Forest Adventure Cards in the lesson studio
Hi! I’m Dr. Bethany Turpin! I run a private singing and piano studio in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. I was so excited when Nikki asked me to test-run the Forest Adventure Cards in my Mini Music Camp this summer! I am a huge fan of Full Voice materials, and I knew the kids would be excited to test things out and give their feedback. Once the cards were introduced, the kids came into the studio every day of camp and immediately asked if we could play with the cards today! I was delighted that they found the cards so fun.
To set the scene, the Mini Music Camp was a week-long morning camp for five students ages 5-10. Some of the students were studio regulars, and some were engaging with the studio for the first time!
How I used them
Introduction to the deck
First, I introduced the cards to the students. We explored each card and noticed whether notes were on lines or spaces, whether they moved by step or skip, and the solfege for them.
Then, I taught them the animal melodies by rote. “Moose!” is always the first melody to catch on with the kids, haha! We also reviewed the rhythm cards, tongue twister cards, and the tempo cards. But mainly, we focused on the animal melodies. We learned the melodies and then reviewed them by playing a game where I would lay down a card, and they all had to sing it to me. That was all we did on the first day. On subsequent days we tried playing different games with the cards.
Mystery Melody
The kids were very interested in doing a “Mystery Melody” game. To play, deal all cards between players. Each player takes a turn using their cards to form a Mystery Melody. While the other players sing each card two times, the player must smoothly turn over each card of their melody, one at a time, to reveal their song. I was surprised at how much fun they had creating their own little songs! We usually sang each card twice so the player could flip the next card. The kids cackled delightedly at “tricking” us by having a tempo card (turtle/rabbit) or a rhythm card (woodpecker/mosquito). We played a couple hands of Mystery Melody, and I think it’s safe to say this was their favourite game of the week!
“Go Forest”
We decided to play a Go Fish-esque game (the kids called it “Go Forest”). The first step is to remove any cards that don’t have the standard back (i.e., the Fun Fact cards) and one each of the melody cards (there are 5 of each melody card in the deck, and you need equal matches for Go Forest!). Next, deal the cards. I would deal seven cards for a two-person game and five cards for a four-or five-person game. We played with teams of two students, sharing one hand of cards. The players had to pick another team to ask for the card. Then, they had to sing the card they were hoping to match. Their counterpart would either sing back the card and hand it over or say, “Go Forest!” and the “it” player would have to pick up a card from the deck.
Forest Adventure x War
The next game the kids wanted to try was War. We made two teams and divided the deck between them (minus the tempo cards). The players would take turns laying a card from their deck face-up on the pile. The other player would have to sing, speak, or clap it before they could lay down their own card. If two matching cards were played, the first player to slap the pile won all the cards. The game ends when one player has all the cards. The kids liked this one! The anticipation and “high stakes” nature kept them really focused on the cards. This game is most successful after students are very comfortable with all the cards in the deck.
To Conclude
I love the Forest Adventure song in the Introductory B songbook; I was over the moon to test out the deck with my kids! That said, I was still blown away by how much the kids loved this deck and playing with it. During the school year, I run two small group “Singing Clubs,” one for ages 5-8 and one for ages 8-11. These cards would be good for both those age groups! My studio emphasizes fun and silliness, so I would also use them with teen and adult students! A little levity in singing lessons helps with learning.
Obviously, these are just a few examples of the myriad of ways you can use these cards in your own studio! I hope my stories get your creative juices working. I think you can have a lot of fun seeing how your kids want to play with them!
