3 Musical Ideas to Initiate Tidying Up

Let’s bring a little Mary Poppins to tidying up time: make it fun!

What musical ideas can you use? 

There are 3 musical ideas you could use to initiate tidying up: 

1. Instrument: 

You could use a tambourine, a drum, a shaker...  whatever you can easily access and play.

1. Tap the syllables in the words that you want to ask the children.  For example you could use the following phrases:

Tidy up time (2 short taps, 1 long tap,  1 long tap) e.g.:

Are you nearly done? (1 long tap,1 long tap, 2 short taps, 1 long tap) e.g.:

The above are just examples and are quite dry so that you can hear what I mean with regards to the rhythmic pattern of the words.  Interpret this in your own style.

2. Tap or shake any rhythm you like but do the say every time so that the children tune into that rhythm.

3. Use body percussion.  I have heard in schools the teacher clapping the rhythm of the words (no talking): 'Are you ready?' and the children say back: 'Yes we are!'

4. Or you could just shake the tambourine to gain the children's attention to stop what they are doing.

2. Play a piece of music

Choose a piece of music that will be the music that the children recognise as the tidy up music.  You can then let it play whilst they are tidying up.

Choose a piece that has a jolly beat that would get them motivated to move.

3. Song

Create your own song from a familiar tune.  Here is me singing a song using the tune Rain, Rain go away: 

If you would like to use music more during your routines you might like to sign up for my FREE 3 Days Access to 'Step 1: Routines' from the online training course 5 Steps to a Musical Setting:

Happy music making!