Jump in piles of fall leaves, I mean. I sure did! I can clearly remember having raked piles of leaves in our backyard (thanks Mom and Dad!), and my (middle) younger brother and I going to town playing in them. What simple fun! I'm sure that we were pretty lucky that our Mom let us play for a while without telling us to come inside. However, when we did need to end our jumping, I'm also pretty sure that Mom would have given us a warning or countdown or some indication that our fun would soon come to an end.
I find this very helpful when working with my students. Whether it's a verbal/ sung countdown, a change in my singing/ accompaniment style, or a change in facial expression, a warning that instrument play is going to stop is extremely beneficial. This song targets stopping, waiting, then resuming play- a very important (and often difficult) skill to learn. I use an abrupt guitar strum to signal stopping, and my students are already starting to anticipate the "stop!" and smile with anticipation of "go!"
JUMPING IN LEAVES
Outside all the trees are losing their leaves,
They’re falling to the ground.
Red, and orange, and yellow, and brown
Leaves are all around.
So I make a pile
And jump a little while
Then more, and more, and more.
Until my mom opens the back door
And yells “STOP!”
OK, you can go!
