A Very Berry Song

by Teresa Jennings

Have you ever thought about all the kinds of berries there are? As it turns out, lots of them could be correlated to the winter or holiday season. But then, a lot are great for other seasons, too. So we figured, why not list a bunch in song? As you can hear, the tune seems pretty simple and straightforward. At first. But as we started running out of berries, we quickly digressed into pure silliness. (Which we often do, as you probably know.) Though it is very short and sweet, it does last long enough to get kids giggling. At least ours in the recording session did. If you're performing the piece with live piano, guitars, etc., you could lengthen it by repeating it, or by adding your own new lyrics, berries or otherwise.

To enhance the song for younger singers and even help to bring it across the curriculum, we have asked one of our artists-in-residence, Kristyn Johnson, to come up with a neat craft activity. On our web site, you will find a three-page PDF containing directions and two templates so your students can color and create their very own paper berry basket. Also included is a coloring page of berries that can be cut out and added to the completed baskets. Weaving the basket sides is optional, so even your "berry" youngest singers can participate in this quick and fun craft project!

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.