Pack Away Song
In our Musical Child programs we teach social conventions such as clearing away equipment after an activity finishes. To the tune and lyrics of our Pack Away Song, young children learn to sort equipment into containers by listening to the singers and watching the other children. Through repetition, the child learns a song that turns a routine into a game. According to feedback from the parents and carers, this is one technique that works at home to their enduring surprise and delight. You can use the song for any packing-up activity, just substitute eg “teddies and toys” or “baking trays” for “instruments”.
Your child actually enjoys handling a “set” of similar objects (such as all the bells), or a set of objects used for a similar purpose (such as all the baking equipment). These regular experiences give them the opportunity to develop important mathematical and scientific constructs about categorisation.
We’ve had kindy teachers rave about the usefulness of this simple song. One even plays it on loop during clearing time at the end of a morning or afternoon session. Try singing at pack up time and see if it makes a difference in your home, daycare or kindergarten. I invite you to visit the website and join the Musical Child mailing list to receive the link to the Pack Away Song activity download and other benefits.
