Put the Scarf on Your...

One of the go-to items in my "bag of tricks" is the scarf.  I have a whole rainbow of them (which you can find here) in the bottom drawer of my studio's supply chest, and my students usually raid it before our music therapy session is through.  I love incorporating scarf activities into my session plans because they are so versatile and fun.  Just a few of the goal areas I can target include colors, gross and fine motor skills, imitation, following directions, and, in the case of today's subject, body parts.

Many times, I will get out the scarves and let my students move freely to preferred music as positive reinforcement.  In fact, I used this technique last night with a little girl who needs extra incentive to follow the given schedule, and it worked quite nicely!  We finished all of the items on the schedule, and then had a lovely time dancing with scarves to "You Are the Music in Me" from High School Musical 2.

But I also like to use the scarves in structured activities, which is the reason I came up with the song below.  It  combines movement and body part identification, and you could easily replace the scarf with an instrument, like a shaker or tambourine.


Sheet Music: $1


Put the scarf on your head, like this.
Put the scarf on your head, like that.
Put the scarf on your head,
Whether it’s purple, blue or red.
Oh, put the scarf on your head.

Put the scarf on your shoulder, like this.
Put the scarf on your shoulder, like that.
Put the scarf on your shoulder,
Well, at least it’s not a boulder.
Oh, put the scarf on your shoulder.

Put the scarf on your arm, like this.
Put the scarf on your arm, like that.
Put the scarf on your arm,
‘Cause what’s the harm?
Oh, put the scarf on your arm.

Put the scarf on your lap, like this.
Put the scarf on your lap, like that.
Put the scarf on your lap,
It’s such a snap.
Oh, put the scarf on your lap.

Put the scarf on your knee, like this.
Put the scarf on your knee, like that.
Put the scarf on your knee,
That’s where it ought to be.
Oh, put the scarf on your knee.

Put the scarf on your toes, like this.
Put the scarf on your toes, like that.
Put the scarf on your toes,
Yes, this is where it goes.
Oh, put the scarf on your toes.

This song works its way from head to toe, though you could mix up the order of verses any way you want, or even better, write your own verses to add extra body parts. You could also turn this into an object identification activity by instructing the student to put the scarf on different items in the room. How else might you modify this song?