Vocal exploration is so important for young children. It’s how they discover their head voice, explore their range, and work on melodic direction. For those reasons, I start every Preschool and Kindergarten lesson with a bit of vocal exploration. Most lessons we begin with pathways on the SmartBoard. I have a set of pre-made pathways for the school year, and also includes draw-your-own slides that the kids love. Other times, we explore our voices with puppets, yarn, pipe cleaners, or other fun props. But of course I love incorporating children’s literature too! In this post, I share three of my favorite books for vocal exploration.
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Up, Down, and Around
Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres is a great book for melodic direction. Each page features a different vegetable growing up, down, or around. After each vegetable, we move our voices in the direction that the vegetable grows. On another day, we can add in resonator bells or xylophones, and have them follow our voices.
Say Zoop!
If you want a book that your students will giggle at and adore, look no further than Say Zoop! by Herve Tullet. This book is the longest of the three in this post, so I have in the past read this book in pieces over the course of two or three classes.
Finger Maze Books
I feel lucky to have found this style of book a couple of years ago. Made for preschoolers, these are die-cut board books for practicing fine motor skills. One of my favorites is Through the Town by Katie Howarth. In it I can place my finger at the beginning of each maze traveling through the town, and the students can follow along with their voices. It’s also nice to bring up students to lead a page.
Another day I’m sure I’ll share more of my favorite books for vocal exploration, but these three are a great start if you haven’t used books this way before. If you decide to use any of these books, let me know what you think. Leave a comment below.
Happy teaching!
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