Move Along

Perfect for any advancement ceremony for your youngest singers, such as graduation or commencement, this lively techno rock tune will get everyone in the room moving. It will also give singers opportunities to shout, sing, count, and affirm that school is fun!

We introduce to you in this song a dance move that David and Anne tell us has been popular in their home: the Bounce-ah. As it is described at the bottom of page 56, the Bounce-ah requires non-moving feet and knees that bend to the beat. Elbows can be bent or straight, and should join the shoulders and body with wiggling, twisting, and moving to the rhythm of the dance. You could also reverse the dance. Keep the top of the body still and move only the bottom. Try speaking a direction like, "Switch!" to indicate this reverse during the dance, or give it a name of its own.

The verses of this song list some things your students would have learned in class. Counting, spelling their names, and raising their hands are but a few. As always, feel free to substitute verse elements to suit your classroom.

The refrain is all about movement. If the Bounce-ah doesn't suit you, try to "move along" by walking or marching a pattern in your classroom. Do you have a ceremony at the end of the year? Try this on your school stage or multi-purpose room at your school and take pictures! (We'd love to know how this works for you, so please share.)

One final note about the text. We discovered that if we used an action with our hands to indicate to the kids, "Hey, get ready to count 1 2 3!," they were looking for it. They anticipated the signal from us to start the counting, so there was more ready participation and fewer stragglers. We chose to raise both hands, palms open wide, and then to conduct the actual "1 2 3." Then we used a different hand gesture to indicate whether they were to shout the word "Sing!" or "Move!" or "Stop!" For this age group, any gesturing you can do helps them learn the song, be together, and have fun. Try a gesture for key words or phrases of the song: Examples: "I" (point to yourself), "can count" (hold up one finger at a time to the beat until your next gesture), "raise my hand" (raise your hand). This will keep them engaged and help everyone remember the words.

Well, it's time to move along...