OK, so we’ve already started the week…but I was just reading another blog that I subscribe to, and that got me to thinking about my idea about posting a song a week that I will then teach my children (or in Maeven’s case, often it will be to remind her of the song she already learned years ago) a song and encourage them to sing it all week.
I was thinking that if I am able to do this for myself here…that others might find it and also be able to teach the song to their children that week as well. Its the one thing so far I’ve not yet seen represented on other people’s homeschooling blogs that I know I can do. I have seen ideas for weekly science and problem solving and art and such, but nothing so far that is about SINGING songs. I think I saw something for weekly music, but it was classical, I believe…anyway I have only about a ZILLION singable songs in my stinkin head! So this should be easy for me!!
Why do I have so many songs in my head, you ask? I’m glad you asked!
First off, I grew up in a family that was very often singing. My dad has a fantastic voice, and often led us in singing. He’s a preacher so we got LOTS of singing in church, and then he continued the singing at home. And this was before we had a good car stereo so our road trips (which we had many when we were growing up) almost never included recorded music, but instead car singing. In rounds even!
Oh and did I mention that my parents met while both of them were counseling at a church summer camp? Yeah, BOTH my parents used to be camp counselors, so not only were church songs abundant in my house growing up, but many many folk songs and campfire songs (comet song, anyone? LOL! let me know if you get that one, ROFL!) and you name it…They also were huge musical fans…so soundtracks were regularly played at home as well…and re-sung later in the car and such. (“I’m gonna wash that man right outta my hair!”)
Add to that that I have always worked with children. My resume is FULL of jobs working with kids…and music always comes into play with kids, doesn’t it? At least quality work does. If you leave music out of a child’s education you’re seriously missing a hugely important part of childhood. At least, that’s my feelings on it.
And of course…the cobbler is the one with kids that have no shoes, right? So with all these ZILLIONS of songs that I know and have taught hundreds of children over the years, and all my singing background (I was even in performance choirs for 3 years, and the school musical my senior year of high school…but don’t let that fool you…I do NOT have a great singing voice.)…do MY kids know all these songs? Noooooooo, of course not! Hence, my need for a “song of the week”. This should give me a kick in the butt to drag out all those songs I know and actually TEACH THEM TO MY KIDS! sheesh! LOL!
So where to start? This one was easy. Immediately the first song that popped into my head was “A Ram Sam Sam.” This is a song that I remember from growing up…and it was a song I relearned as a preschool teacher and have taught MANY children. Maeven already knows it from when I ran a “Mommy & Me” program in our home, but will, I think, enjoy teaching her brother. Tyren will absolutely love it, I just know it! He’s such a musical little fella. Makes up his own songs all the time. Time to expand his repertoire now. 
Funny thing, I googled this song and actually found the lyrics and even a good recording of this song! Click the “Play” link or download it to your computer. And I should note that this site has a really great songlist of lyrics/music for a lot of great songs, check it out!
I should note that I pronounce the words differently. But you can pronounce it however you like. I always sang it “uh ram sam sam” (where ram and sam rhyme with ma’am), just like the recording, but my “guli guli guli guli guli” sounds like “goo-lee goo-lee goo-lee goo-lee goo-lee” (not guh-lee, like how they pronounce it in the recording), and i’ve also heard some preK teachers sing it “golly”…and the “a rafi” part i have always pronounced “uh raw fee”. (they pronounce it “uh rah vey”) but pick whatever you like, its all good.
now, actions…these are important and easy!
each part of the song has its own action.
“A ram sam sam”:
–make fists…on “A”(“uh”), you hold your right fist up at about the level of your head and your left fist low, closer to your lap…
–on “ram” “sam” and “sam” you knock your right fist on top of your left fist for each syllable.
–Then for the next “A ram sam sam,” you switch to your left fist knocking on top of your right fist 3 times (ram/sam/sam).
“Guli guli guli guli guli”:
–make your hands roll in a circle in front of you just like the wheels on the bus motion
Then same “ram sam sam” actions again for the next “a ram sam sam”
“A rafi, a rafi”:
–make your right hand wave (side to side wave, not the open/close wave) for the first “a rafi”
–make your left hand wave for the second “a rafi”
Then the same “guli” actions for the next “guli guli guli guli guli”
And the same “ram sam sam” actions again for the last “a ram sam sam”
THAT’S IT!! Easy, huh? Then you do it over and over again, getting faster each time until you are going so fast that your hands are just a messy blur cuz you can’t possibly get all the actions right at that speed. LOL! It’s great fun!
Then there’s the modified version of this song, which kids always love, where you substitue “A Pizza Hut” for “a ram sam sam” (and make a pointy roof over your head), “Kentucky Fried Chicken” for the “guli guli…” part (hands in armpits, flap like a chicken), and “McDonald’s” for the “a rafi” part (make an M with your arms similar to making a big circle over your head, but you make your fingers meet on top of your head to form the M).
I will try to get my kids to do a video of this this week so I can show you all this in action. If I can’t, I’ll brave the embarassment myself, LOL!
