Små Grodorna: Swedish Frog Song

If you've been keeping up with my blog lately you know this is my third post about a frog song- I am so excited about this theme for spring, and there are so many fun, accessible songs in different languages that are perfect for elementary music! Today I have a Swedish frog song, "Små grodorna", that I am thrilled to add to my repertoire.

About the Song

"Små grodorna" is a song and dance for Midsummer, which is one of the biggest holidays in the country celebrated between June 19-25 around the summer solstice. The song is made to be sung while dancing in a circle around the Maypole and is very well-known as a song for the Midsummer festival. You can see the notation of the melody here, and the lyrics and translation below:

Swedish lyrics:

Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se.

Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se.

Ej öron, ej öron, ej svansar hava de.

Ej öron, ej öron, ej svansar hava de.

Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,

kou ack ack ack ack kaa.

Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,

kou ack ack ack ack kaa.

English translation:

The little frogs, the little frogs are funny to observe.

The little frogs, the little frogs are funny to observe.

No ears, no ears, no tails do they possess.

No ears, no ears, no tails do they possess.

Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,

kou ack ack ack ack kaa.

Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,

kou ack ack ack ack kaa.

Here is a video from a Midsummer festival showing the movements- basically you show the ears and the tails with your hands in the first half, then skip around in the second half:

Lesson Ideas

This song is perfect for introducing and identifying A and B sections, or same and contrasting sections, because it has two distinct sections in the song that is demonstrated in the lyrics and in the movements. I work on identifying, creating with, and demonstrating A and B sections in grades K-2 and this is a perfect song to add to lessons with those grades. First I sing the song with the movement, telling students to copy me as we go around the circle. Once they've got the movement down I teach them the lyrics, then practice singing and moving. Then I ask them how many different parts there are in the song, and we discuss the contrasting A and B sections. 

If you use it together with the other frog songs I've shared this is a good example of duple meter (see my post here for a Puerto Rican frog song in triple meter as contrast!). The gross motor movement really helps students experience the meter more clearly- I plan to use this one after students have learned other songs in duple and triple and ask them to identify, after singing and moving with the song, what the meter is.

This is such a fun song, I know my students are going to be in stiches when they learn it (and what it means)! This collection of frog songs from around the world is turning out to be one of my favorite song collections ever- in addition to the Puerto Rican song linked above, my favorite frog song I've known almost my whole life is this frog song from Japan. If you know any more frog songs in non-English languages I'd love to hear about them in the comments, and if you've used "Små grodorna" in your teaching I'd love to hear what other lesson ideas you have for this song.

かえるの合唱 (Kaeru no Uta): Japanese Frog Song

Frogs are a fun theme to use in the spring time, especially with early childhood and lower elementary ages, and one of my favorite childhood songs from Japan is perfect for that age group: "Kaeru no Gasshou" is commonly circulated outside Japan with the title "Kaeru no Uta", but those are actually the lyrics from the first line, not the title. Either way it is a simple song with only a few words for non-native speakers to learn, and there are so many ways to use it in elementary music lessons!

About the Song

I first learned this song in elementary music class growing up in Japan. While not a "traditional" Japanese song- like most music in the Japanese national curriculum (don't get me started) it uses a Western melody with Japanese lyrics- it is now a well-known, well-loved children's song in Japan. 

The Japanese lyrics are:

かえるの　うたが (kaeruno utaga) きこえて　くるよ (kikoete kuruyo) クヮ　クヮ　クヮ　クヮ (kwa kwa kwa kwa) ゲロ　ゲロ　ゲロ　ゲロ (gero gero gero gero) クヮ　クヮ　クヮ (kwa kwa kwa)

The translation is basically, "I can hear the song of the frog, kwa kwa kwa kwa, gero gero gero gero, kwa kwa kwa). You can find the sheet music here. This video shows how the song is most commonly used in Japan: as an easy way to introduce canon singing!

Lesson Ideas

Obviously one great way to use this song is to practice beginning canon singing. You can read more about my teaching progression for introducing canon singing in this blog post, but my #1 tip to make it easier for students when they are first learning is to add different motions for each line, like they model in the video above. It helps students keep track of the part they are supposed to be singing, and makes it easier for the teacher to help cue each group with the motions if one group or another loses track of where they are mid-song.

One of the first times I ever used this song in my teaching was to introduce the skill of playing instruments with a song for my Kindergartners. I first introduce the song by telling them it is a song about a frog in Japanese. We discuss the sounds different animals make ("pigs say oink, cows say moo" etc) and then I tell them that in other languages, people imitate the sounds of the same animals with different "sound words". Then I sing the song for them and ask them to find the frog sound words- it's usually pretty obvious on the first try! Then I have them sing along with that part while I sing the first 2 lines alone, and then have one student play an instrument every time we sing "gero" and another play a different instrument every time we sing "kwa" (I like using ratchets and guiros- the frog-shaped ones if I have them- for this). It's a great way to practice the skill of waiting for your part in an ensemble, playing while singing, and practicing instrument techniques.

This year I actually used this song in a new way with my 2nd graders to practice identifying and performing in duple and triple meter, and I am in love with the way these lessons came out! I taught students this song and added instrumental ostinati to it, then we learned the song "El Coquí", a Puerto Rican frog song in triple meter, added instrumental parts to that, and compared the meter of each (you can read more about "El Coquí", and my lesson ideas for it, in this blog post). Because they are both similar in lyrics but contrasting in several musical elements including meter, they are a perfect pairing.

What other ways have you used this song in your lessons? What other frog songs do you know that we could add to the list? I love this as a theme for spring lessons! Leave your ideas and questions in the comments below.

Dance Playlist 2023

I love finding upbeat, school-appropriate, modern songs to use in my music classes for dance parties, slideshows, field day, and general merriment, and these last few years it has felt especially important to share with all the stress and negativity we're all dealing with. Here are my new picks for this year- be sure to check out my posts from previous years to find more awesome music my students and I love linked at the end of this post! 

My students and I have LOVED all of these songs this year- I HIGHLY recommend them! Don't miss the playlist at the end of this post that includes these songs plus all of my picks from previous years' playlists (this is year 8 of me putting these together, so there are a lot)!

To make it easier to find all my dance party playlist songs in one place, I've put together a YouTube playlist with all of the songs from all of my previous year's lists including this one! Here's the link to the playlist.

If you've missed my playlists from previous years you can see those posts below! Happy dancing :)

Dance Playlist 2022

Dance Playlist 2021

Dance Playlist 2020

Dance Playlist 2019

Dance Playlist 2018

Dance Playlist 2017

Dance Playlist 2016

El Coquí: Puerto Rican Frog Song

I am always looking for more Spanish language songs to use in my elementary music lessons, because I have a large population of Spanish speakers in my school community, so I was thrilled to come across this song from Puerto Rico in my search for songs about frogs! Frogs are a fun theme to use in the spring time, especially with early childhood and lower elementary ages, and this song is perfect for that age group!

About the Song

The title of the song, "El Coquí", is the name of a specific type of frog that is very common in Puerto Rico. It's a tiny tree frog and is named after the sound it makes. It is even a common cultural symbol with references dating back to the 13th century and up to the present (learn more in this article and this one). Here is a notated version of the song, and this video shows the frog at the beginning and includes the song with the lyrics on the screen, as well as a rough English translation version:

Lesson Ideas

I specifically found this song because I was looking for a song for 2nd grade in triple meter- I plan to have students listen me sing the song, learn to sing the last lines that just say "choquí", and identify the meter, then do a simple hand clapping pattern with a partner to reinforce the triple meter feel. Another way I like to have students identify and experience triple meter is through locomotor movement, having students do something like a waltz step around the room (taking a big step on beat 1 and just stepping in place on beats 2 and 3). 

This is also a great song to add some instruments to, to further reinforce and practice performing in triple meter! I am planning to have a couple of students play the frog guiro on beat 1 and other students play rhythm sticks on beats 2 and 3. If I was doing this with older students, I would add pitched instruments, with boomwhackers and bass xylophone playing a simple bass line on do and sol- my 6th graders are learning ukulele and could easily play this one on 2 chords.

Of course there are also tons of other frog songs that would be great to learn in conjunction with this one. I am planning to teach this one in triple meter, and the Japanese song "Kaeru No Gassho" (commonly called "Kaeru No Uta" by Westerners), which is also about the sound of frogs and is in duple meter, to compare and contrast the two songs and tie together with the theme (I've been using this song for years with my younger students- more on that in a future post!). For Kindergarten/ early childhood, "Five Little Speckled Frogs" is another fun one.

This is one of those songs that, when I came across it, I couldn't believe I hadn't heard it before! I am so excited to use it with my students and I hope you enjoy using it as well.