I love using a simple movement prop to spark students' imagination when they are responding to music, and there is no simpler movement prop than scarves! I also love incorporating seasonal material when it fits well with the concepts we're working on, especially with my youngest students, so I've found some wonderful scarf songs for all four seasons that have been a hit with my early childhood and Kindergarten classes over the years.
The nice thing about each of these is that the scarf movements for each one are pretty self-explanatory if you listen to the lyrics. One of the hardest things about teaching younger grades is how much material you need in each lesson to match their short attention spans! So I admit when I find new songs I often play the recording in class and just follow along with my scarf with the students until I learn it, then I'll switch to singing it myself (and eventually having the students sing with me of course).
1. Fall: Blowing in the Wind
Technically this song is about the wind so I suppose you could use it in winter or spring as well, but for some reason I always find it fits so nicely with my other fall leaf songs. This is definitely my top favorite scarf song of all time!
2. Winter: Winter Scarf Song
My students love this one because of all the snow references! I am always amazed at how much students will ask to sing this song over and over again.
3. Spring: A Little Seed
The thing I love best about this song is that you can do it together as a class, but you can also use it to sing to each child individually and have them reveal their scarf "flower" at the end of the song to put it back in the container as a way to make the cleanup process go a little more smoothly.
4. Summer: Popcorn Kernels
I think I associate popcorn with summer because that's the only time I have time to watch movies? In any case I like to throw this one in at the end after we've done a longer movement activity with the scarves before we put them away.
I hope this gives you some fresh material to use with your younger students any time of year! What are your other favorite seasonal scarf songs to use with your students? I'd love to hear your favorites in the comments.


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