Gentle Hands and Other Sing-Along Songs for Social-Emotional Learning by Amadee Ricketts

Author:Amadee Ricketts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Free Spirit
Published: 2018-06-28T12:00:00+00:00

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Gentle Hands is meant to be shared anywhere, any time,

one on one, or with a group. The individual songs are

short and simple enough to fit right into your routine.

Whether it is bedtime, storytime, classroom time, circle

time, or stuck-in-traffic time, these songs are a fun way

to share social-emotional skills with young children.

Talk About It

The social-emotional concepts in this book come up

throughout the day at home and at school. Each of these

moments is a chance to talk about feelings, kindness,

inclusion, or being a good friend. Seeing the way these

general ideas fit in to their own experiences helps young

children make connections between ideas and actions.

Just as specific praise (“It was really kind when

Marcus offered Serena a turn playing with the train”) is

more meaningful than general praise (“Marcus is kind”),

specific moments provide an opportunity for meaningful

discussion (“Thank you for telling me that you are feel-

ing afraid. Talking about it can help! Can you think of

any other things that might help when you are feeling

scared?”).

Singing and Learning

Songs are a great way to teach new words and concepts,

in part because they are so easy to remember. One great

example is the alphabet song. (Because I mentioned it,

you are probably thinking of the tune right now!)

Advertising jingles are less educational, but a good jingle

“sticks” in your head. This demonstrates the powerful

connection between music and memory.

Familiar tunes like the ones in this book, which come

from nursery rhymes and folk songs, are easy for anyone

to sing and remember. Whether you think of yourself

as a singer or not, the children you care for love to hear

your voice simply because it is yours. Singing together is

a wonderful way to bond.

Along with teaching new concepts and providing spe-

cial time together, singing is valuable for young children

because it helps them hear and differentiate between

the smaller sounds that make up words. This skill is an

important building block when children begin learning

to read.

One of the most effective ways to share the early

learning benefits of singing is also the simplest: sing the

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