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Post by Alexa Rosenbaum, Toneworks intern

It’s winter break, which means not having to wake up for school and sleeping in until an unreasonably late hour.   So while I attempt to readjust my schedule in preparation for to return of real life next week,  I thought it would be appropriate to write about an intervention related to the idea of sleep! A goal that we work on with a lot of our clients is self-regulation, and it is especially important to address the difference between a fast/loud versus slow/quiet body and when each is appropriate.  This activity incorporates a familiar tune and animal theme and is a great way for clients to practice regulating their body speed and volume as well as following directions and working together with others. You could do this activity with a variety of different instruments, but ones with large ranges in volume such as drums or sand blocks make it even more exciting!  The words below are sung to the tune of “Skip to my Lou” and can be modified to fit the animal preferences of your clients. Since kids love anything and everything silly, the more exaggerated the difference between these two extremes is, the more engaged they are likely to be!

Sing and play quietly:

Dog is sleeping, don’t wake him up

Dog is sleeping, don’t wake him up

Dog is sleeping, don’t wake him up

Now we’re being quiet

Sing and play loudly:

Come 0n dog, it’s time to wake up

Come on dog, it’s time to wake up

Come on dog, it’s time to wake up

Now we’re playing loudly

This could be modified into a turn taking activity, and each child could have a turn to pick the animal and play a large gather drum while their peers tap their knees or play along with smaller instruments.  This song could also be fun with the parachute if kid’s names were sung in place of an animal.  When their name is sung, a child could go under the parachute while the others shake gently and quietly and could make bigger and faster shaking motions during the second part of the song.  This could be a great opportunity for kids to act out sleeping and waking up since these are already a part of their daily routines. I for one would love to have a song to help me fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning!