My first attempt at making a song cube looked really cool but had some issues.
This newest version has upholstery foam on the inside, wrapped with a layer of felt. The images are stuck directly to it with fabric glue. I have high hopes about its structural integrity and rollability.My plan is to have kids volunteer to roll it. I'm a little worried about hurt feelings: children being upset if they don't get picked or someone not wanting to let go of the cube. Hopefully the good will outweigh the bad. If you have experience with this kind of crowd participation, I'd love your input in the comments section!
Below are the songs I chose, with helpful links to the awesome Jbrary ladies singing them. I've been wanting to do their "Pop! Goes the Berry" for a while. We will only sing the first verse/chorus to keep the program hopping.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
round and round,
round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
all through the town.
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. (clap clap)
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are.
The itsy bitsy spider
Went up the water spout
Down came the rain and
Washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
Now the itsy bitsy spider
Went up the spout again
One little red fish swimming in the water,
Swimming in the water, swimming in the water.
One little red fish swimming in the water,
Bubble, bubble, bubble, pop.
All around the strawberry fields,
We picked some juicy berries
We brought them home and washed them off,
Pop! Go the berries! (jump up on "pop")
Thanks to Anne at So Tomorrow for hosting
It's very encouraging to hear about other people's flops--makes everyone feel that they are not alone! Thanks for sharing the tweaks you made to create what is hopefully a more usable song cube. Both versions are so gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteAs for the kids taking turns rolling the cube--it depends on the day, the crowd, the mood. In my classroom I always like to lead by example, so the first few times I would roll it myself. When I feel they are ready to roll, I might choose a child based on shirt color, or first letter of their name... I actually have it easier in the classroom setting. I use a "can of names" to pick people to take a turn. Each child has a symbol. Each symbol is on a small square in the can. The can does not have ears, so it can't hear the kids saying "me, me, me!" --so they don't do that. When a symbol is picked, that child can decide it s/he wants a turn. The squares have velcro, so I can keep them on the flannelboard to help me remember who has already had a turn. Sometimes it takes a few days to get everyone their turn. Not sure how that would work in a library setting, but hopefully some teachers are also reading your blog :)
That said, with a smaller group I would ask for volunteers, and then make sure everyone who wants a turn gets one. With large groups chaos can ensue if I don't use the methods I talked about above.
Have fun! I still haven't made my cube. It's on my list!
Hi Wendy! Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I really like your idea of using something arbitrary like clothing color or first letter of name to pick the rollers. I'll try that in the future.
DeleteI asked for volunteers for the first couple programs and too many wanted to roll it. Now, instead of asking, I hand it directly to a random child before the "me, me, me"s start.
I'm going to be making some of these shortly so it's great to see successes (and failures). I have squishy foam all set for mine! I'm going to make two, actually, one with super short songs like "Twinkle Twinkle" and one with longer songs like "Wheels on the Bus." Though we always do seals on the bus for animal sound shenanigans. I really liked the velcro idea for switching songs out from time to time. Do you think there is any way to actually make that viable? I guess I could stitch them on instead of gluing, which would still allow for a change in the future, though not with the same ease.
ReplyDeleteIf I was to try Velcro again, I would put a bunch of the Velcro hooks on the back of my felt pieces and try to make the cube out of a material that was the equivalent of the soft side. Or maybe stitch a bunch of the soft Velcro onto the cube in a pattern matched on the backs of the felt. Does that make sense? Also, I made a couple small cubes in between the big ones to practice attaching the felt around the foam. Looked a little better each time!
DeleteI did just find some fabric that is like velcro loops, so I will definitely consider that option! Thanks for the tips :)
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