October 13, 1893: Happy Birthday to “Happy Birthday”

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You can check out some interesting facts about the “Happy Birthday” song here. The song, which the Guinness Book of World Records calls the world’s most recognized song, was published on October 13, 1893, by teachers Mildred and Patti Hill who decided to write a song (originally “Good Morning to All”) to sing with kindergartners to start each morning.

In celebration of the song’s birthday, consider using it or other simple songs for a variety of activities:

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Fun with Simple Songs

Materials:

• means for recording (optional)

Directions:

1. “Happy Birthday” is a perfect song for experimentation since everyone knows it.
2. Let kids try writing new words for the song.
3. Add gestures, movement, or choreography.
4. Sing the song repeatedly, leaving off a word each time.
5. In a group, sing the song silently. Everyone starts at the same time and then sings the last line out loud to see if everyone’s together or not.
6. Try varying the ways of singing, such as louder, higher, or faster.
7. Sing the song replacing on consonant sounds with an “a.” Try again with “e” and so on.
8. Sing the song in funny ways, like holding one’s nose, singing with one’s mouth closed, or pretending to be underwater (moving finger over lips).
9. Sing in different genres like opera, rap, country, or rock.
10. Sing in different moods such as happy, sad, scared, or bored.

Source(s): Toolbox Training’s book 100 Music Activities for Kids (activities D1-D11)

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Check out the full October calendar. It includes floating holidays, specialty weeks, and specialty months.

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