My Aunt Came Back - A Picture Book Activity

When my wild and crazy kindergartners returned this fall as first graders, they went from four classes of 19 to three classes of 26. They're STILL wild and crazy! However they really are singing nicely, so I decided to dig out a picture book I bought a few years ago and use it in September as they focus on Me/Families in their classrooms.

My Aunt Came Back is a board book by Pat Cummings (Harper Collins Publishing). There are many versions of the words, and the song is available from many sources. (You don't even really need the picture book.) In case you don't know the song, I found it in Music For Little People by John Feierabend ("Oh, My Aunt Came Back") and also on the Wee Sing video The Marvelous Musical Mansion. (In that version it's done as a cumulative-movement song, similar to "Hi, My Name is Joe." I'm not interested in the movements for our purposes, but it's a cute alternative.)

Some versions of the song use the verse "My aunt came back from Old Algers and brought with her a pair of shears." You can use any words/places that rhyme and work for you, even turning it into a literacy activity by having students help create lyrics. For example, "My aunt came back from Athens, Greece, and brought with her a flock of geese." You could even have a geography and social studies connections here.

Tunes also vary. Students echo each motive. Our tune will be:

s d r m / m f m r / s t d r / d m r d

After teaching the song, we'll add Boomwhacker® chords:

F F F F / C C C C / C C C C / F F F F, using F, A, and high C for the F chord and low C, E, G for the C chord

Even a couple sets of tubes would allow 12 students to play each time. I have seven sets, so I'll probably give each student one tube in each chord to provide a fuller steady-beat experience. Extra students can play the F and low C on xylophone.