I love the holidays! But I rarely get to put seasonal music in my lessons because when you only see the students once a week, the holidays go by quickly. So I tend to only put in holiday stuff if I think it has a useful purpose.
This year I did Feliz Navidad with my kindergarten students. I love this song because it has a lot of Spanish. I have a very high Hispanic population at my school – many with Spanish as their first language – and I love being able to do something that resonates with their heritage. And it is still accessible to non-Spanish speakers too! I also chose Feliz Navidad because it has a very simple form – basically extended ABA form (ABABABABA …).
Here’s what we do. The first time the kids hear it, we listen for when there is singing and when there is not. We discuss how some parts are in Spanish and some parts are in English. Then we practice the A section (Feliz Navidad). During the A section, we shake our hands to the beat like we have maracas. During the B section, we do a conga line with the whole class (or keep it simple with move and freeze in your own space). So basically, during A, our whole class is frozen feet, hands shaking “air maracas” to the beat. During B we conga line (or free dance) around the room. On day two, you at the piece de resistance … the ACTUAL maracas! Let the fun ensue. Quick. Simple. Fun. Useful for teaching form and becoming familiar with the maraca (Florida benchmark for K is for students to be able to name basic classroom instruments).
FELIZ NAVIDAD!
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