Children's Literature for Music Ed: "Christmas Mice!"

Just as "Halloween Mice!" was a great book for a creative movement activity, so is the equally fun "Christmas Mice!" also by Bethany Roberts and illustrated by Doug Cushman.

"The holiday mice are back! It’s Christmas time and the four cheerful mice merrily hang stockings, string popcorn, wrap presents, and sing carols. The little mice are so caught up in their joyful preparations that they almost forget to look out for their old enemy, the cat. Happily, their Christmas spirit is so infectious that even the cat is not immune. Simple, lively verse and colorful, action-filled illustrations convey the all anticipation and goodwill that come with the Yuletide season in this delightful read-aloud." -from amazon.com

Here are my ideas for using this book in music class:

• Be sure that your students have plenty of room to move with this book, and that you review your rules for traveling safely in space around the room.

• Be sure that your special needs students have support from paraprofessionals to participate in the story movements, if necessary.

• Instruct the students that they are going to pretend to be the mice in the story. They will move like mice as you read the story.

Here are some of the movements they will pretend to do in the story:

• pound (as in pound a nail to hold a Christmas wreath)
• wrap presents
• decorate the tree
• string popcorn
• mop the floor (after baking cookies)
• peeking at gifts
• sing (choose a well-konwn carol to sing when the mice go caroling in the book)
• ring bells (these can be real, if you wish)
• spotting Santa up in the sky
• eating cheese
• unwrapping a gift