Shape Up!

There are two action concepts behind this tune: learning about shapes and getting a little exercise! (Winter months might be a good time to try this, especially if kids are restless or getting bored.)

Think of a classroom or gym set up with chairs (or whatever) arranged in the shape desired. For example, a circle, which the song mentions. But any shape can be substituted - square, triangle, rectangle, etc. Of course, whatever shape you are using should be altered to resemble what you are singing about as it changes.

The action word in the tune is "march." Again, this action can be substituted with other actions, like walk, hop, dance, skip, tiptoe, etc. Your choice. Decisions in advance will make the whole class time run more smoothly, and the kids will have gobs of fun learning some good stuff.

If a large-scale set-up is not doable, or if your class size is small, a small setting can work, too. How about a line drawing of the shapes you want to introduce? Use the action word "draw" while students are sitting at their desks and tracing the shape with their writing tools. Cool, huh? This is just a start! Let your imagination and what you know of your kids determine how to make this a fun-filled song activity.