Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/sending-songs-home-supporting-family-engagement-through-music/5025212/
*Photos can be found in the pdf version of this article.
“Where, oh where,
oh where is purple?
Where, oh where,
oh where is purple?
Here, oh here, oh here is purple!
Way down yonder
in the Rainbow Patch.”
*Teacher’s name has been changed.
Preschool teacher Miss Laura* came up with a color-learning game using the children’s song “Paw Paw Patch.” In her version, the classroom became an imaginary “rainbow patch.” Miss Laura and her students marched around the classroom while she sang, “Where, oh where, oh where is purple / Where, oh where, oh where is purple?” Once the children heard the color, they searched for something purple in the room, and then everyone sang, “Here, oh here, oh here is purple! Way down yonder in the Rainbow Patch.”
This song game quickly became a favorite classroom activity, and over time, Miss Laura came up with versions to teach about animals (“Where, oh where, oh where is the tiger?”), numbers (“Where, oh where, oh where is 14?”), and manners (“Where, oh where, oh where is thank you?”). Miss Laura turned the song into a fun, flexible teaching tool that helped her students practice gross-motor movement, teamwork, inhibitory control, active listening, working memory, cognitive concepts, singing/rhythm skills ...