This song was written by Adam and Susan Sinclair of OneMoreSong. You can find accompanying resources for this song at onemoresong.co.uk.
We know that keeping negative thoughts bottled up can lead to poor mental health and that this can become a barrier for students’ learning and well-being. So the main aim of this song and video project is to encourage students to talk about their feelings and to focus on positive thoughts and actions when feeling anxious, worried or sad.
Although presented in six lessons or steps, you can use this project as flexibly as you like. It offers students a wealth of opportunities, including learning to sing and sign It’s OK (Please Just Say); composing their own lyrics; writing a short poem or verse; playing the ukulele; creating a class video and even making their own sock puppet!
Each step provides a number of resources that can be used with the lesson plans. These can be found on the right hand side of this page. However, the exact format of it will depend on the activities that are appropriate at any given moment, the age of your students, and the time you have available.
The accompaniment for the song is ideal for ukulele players. On the right hand side of this page, you will find printable parts for the lyrics and chords, as well as a full piano, vocal and chords option. The Teaching Music Safely during COVID document above them, offers practical ideas for safe music-making.
Your class video – if you choose to create one – can be a simple performance, or you may wish to be more creative, taking inspiration from the It’s OK (Please Just Say) video provided in steps 4–6. Where necessary, children can be used as film crew, rather than appearing in front of the camera, for example. We'd love to see what you come up with – so please share your videos!
The project can also be shared via Yumu (the children's area of the platform) to allow students to access the materials between lessons.
The project can also be shared via Yumu (the children's area of the platform) to allow students to access the materials between lessons. Teachers who are new to Charanga or less familiar with Yumu need only follow these three steps to get started or contact us on training@charanga.com. See more information about Musical School.