hands as if just stung)
I’m Shooing away the baby bumblebee
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me
(make a “shooing” motion with hands)
Oh! He’s still following me!
I’m Chasing away the baby bumblebee
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me!
(pretend to chase away the bee)
Oh! All Gone!
Now, you may be laughing at me, and thinking I’m teaching children to be a bunch of pacifists, but that’s not the case. Every age is different. If this group of children had been older, they would be following along with the appropriate motions and knowing we were just pretending. In the case of these infant/toddlers, I needed to remove the chance to be violent. There is a big difference between rough n’ tumble play and violence.
So the next day I walked into class determined to change things up. I pulled out the puppet and started singing…when I got to the part of the song I changed, chaos followed. Poor babes were so confused as to why it was different and why I was acting out new movements. After singing the song once through, I stopped and explained to them what I was doing, and showed them each new motion. A couple more times through the song, they started joining in, and guess what: NO VIOLENT BEHAVIOR! I think they even had more fun because they now were given the excuse to run around!
I was pretty excited about the results of my revision! Now, did that mean I went back and changed every song and finger play I knew? Nope. But since then, I have kept in mind to pay better attention to some of the “older” songs I sing with children. I love the classics, and the good ol’ days, but I’m not opposed to switching up a few words to keep children in my care safe.
What is your take on this? Are there any songs/finger plays that you struggle with?