Submitted by Connie Herbon, Iowa

Idea posted April 8, 2005

Here is a simple scale song to help students learn about money. (Lyrics shared by Louise Eddington.) Adding diatonic bells or Boomwhackers® on the scale tones helps reinforce the pitches with the young voices. I find that repeated use of scale songs with my little ones helps them sing more in tune. They don't know all the solfège syllables yet and may be focusing on sm or slsm tunes, but they can still benefit from the use of the full diatonic scale.

(1) 1 a penny,
(2) 2 a penny,
(3) 3 a penny,
(4) 4,
(5) 5 a penny
(6) makes a nickel,
(7) now we'll do some
(8) more.
(8) 6 a penny,
(7) 7 a penny,
(6) 8 a penny,
(5) 9,
(4) When we come to
(3) 10 a penny
(2) now we'll have a
(1) dime.