Physics Songs for Early Childhood Students

All songs are written by Dr. Stephen J. Van Hook, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, sjvanho@bgsu.edu.

I hope soon to have audio files of students singing the songs so you can get a sense of the tunes and rhythm.

AIR

This is more a cheer than a song in the usual sense ...

Air, Air, We need Air.
We can't see it, but we know it's there.
We feel the wind blowing through our hair,
It's here, there, everywhere!
Air fills a balloon (and a bottle, too).
If we couldn't breathe it, we'd turn blue!

Now, with Hand Motions:

Air [clap], Air [clap], We [point to self with both thumbs] need Air [clap]
We can't see it [cover eyes with both hands], but we know it's there [point to head with left pointer finger].
We feel the wind blowing through our hair [brush right hand back through hair], It's here [point to ground], there [point forwards], everywhere [arms out at sides]!
Air fills a balloon [arms out at sides now curl to make a circle, like one is holding a big balloon] (and a bottle, too).
If we couldn't breathe it, [pause for a few seconds holding breath and then release it as though one had just held one's breath for a whole minute] we'd turn blue!

Audio File (mp3) * Video (1.1 MB)

ENERGY

Energy Song #1 - I Need My Energy

This is sort-of to the tune of "This Little Light of Mine". The instructor mainly sings the lines in regular font and the students respond with the lines in italics. There are hand motions for the instructor to use (e.g., with "wind me up" twist hand to indicate winding up something).

I need my energy, where do I get it from?
Do I get it from a battery? No, I get it from my food!
Does someone come and plug me in? No, I get it from my food!
Do I get it from gasoline? No, I get it from my food!
Does someone need to wind me up? No, I get it from my food!
Do I get it from sunlight? No, I get it from my food!
Do I get it from mac & cheese? Yes, 'cause I get it from my food!

Energy Song #2 - Lift, Squeeze, Stretch & Twist

I think of this one as an old Richard Simmons aerobic video song... The hand motions should be pretty obvious.

Let's give energy to our toys!
Lift, Squeeze, Stretch & Twist.
Wind those springs with a twist of our wrist.
Now everyone do it - girls and boys.
Lift, Squeeze, Stretch & Twist.

MAGNETS

This song is to the tune of "I'm a little Teapot" (think Jeopardy theme song for last line). The hand motions are pretty similar, too-we use our right hand pointing away from our body as the "tip/arrow" and our left hand pointing in the opposite direction (making a fist rather than open hand) as the tail. I use a model of a magnet as an arrow with my students (the N pole is the tip of the arrow; the south pole is the tail of the arrow).

I'm a little magnet, come and see.
Here is my arrow, here is my tail.
Bring another magnet close to me
We'll stick together tip to tail!

I'm a little magnet, come and see
Here is my arrow, here is my tail.
Bring a steel paperclip Close to me
I'll make it magnet, with tip and tail.

I've used this with students learning about N/S poles, too; here's that version.

I'm a little magnet, come and see.
Here is my north pole, here is my south.
Bring another magnet close to me
We'll stick together north to south!

I'm a little magnet, come and see
Here is my north pole, here is my south.
Bring a steel paperclip Close to me
I'll make it magnet, with north and south.


All songs are copyrighted by Dr. Stephen J. Van Hook. You are most welcome (even encouraged) to use these songs in your classes, but please request permission before using them in any kind of publication.
Video & audio are copyrighted by Dr. Stephen J. Van Hook and may not be used for purposes other than science education without permission.
Stephen J. Van Hook homepage * BGSU Physics & Astronomy * COSMOS Math & Science Education Center