Wordplay songs with Will Stroet
We have a special guest post today from children’s musician Will Stroet:
As a kid and now as a kids’ songwriter, wordplay continues to be an obsession of mine. I have a daily addiction to the New York Times crossword puzzle. Sitting down with a cup of coffee and this crossword, the Holy Grail for wordplay aficionados, is one of the great joys in my life!
Wordplay is also tons of fun for kids, especially when you put it into song.
Before I share my five favourite classic wordplay songs to sing with kids, I have a story to share of how I got into writing kids’ music.
While I was studying to become a teacher at UBC, I started writing music for my students. I can remember the specific time when it hit me like a bolt of lightning that this was something I could do in the classroom. I had been given the task of creating a language arts lesson plan that used something called “hink pinks” (Here’s a hink pink link, don’t blink, check it out so I know we’re in sync!). Hink pinks are an amazing example of wordplay. I had a brainwave – why not make this lesson a musical interactive game?! So I wrote an interactive song, I called ‘Will’s Rhyme Time’, that used clues to be answered by hink pinks. The class would guess and call back, all within the song. It was a hit with the other student teachers as well as my students, and I’ve been writing songs for kids ever since.
5 classic wordplay songs to sing with kids
Old McDonald: A song we all know and sing with our kids. This song is a perfect example of using onomatopoeia and kids just love it. Here’s my favourite version done by the great Ella Fitzgerald.
Down By The Bay: Another classic song that you can sing with your kids for a long time, as long as you can keep thinking of rhymes. In my experience this song can get pretty silly, and that’s what makes it so fun. “Have you ever seen a turkey, acting really quirky?”
BINGO: This is a fun one that everyone knows as well. Some simple spelling and as you remove the letters you can just watch the wheels in motion as your kids figure it out. As a fan of the Beatles, I would also suggest this new adaptation? “There is a Beatle in the band and RINGO is his name-o…”
Apples and Bananas: This song is a super fun way to work on the different vowel sounds with your kids. Things get pretty silly as you swap out the different vowels with each verse. I do a song like this in French called “Les pommes et les bananes.” The melody is different but the concept is the same. It’s a fun one for young kids starting French immersion.
The Window: This is a fun camp song that assumes you have some knowledge of nursery rhymes. Everyone singing the song gets to take turns or work together to come up with nursery rhymes to plug into the song. At the end of each verse someone or something gets chucked out the window! “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, all the king’s horses and all the kings men… they threw him out the window! The window, the window, we’ll throw you out the window. If you don’t watch what you’re about, we’re throw you out the window!”
Combining music with song is an incredible way for kids to learn, and is fun for both parents and kids. I am about to record my next album, and Wordplay is the title and central theme. I’m excited to be recording the album in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Steve Dawson (who produced my last album, Just Imagine). To help support my recording process and build some excitement, we’ve launched a 30-day Kickstarter campaign – you can find out how to get involved and receive an advanced copy and other great rewards here.
I hope you have fun with these musical word games with your kids. Feel free to share any other favourites you have in the comments below.
Will Stroet is a kids’ musician from Vancouver who has two daughters, Ella and June. You can watch him in Will’s Jams airing M-F at 7:25 AM and 9:25 AM on Kids’ CBC. Find out more about his music at www.willmusic.ca and connect with Will on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
