Hey! I’m back today with a printable play set for our folk song of the week, Cherries So Ripe. Make sure you’ve downloaded the free song card from my last post, because I like having the card out with the play set for kids to see as they are playing. It’s amazing what they can absorb and learn from the sheet music as they are playing!
Why is dramatic play important in the music classroom? This question probably deserves its own post, but for now I’ll say this–purposeful repetition!! The children can sing the song over and over and over as they play, and each time they are singing the song they are working on skills such as using their high clear voice, singing in tune, matching pitch, internalizing rhythmic patterns, and mastering the words (sometimes tricky for younger friends, not to mention that rhyming schemes and sentence patterns are so important for phonemic development!). In addition, learners who are more hesitant in whole class settings are more comfortable trying things out in a smaller group as they play with their peers. A student who isn’t singing with the whole class may surprise you in a smaller group by singing strongly–they have been paying attention and observing everything the entire time, and in the smaller group they feel more confident trying things out. I have a kid who is definitely more like this. I call him my “watcher”. But just because they aren’t participating does NOT mean they aren’t learning and absorbing everything that is happening!
I had a lot of fun creating this printable playset. I was inspired by summer nights at our local farmer’s market. It’s so fun to look around at all the booths and decide what to buy! I drew a little coin purse to hold the pennies for the song, and I think that might actually be my favorite detail. There’s also a blue ribbon award because of course there is! These are the best cherries in the market, after all!
You can put the included cherry fillers inside the little baskets, or you can leave your basket empty so that kids can take out and put in cherries to their heart’s content. I printed out three copies of the baskets, filled two with the cherry fillers, and left one empty to put in some pretend food cherries we already had. I think I got them from amazon, but I just saw that my new toy store obsession Tara Treasures has the sweetest ethically handmade felt cherries for $5, and they went immediately onto my wishlist! If you shop through this link you can get a $5 coupon code. Then just search for their cherry set. And then admire everything else because it really is too cute. I also got my kids their cute little pie sets and the witches cauldron–it was too cute to say no to!
The instructions to assemble the playset are all included in the printable, and remember that if you enjoy my free resources to let me know! Follow me over on my instagram and send me a message. As an independent creator working all by my lonesome on these sets, it really is so fun to hear from you all!
I’ll be back tomorrow to share another printable resource for Cherries so Ripe, as well as some books and extension ideas to keep the fun going.
click here to download the free play set
Don’t forget these downlaods are for personal or classroom use only. Thanks!
Happy Singing! -Lauren