Andreyana Tsoneva is the author and illustrator of three books for children and the author of the story and illustrations and co-author of the song in this article. She writes stories and poems both for children and adults. She presents at kindergartens, libraries and bookstores. She graduated Pre-School Pedagogy and Foreign Language at Dobrich College, Shumen University and continues her education in psychology.

Email: siaina_6@abv.bg

Alexander Baychev is the singer and co-author of the song provided for the purpose of this study. He teaches pop-jazz singing at New Bulgarian University in Sofia.

Email: abaytchev@gmail.com

Sofiya Yordanova provided the animation for the videoclip. She also graduated Primary School Pedagogy and Information Technology at Dobrich College, Shumen University and works as a Kindergarten teacher.

Email: sofiya.yordanova@abv.bg

Tsanimir Baychev made the arrangement, recorded the song and edited the videoclip. He works as an associate professor at Dobrich College, Shumen University.

Email: ts.baytchev@shu.bg

 

Introduction

We offer a story, a song, an animated video and a number of activities including singing, playing a triangle, dancing, clapping and counting, drawing and/or colouring. The text and the activities ensure cross-curricular links to other subjects: Literature, Music, PE (physical education through dancing), Mathematics (counting), Arts and Crafts, Natural science (natural phenomena: clouds, rain, sun; animals). “For centuries, the connection between music and fine arts has excited millions of people around the world. These arts form the artistic and aesthetic culture of man, stimulate his creative development and imagination” (Baychev, Gocheva 2019). Ilieva and Iliev (2017) find “cross-curricular teaching very important with young and very young learners since at this age we work towards the holistic development of the child.“ They (Ilieva, Iliev 2019) claim that “Integrating and other subjects gives rich context for introducing and practising phrases.“ Ellis and Brewster (2014) view stories as a means of cross-curricular links, learning to learn and conceptual development, teaching citizenship, diversity and multicultural education. As Wright (2019) says “In the language classroom, stories offer a living context for language! Stories offer a mine of content which can set teachers and students off on all kinds of 'project' journeys.“ Suitable context and content are extremely important in teaching very young learners. They give food for various cross-curricular activities that attract and keep very young learners‘ attention. Bykova (2019) also discusses provoking creativity and “using a combination of math and literacy, dramatic play, storytelling, creative reading, arts and crafts, and science as well“ with young learners.

 

A summer memory: A story by Andreyana Tsoneva

It was summer. It was a warm sunny day. The sky was light blue, tender and fine like silk. Fluffy little white clouds were floating in it. They had beautiful lace collars. In the air there was a scent of freshly mown grass and a savour of raspberries. The raspberries were probably overripe because of the very hot sun. They were praying for rain: they needed to be watered and it started raining. There were large rain drops. The sun was shining on them and they sparkled as golden bubbles. I suddenly saw a beautiful girl walking in the park. She was wearing a green dress. She didn‘t have an umbrella. Apparently she wasn‘t afraid of the rain. She didn‘t even think she might get wet. (Dear children, don‘t do like her! NEVER!). She was stepping softly. She was tiptoeing: like a ballerina, stretching her hands as if gathering the golden drop bubbles. She probably wanted to give them as a present to her mum.

She was dancing on her own, smiling, kind, and I thought she was a fairy. I don‘t know if she was real, but she looked like a fairy from the fairytales. I was watching her and enjoying the sight.

 

Figure 1

The rain stopped and the fairy disappeared in a moment. She wasn‘t there any more. Now I am sure she was a real fairy because real fairies disappear suddenly as they have appeared.

But this was not everything. While I was enjoying the sight of the fairy dancing in the rain, I heard some music which was floating in the air like a cloud. I listened to it very carefully. It was so clear and it was coming as a triangle song (triangle is a children‘s musical instrument).

It was so beautiful and it sounded in my mind. I wrote a song and started singing it.

Dear children, meeting a real fairy was a wonderful magic experience which I will tell you about in this song:

 

The Fairy and the Sunny Rain

https://youtu.be/LfRCyBKXNRo

 

Rainy drops are pouring

drop-drop-drop

free and happy falling

drop-drop-drop

They the sun are drawing

drop-drop-drop

with the fairy hopping

drop-drop-drop

 

This song sounded over the meadow. It filled the air with joy and beauty. And do you know what happened?

 

 

Figure 2

The fairy appeared again. There came ladybirds, all kinds of bugs, butterflies, bees, crickets, even a dragon fly. The buds of the grass blossomed thanks to the refreshing rain. What a sight! The fairy started a magic dance with the raindrops. They held their hands and danced in pairs, they sang and clapped their hands. They were all very happy but the happiest were the ones who wanted to be like the fairy. I was happy too to see this magic fairy scene!

Dear children, we will sing, play and dance. We‘ll experience the magic world of nature and we will thank it for its gifts to us. You will dance in pairs in a circle. The girls will be fairies and the boys will be raindrops. One child will play the triangle, following the bee in the animation clip. The teacher will play the piano and we will all participate in this fairytale.

 

Activities

 

Discussion

Natural phenomena

Animate and inanimate nature

 

Animate nature

Meadow – grass – green

Flowers, animals

 

Inanimate nature: clouds, rain, sun

 

Do you know what rain is?

In nature there are rivers, seas, oceans. When the sun shines water gets warmer and warmer and evaporates. Vapours get denser and denser in the sky, drops are formed and they form clouds. Rain waters the ground – flowers, trees, rain also falls in rivers and seas, then water evaporates from them and clouds are formed.

 

Counting and colours

Numbers: 1, 2, 3 (clouds)

Objects: sky, clouds

Colours: blue, white, yellow, orange, red, green

 

Objects	Colours
sky	blue
clouds	white
sun	yellow
raindrops	golden
animals insects a snail	green, blue, orange, red

 

How many clouds are there on figure 1?

How many animals are there on figure 2?

What colour each of them is? (What is the colour of the butterfly/bee etc.?)

 

Practice

Dear children, fairies appear and disappear. Let‘s say Hello to our fairy!

Let‘s say Hello to all her friends (ladybirds, bees, butterflies, the dragon fly, the cricket, the caterpillar, the snail).

They all enjoy the raindrops. The raindrops are golden because they reflect Sun as if each drop is drawing a little sun. All they: the drops and the fairy‘s friends dance with the sun

 

Playing, singing and dancing

After reading the story once again, the teacher plays the video and plays the piano along, children play the triangle and the rest of the children dance in pairs in circle the raindrops dance, they all sing The Fairy and the Sunny Rain. The teacher gives instructions and helps. They start at rainy drops, they stop and clap their hands at drop, drop, drop. They waltz and dance with the fairy.

 

Colour the picture (Figure 3) or draw a fairy

 

Figure 3

 

Close up

Today we talked about nature phenomena, we enjoyed listening to a story, singing and dancing, we met fairy‘s friends. We have to keep our nature clean, to love and protect it.

 

Conclusions

All learners love stories, we all need fairies and a little magic. Our fairy story introduces rain and information about water cycle. The fairy‘s friends are different animals: this gives opportunity to discuss insects and their life cycle (butterfies and caterpillars) and other animals. The story ensures cross-curricular links between English as a foreign language, music, PE, mathematics, arts, natural sciences. “By interacting, they have a complex effect on human behavior and psyche, develop creative thinking and desire for self-expression, form an aesthetic attitude to the world” (Baychev, Gocheva 2019). These integrative links make classes interesting, motivating and memorable and knowledge acquired long-lasting.

 

References

Baychev, Ts., Gocheva, V. (2019). Relationship between the means of expression of music and fine arts. Proceedings College Dobrich Volume XI, 60:1, Shumen: Konstantin Preslavsky University Publishing House (in Bulgarian) http://old.shu.bg/sites/default/files/harakteristiki/dobrich/trudove/Nauchni_Trudove_KD_2019_t.XI.pdf

Bykova, A., (2019). Seed Germination Project – Creative CLIL. Humanizing Language Teaching, 21:3, June 2019 http://hltmag.ng3.devwebsite.co.uk/june19/seed-germination-project.

Ellis, G., Brewster, J., (2014). Tell it again! The storytelling handbook for primary English language teachers. London: British Council.

Ilieva, Zh., Iliev, I. (2019). Cross-Curricular Activities Through Arts and Crafts and English with Young Learners. Humanizing Language Teaching, 21:1, February 2019, https://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb19/cross-curricular-activities.

Ilieva, Zh., Iliev, I. (2017). Creativity and Arts and Crafts in Teaching English to Young Learners. Humanizing Language Teaching, 19:5, Oct. 2017, http://old.hltmag.co.uk/oct17/sart04.htm.

Wright, A., (2019). The craft of storytelling. Humanizing Language Teaching, 21:5, Oct. 2019 https://www.hltmag.co.uk/oct19/craft-of-storytelling.

The Fairy and the Sunny Rain  The Fairy and the Sunny Rain

https://youtu.be/LfRCyBKXNRo

https://youtu.be/LfRCyBKXNRo

 

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