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As the 鈥淔irst Lady of Children鈥檚 Music,鈥� Ella Jenkins has spent more than 50 years working with children and teachers, helping educators incorporate music, diverse cultures, games, and movement into their early childhood programs. Her songs are spirited, interactive, and fun!

Call-and-response is a hallmark of Ella Jenkins鈥檚 music. Children are active participants, performing key roles in musical experiences as they sing along. They practice phonemic awareness, revel in rhyme and repetition, and engage in other elements of literacy and learning鈥攃hanting, singing, listening, copying rhythms, and following directions. Positive and upbeat, Ella鈥檚 songs promote children鈥檚 love of music.

Ella鈥檚 songs invite listeners to move, clap, jump, play games, sing in different languages, and accompany her with musical instruments. Join in!

Get Moving with Ella Jenkins

2013. Smithsonian Folkways.

Combine active play with musical play! The songs on听Get Moving听pair motion with singing. Children follow Ella鈥檚 directions, using large and small muscle groups. The lyrics to 鈥淗op, Skip, Jump to My Lou鈥� guide children in taking specific actions, while 鈥淛umping with Variations鈥� encourages them to experiment with moving their bodies. No matter which songs you play, children will listen, learn, and be active.

Try this:听Introduce music from听Get Moving听during circle time. Once children are familiar with the words and actions, they can try them out in a larger space during outdoor play.

Sharing Cultures with Ella Jenkins and Children from the LaSalle Language Academy of Chicago

2003. Smithsonian Folkways.

Using this multicultural album, children will sing, chant, and dance to songs in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and some African languages. They will join in singing songs from other cultures, including familiar tunes like 鈥淔r猫re Jacques鈥� (鈥淎re You Sleeping?鈥�) from France, 鈥淨u茅 Bonita Bandera鈥� (鈥淲hat A Pretty Flag鈥�) from Puerto Rico, and 鈥淓l Gatito鈥� (鈥淭he Little Cat鈥�) from Mexico. The music will give children from different cultural backgrounds a sense of pride and a feeling of belonging.

Try this:听鈥淢y Name Is Ella鈥� offers a wonderful way for children to play with the letters and sounds in their names. Ella adds a听B听in front of her name and it becomes听Bella. With I-S-A at the beginning,听Bella听changes to听Isabella. Print the letters听E-L-L-A, B, and听I-S-A听on three index cards. Point to the letters as you and the children sing the song.

Have children add different letters to their names, and talk with them about how their names change. Sing Ella鈥檚 songs during transition periods to keep fidgeting and restlessness at bay.

Find members of children鈥檚 families who don鈥檛 speak English as their home language. Invite them to sing songs, read books, or lead dances from their home cultures with the class.

You鈥檒l Sing a Song and I鈥檒l Sing a Song

1992. Smithsonian Folkways.

In call-and-response style, adults sing the first phrase of a lyric and children repeat it back. Children may also accompany the beat with instruments. In 鈥淢iss Mary Mack,鈥� children can pick out the rhyming words and say them back to the teacher.

Try this:听Have children make music or instruments using everyday materials in interesting ways: put rubber bands around empty tissue boxes (play like a guitar) or add pebbles to plastic water bottles or paper towel tubes and seal tightly (play like a maraca). They can play the instruments while they sing along! Children can take their instruments home and teach call-and-response to family members鈥攖he children become the leaders performing the 鈥渃alling.鈥�

Resources

Welcome to the Website of Ella Jenkins and Adventures in Rhythm!

Artist Spotlight: Ella Jenkins, the First Lady of Children鈥檚 Music

An Interview with Children鈥檚 Musician Ella Jenkins
51吃瓜网.org/our-work/families/interview-childrens-musician-ella-jenkins