In a shamless bid to get more playing time on my whistle, I agreed to play for 15 minutes with my daugther’s preschool class. I have several ideas of songs with motions, dances, etc. but wondered if any of you have ideas or have done something similar. I don’t have enough whistles to let them all play (and wouldn’t want to be in the room if I did), so this will have to be some kind of interactive thing where I am playing and they are listening, moving, or singing. What do think?
P.S. If someone would mention how important it is for me to have several hours to practice each night, I can print this thread and show it to my wife…
Is that your daughter in the picture? Sounds like fun!
One thing I’ve found that little ones really love is to hear again (and again, and again, ad nauseum) the tunes they know. If you can have a handy list of popular preschool songs, and work them in somehow… or have a time to take requests.
If you want them to be seated during music time, you can have them use a prop (beanie baby or doll) to move to the music, and try slow and faster tunes.
On the same note, using a story they already know and then working in music as you tell it can be pretty much fun. Sort of a la Peter and the Wolf, if you have a short theme for different characters or events, you can have kids dramatize a story. Or use motions that go with each tune.
Since the desire to toot is so strong, is there a way you could have one child, or maybe two, have a chance to blow into a whistle each time? Make out a schedule so they each get a turn (like the snack server) and you hold the whistle and do the fingering for them. Or have them do the fingers and you blow. Just something to consider.
My daughter is a music teacher in VA. I went to her class for the artist in residence program this past March. The smallest children were pre-K. I played “The Butterfly” for them. They each had a long scarf to hold like wings and they loved fluttering around to the music. I played it on my hammered dulcimer but it is really neat played on the whistle too. I played Shephards Hay on my whistle for an older group of kids and they danced to it. When the students come into the class room they have a Welcome (circle) song they sing and before they leave they sing a goodbye (circle) song. I learned the goodbye song and they sang it with my whistle. I don’t recall the name of the song now but it was a very simple melody.
They will love whatever you play. I taught them about low and high tones and soft and quiet sounds so it was also a learning experience for them. I had as much fun as the children and I learned a new respect for the patience my daughter has being a teacher! Have fun! Oh and 15 minutes will fly by very fast with a group of preschoolers!!!
Dingle Regatta - they know it as “Bippity Boppity Boo”
Seriously, they’ll love anything. I play whistle for kids all the time. The sheer fact that an adult is playing music for them is weird enough (“I thought music came out of little boxes”) that you’ll sell it on shock value alone.
It was wonderful fun! The kids loved it as much as I did. I am sure that there are lots of songs about animals that could be adapted for this kind of thing. Like the “Baby Elephant Walk”, “Spotted Pony”.
Lolly Cross has some great whistle tunes on her both of her CD’s that kids would love. She made the first CD with her Grand Daughter Lisa in mind. You can check them out and get a listen on CDBaby.
Thanks everyone for the input. My preschool “gig” is next Friday, so I will certainly be incorporating your ideas. Jennie, that is my daughter in the picture. Thanks too, David for your suggestions, I happen to know all three of those songs; if only I could figure out some way to put them together in a medley or something
Kathy, I don’t believe I know the Butterfly song; is it a familiar tune?
If you go to the clips and snips site here here on C&F. http://www.tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/jigs.html It is a jig. There are 3 examples of it there. Lolly’s version is nice and also down at the very bottom of the page, is one by Jason King that is on a low whistle it is also really nice. The sheet music can be found at: http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/abc/findtune.html Just type in The Butterfly and click the “Find Wide” button and you will get a bunch of versions of it.
I hope it all goes well for you! Best of Luck! Let us know how it went!
Thanks so much, Kathy! Between the Butterfly, Christmas songs, all the standard kid songs I play at home, I should have plenty of music and lots of fun!
Thanks for all your input. I had a good (if short) time with the preschoolers on Friday. Unfortunately I didn’t get my act together and learn the Butterfly, but it was fun anyway. First I played and they sang the songs they are learning in class. After the days of the week and the months of the year songs, and the obligatory ‘wheels on the bus’ I did get to play some whistle music at last. The Old Grey Cat, Tom Finnegan’s wake, and several others whose names escape me. The kids would freeze when I stopped playing, and ‘unfreeze’ when I started again (shouldn’t they be thawing instead)?
I’m glad to hear that you had a good time with the preschoolers. The freezing, was them waiting in anticipation of what you were going to play next! That’s a good thing! You had their attention and that is not an easy thing to keep in children that young! Good on you! So when are you going to do it again? The butterfly is fun to play but it takes some practice. There is one part that I still have to slow down on to get it right on my whistle.
Have fun! Oh and 15 minutes will fly by very fast with a group of preschoolers!!! 
