Let's Sing This Summer
We're a little over two weeks into summer holiday and our house has been very lively. While I am trying to move as little as I can to stay cool, my kids are constantly climbing on things and running around. To help release some of their energy, we have regular dance parties at home. So it's time for me to up my game and expand my song sheet bank. And I've got two great Cantonese nursery rhymes for you here.
This 排排坐、吃果果 song sheet goes well with last year's fruity summer theme. Nine fruit items are mentioned in the song and I have included seven of them on the song sheet (as I can't find nice lychee and longan illustrations). If you need to show your child how lychee and longan look like, this image may be helpful.
You can also add some movements to make singing the song even more fun. I'll first get the kids to sit next to each other as 排排坐 literally means sitting next to each other. Here are a few movements you can use when singing the song:
排排坐 - tap your laps with both hands
吃果果 - pretend to stuff something in your mouth
你一個 - point at someone
我一個 - point at yourself
笑呵呵 - pretend to laugh (e.g. hold you belly while having a big smile on your face)
梨子／蘋果／橙子／菠蘿／香蕉／葡提／蜜瓜 - point at the fruit on the song sheet (it's handy to print out one song sheet per person)
And thanks to those little buggers who love my sweet blood so much during summer, I got the inspiration to make this 打開蚊帳 song sheet. My kids absolutely love this song. I gave my kids each a hand fan or a flyswatter to brush away an imaginary mosquito. My creative daughter asks to play a mosquito. So she just makes buzzing noise and "fly" around throughout the song. Then her brother will try to brush her away with his flyswatter. Beware - this may quickly turn into a game of whacking each other with whatever they are holding.
You can find more song sheets for your Cantonese dance party on our Cantonese Nursery Rhymes Resources page. So what's your favorite Cantonese nursery rhyme?
