The link between physical activity and mental wellbeing is well known and proven. The National Curriculum requires us to teach pupils the importance of understanding that good physical health contributes to good mental wellbeing, and vice versa. On top of this, music and movement are inextricably linked, and innate. Play a song with a strong beat to a toddler and they will instinctively start to dance. Indeed, for some of our songs, it’s practically impossible not to start moving!
If you need some inspiration for ways to get your pupils moving and more energized, take a look at our ‘Get Active!’ playlist. Universal Access users, simply open up your Words On Screen™ player, go to All eSongbooks on the left-hand menu and scroll down to the Universal Access playlists. If you do not have Universal Access you can view the playlist here.
With the weather continuing to improve, and if your school is still unable to sing indoors due to space restrictions, these songs are great for performing outside. For younger children, there can be no better start to the day than Wake Up or Moving To The Music, complete with actions to energize both minds and bodies. Hey, You In The Middle is a great game for indoors or in the playground, giving an opportunity for each pupil to be in the spotlight (if they want to!) and ‘show what you can do’. For older children, Big Happy Noise also includes body percussion or the round Start The Day With Exercise can be sung with gentle stretches or more energetic knees up high and jogging on the spot.
Originally written as warm-ups for the start of a singing session, the following songs make great ‘brain break’ activities and can be useful for when you’re tackling a tricky topic in maths or the children are struggling to understand a concept. Coordination Funk is a rhythmic number involving foot-stamping, rubbing heads and patting tummies. Crazy Clapping is a great one for clapping in time, on and off the beat, that will really get those brains in gear! And for the ultimate counting and coordination challenge, try Clomp, Stomp with different body percussion rhythms for a class split into four groups. (You might also find that reluctant singers are drawn in by the actions and more chant-like singing required in these songs.)
As you may have read in our earlier ‘Wellbeing’ blog, we firmly believe in the power of music to enhance wellbeing. And with the challenges that coronavirus has brought, in addition to the demands of a full curriculum, there are times when you just need to let your hair down and have some fun! Therefore, we’ve also created a ‘Just For Fun’ playlist for those days when the children just need to be a bit silly and let off steam (in a controlled way, of course!) or when you want to lighten the mood, as a reward for good work or behaviour, or just when you have a spare five minutes.
Sing Something Silly! is the perfect example of song that will lift everyone’s spirits. Or older children might like to try the tongue-twisting nonsense number Dang-A-Rang-A-Dang Do!, or The Bonkers Song with its four clever and catchy parts. The title and lyrics of Just Sing! encapsulate our whole ethos here at Out of the Ark:
‘Sing when you’re happy, sing when you’re sad,
Sing when you’re laughing, sing though it’s mad,
Sing ‘Howdy-doody’, sing ‘Toodle-oo’, just sing!’
We hope that the ‘Get Active!’ and ‘Just For Fun’ playlists we’ve put together help you to really get the most out of Universal Access.
