Skin and Bones

Here is a fun and simple activity to do with your early elementary! Let Raffi do all of the singing (give your voice a break!) and use the stretchy band to create a “dance”. Your kids will love saying “ooooh” in a spooky voice and throwing up the band when the old woman opens the closet door! You can add on to the song, if you have the time, or use it as is. In either case, you kids will love it!

Set up:

  • Get kids into a standing circle and have them each take a section of a stretchy band.
  • Go to YouTube and pull up Raffi’s “Skin and Bones” ~ if you do not have it on CD.

Activity:

  • As Raffi sings “There was an old women all skin and bones” ~ everyone taps the band against their thighs to the steady beat
  • “oooooohh” ~ take step forward moving the band upwards and then rock backwards putting your foot back in place next to the other one and the band ends up in its starting point on your thighs
  • “She lived down by the old graveyard” ~ everyone taps the band against their thighs to the steady beat
  • “oooooohh” ~ take step forward moving the band upwards and then rock backwards putting your foot back in place next to the other one and the band ends up in its starting point on your thighs
  • “One night she thought she’d take a walk” ~ take step forward moving the band upwards and then rock backwards putting your foot back in place next to the other one and the band ends up in its starting point on your thighs
  • “oooooohh” ~ take step forward moving the band upwards and then rock backwards putting your foot back in place next to the other one and the band ends up in its starting point on your thighs
  • Keep following pattern until the last verse when the line is “she opened the door and boo!” ~ everyone taps the steady beat against their thighs for “she opened the door and..” then everyone gently throws it up when he yells “boo!”! …you will certainly hear some giggles!!

Add on:

  • Ask kids other spooky things she saw on her walk and add them in right after “she saw the bones a’laying around”. Examples: she saw some witches behind a tree. She saw white ghosts floating around

Fun Books

  • We’re Going On A Ghost Hunt adapted by Kris Hirschmann ~ this book is a version of Going on a Bear Hunt. This is a great book for kids to practice echoing you and for keeping a steady beat as they tap it on their laps.
  • There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat by Lucille Colandro ~ A fun and silly song story!
  • Just Say Boo by Susan Hood ~ after almost every rhyme, you are asked “What do you say?”, you turn the page and the answer is “Boo!”. So I point to the little ones and have them say it! They think it’s hilarious!!

“Pumpkin, Pumpkin Round and Fat”

“Pumpkin, pumpkin round and fat, turn into a jack-o-lantern just like that!”

  • Say it as a class.
  • Create an 8 beat Tala (rest for 8 beats. Move your hands palm to palm, palm to back of hand, then palm to palm again and so forth signaling each beat. For more information, download my eBook “How To Teach Music Basics and Beat The Clock!” from the pop-up)
  • Say it again (so that you create an ABA form where the Tala is B)
  • Practice this for a bit
  • During the Tala, have kids improvise on an instrument. I passed around a glock so that every person had an improv solo, but anything you have in the classroom will do!
  • This is fantastic for getting kids used to having to start and stop at a certain time on their own!