I have these in several colors. Oh My Gosh do they get
excited when we use their favorite color fuzzy ball.
Once I see the majority of thumbs up, I randomly (well it's not completely random, I never start with a shy kid) toss the ball to a kid who sings their answer in a sentence. I'm not specific about how the sentence is constructed because this gives the kids a chance to improvise. When they are finished, they toss it back and I go on to the next kid. The whole activity takes about 3-5 minutes. I really love having them all sing a solo each time because I end up with more confident 1st, 2nd, ..... grade students.
I find that holding onto the ball is comforting to some kids. They can squeeze it or stare at it to help give them a bit of extra courage. I do have 2 little friends in Kindergarten that are Selective Mute and 3 in our school this year. Here is a bit of the process I've gone through in working towards singing by themselves.
- Our first solo is singing our name. For kids who are shy or are unable to sing their name, the class will sing their name.
- Usually our second solo is our favorite color. I would have the child point to the color somewhere in the room. Class sings the solo.
- Once we get into favorite animal, candy, etc. They can whisper in a friends ear. The class sings the solo.
