The Forest Room: The Rat a Tat Tat Song

One year our umbrella project centered around music, and since then we have tried to have a few musical instruments out year round rather than only sporadically.  This year we have drums out on a shelf.  Often some children pull them out and sit on the carpet, beating out a rhythm and scaffolding drumming ideas with each other.

One morning the children were particularly taken with drumming, so much so that at snack time I could hear them chanting rhythmically, "Rat a tat tat!  Rat a tat tat!"  (Occasionally I also heard, "Rat a tap tap!  Rat a tap tap!") It sounded a great deal like a drumming chant! This infectious chant was repeated throughout the day. The children seemed to love the sound of these words.

I even heard children running through the garden outside, calling out, "Rat a tat tat!  Rat a tat tat!" Since they seemed to enjoy this chant so much, I invited a few of them to come sit in the grass with me and share their song.

"How does this song go?"  I asked.

"Rat a tat tat!
Rat a tat tat!
Rat a tat tat!"

They all looked at me expectantly, so I prompted, "What comes next?"

As we worked back and forth, the children were encouraged to share and expand on their ideas, and the song quickly began to take shape. The children were so enamored we sang at circle, inviting other children to join in with their own ideas.

This charming scenario is reminiscent for me of another year, when a group of children wrote a song about monsters that became a favorite of the class for the entire year. This year's group seems to love rhythm: drumming, chanting, and songs are relished by nearly all. Inviting the group to mesh their love of music with the opportunity to add words is a wonderful opportunity for them to deepen their experience with both language and music.

We will be observing and listening to find out where the "Rat a Tat Tat Song" goes from here. Will the children remain interested in it? Are there other avenues for  exploring drumming and rhythm? What are some other ways we can invite the children to make connections between music and language? Some language (like poetry) is so beautiful it seems like music. Do the children feel that way as well?