For You

The spirit of giving is a lesson we like to impart to children. Thinking of someone else and actually creating something to give them is a potential lifelong skill they can learn at an early age. The pride in creating something is strong for young students, so why not sing about it? The verses of "For You" let your kids list possible items they can use to make their creations. The chorus emphasizes that all their efforts are "for you!"

We invite you to come up with alternate lyrics for either verses or chorus, given your particular circumstances. In the verses of the song, you'll find no rhyming, just rhythm, so have fun replacing our suggested craft stuffs with some of your own. Having actual samples of the items to hold up or point to as you sing is a helpful teaching tool as well. The chorus lends itself well to pointing back and forth. For example, when your kids sing "I," tell them to point to themselves. When they sing "you," have them point to you, another adult in the room, or maybe their parents in the audience. They could also point to friends in class.

If you have older students who you would like to have sing the background "oh's" (which are part of the accompaniment track), we've made the part available for download as well as an audio version without that part being sung. (See details following.)

"For You" is being offered in our holiday issue, but it can be done anytime. Giving and receiving gifts are year-round activities, so please keep it in mind for other programs during your school year.

Online extras - The free, downloadable extras mentioned can be found under the Graphics and Extras for Volume 20, No. 2 at MusicK8.com