It has been a very wet week here in Williams Treaty Territory, just south of Lake Simcoe. The snow has gone, and I don’t see much sign of it coming back in the next couple of weeks. I have two songs that I generally find are great to explore with children at this time of year, and they still offer a lot of opportunity to connect with the animals and trees in the land, despite the lack of snow… they just need a bit of lyrical adjustment!
Tracks in the Snow (“Les traces dans la neige” in French) is all about exploring the tracks the animals leave. Finding animal tracks is so very exciting, and opens the door to so much wondering… Who left these here? What were they doing? Do they live near here? Might I see them? Though there isn’t snow right now where I am, there is a whole lot of mud! And mud is great for tracks, too! So I suggest singing along to this tune and changing the word “snow” to “mud” 😉 This is folk music, my friends! Make it work for you!
When the Snow Falls Down offers the opportunity to consider what has happened to all of the animal friends we have gotten to know over the warmer months… Now that it has gotten colder, can their needs be met here? How might they adapt to the changes in the land? Thinking about these things offers an invitation to look closely for clues in the land, and also to do some research about how animals adapt to the changing seasons. Despite the lack of snow, I think you can sing the lyrics as is, but again, you might want to explore with children how you could modify the words to communicate what is happening in the land where you live at this time… For example, instead of “when the snow falls down and leaves a blanket on the ground”, perhaps you might want to sing “when the rain falls and falls and it’s so cold and bare and brown”… Or perhaps you might want to create your own phrase and share that with me?! I would love to hear what you do 🙂
I love to hear about how you are connecting with the songs at any time, so please leave a comment or send me a note and let me know about your adventures!
Happy singing!
Land Heart Song 