20+10=Happy New Year!

Wow...that will take some getting used to! No more "oh-eight" or "oh-nine," but "twenty-ten!" I don't quite yet know how I like the sound of it...but...I'd better get used to it, because I think it's here to stay! : )

For many of us this time of year, mistakes are abundant when writing or saying the date, as we revert to the previous year that we've grown accustomed to. So, if it's hard for us to keep the year straight, imagine what a confusing situation this might pose for our chidren or students with special needs!

This is the first New Year song I've written, and I approached it from the angle of recycling; that is, it isn't numeric-year specific, so it can be reused New Year-to-New Year. Isn't reusing and recycling great? I also wanted this song to emphasize how the New Year works from a calendar perspective. It's the same every year and a fact that after December comes January, and with January comes a new year.

Regardless of how I feel about the sound of our new decade, I'm going to say that it will be a great year. Looking at my calendar, short- and long-term, it will be a busy one too, but bring it on 2010!
I hope all of you have great visions for the next 12 months, and I wish you a happy, healthy New Year!


2010 IS HERE
It’s time to ring in the New Year-
Now 2010 is here.
When December 31st is done,
The next day is January 1.
The calendar adds one more year, and
Now 2010 is here.

The month of January starts a brand new year,
And the other months follow along.
Sing it loud for all to hear,
This is the New Year song.

January, February, March, April, and May
Then June, July, August, and September
October, November, and in December
After that very last day,
We’ll sing together and say…

It’s time to ring in the New Year-
Now 2010 is here.
When December 31st is done,
The next day is January 1 .
The calendar adds one more year. and
Now 2010 is here.

Diciembre, Dezember, Dicembre...December!

If you are like me, you're finding it hard to believe that today is the first day of the last month of the year...December is officially here!

Looking back on the year, I found myself in many new positions...one being that instead of simply providing circle time songs for teachers and classrooms, I present these songs live as I lead a few circles myself. During these times, an opportunity to greet one another as well as sing about days' events- namely calendar and weather related- arise.

This turned out to be a great change for me; I realized that some songs needed to be re-vamped or simply constructed from scratch. One such topic under construction is that of months. I have some cute songs in my bag of tricks, but they all lumped the months together within a single song. I found that I needed a song to sing about each month individually...so I give you "It is December".

The song can be used from month to month (and so the title changes slightly), simply by substituting month names, and specific happenings of the month. The melody is to the approximate tune of "Twinkle Little Star", so it's super easy for kids to sing along with and remember- teachers too!

Time sure goes by quickly; I hope you enjoy your December!



IT IS DECEMBER
The month of November has come to an end;
Now it is December, my friends.
The 12th and last month of the year;
Soon Christmas and snowy days will be here.
The month of November has come to an end;
Now it is December, my friends.



One more note: The repetitive lyrics of "Now it is..." is great for filling in the blank. Often after singing, I'll repeat the last line and leave the word 'December' for students to fill in.