Little Red Caboose

Little Red Caboose is based on a popular children's book about, well, a little red caboose.  It was first published in 1953 by Marian Potter and has since turned into a popular children's song.  It is a great song to use while focusing on transportation, the color red, and coordination.

I've used the song from the CD collection, Best of the Best Preschool Play Songs.  The song starts out slow and gets faster and faster.  It's a great way for children to recognize the change in dynamic and keep up with the faster pace.

Recently, I found Laurie Berkner's version of Little Red Caboose and love it!  There are different colors used for the caboose besides just red.  I decided to make felt cabooses as a visual and attach them to a felt board.

I drew a rough template of a caboose on a red felt piece and then copied it onto the other colors of felt.  I cut out white felt squares and black felt circles and hot glued them onto the caboose.

It's a great visual for younger 1 year olds and babies.  For children older than that, you can make a pretend track on the floor using painter's tape and "chug" along the track to the beat of the song.

You can find the lyrics to Laurie Berkner's version of Little Red Caboose here.
You can find the song on Laurie Berkner's Buzz Buzz album here.

Happy Chuggin'!

A New Series

I've been contemplating on starting a new series for awhile.  The time has come to put my thoughts into action and bring to you:

See. Learn. Play. is a new series, launching on Friday, based on my experience teaching music and chapel lessons to preschoolers.  I have spent many hours reading books, searching the internet, and seeking the advice of other professionals, trying to find the best way to make a song more fun and exciting or make a story come to life.

So many times I will play a song with great lyrics and a great message and the kids will be bored out of their minds.  Or I'll tell a very important Bible story that I want the kids to carry in their minds and hearts and they could care less.  Why?  Because I didn't make it interesting enough.  I didn't make it fun enough. I didn't make it interactive enough.

Kids love to have fun.  Kids need to use their energy and kids want to be a part.  Whether it is a song, nursery rhyme, poem, or Bible story, kids need to be involved.  When we use a hands on approach, the kids will remember what they participated in.  They won't remember everything you said while they were made to just sit there and stare at you.

In this new series, I will share my ideas and experiences and provide links to my most useful resources.  Hope you follow along!