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Did you sing any Beatles songs when you were a kid?

National Public Radio recently did a report on why toddlers like the Beatles so much. (Funniest line: “Beatlemania returns to America this week.” What? It left?)

According to Dr. Deforia Lane,

The Beatles have repetition, predictability and rhythm. And in certain cases, it literally paints a picture for children. And quite frankly, the beat makes you want to move.

Heeeeey…sounds like Super Simple Songs characteristics to me! (And we thought of all that first, right?)

The Super Simple Songs have loads of repetition (Uh-huh), predictability (Rain Rain Go Away – Play With It), and rhythm (Knock Knock, Trick or Treat). The Bath Song paints a picture for the children, and you can’t sit still during The Pinocchio. (Links for the rest of the songs.)

Yes, much of me suspects that these kids are singing the Beatles mainly because their parents and teachers like the Beatles, but it’s true: many Beatles songs are easy for kids to sing and relate to. I like Bob Dylan, but I don’t have my kids sing his songs. (Another terrifically helpful Beatles/Super Simple Songs characteristic: articulation.)

I didn’t realize the Beatles’ higher voice range is also an appealing characteristic for toddlers. I would have thought lower registers were preferred, but I haven’t heard many toddlers squealing for Barry White or the Righteous Brothers.

The short report is well worth a listen. If you prefer reading, there’s a hastily-written not-yet-corrected transcript on the same page (ooh, I love those misheard lyrics at the end: I get high! I get high! I get high! not exactly what you want your toddlers singing at top of their lungs, eh?).

To answer my first question above, I don’t remember singing the Beatles as a kid. Not a single one. I don’t know why!

Oh, who is Dr. Lane? She’s a music therapist and the coordinator of the Toddler Rock program at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Toddler Rock? I didn’t know this program existed. How cool is that? We should organize a field trip, yes?

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Caitie’s Classroom Camp is an eight-week program you can do at home or in the classroom with little ones! Each week is themed and includes an activity or craft idea for each day of the week, Monday to Friday. Start by watching the suggested Caitie’s Classroom episode, and then enjoy playing, learning, and exploring throughout the week with the suggested activities! 

Share your Caitie’s Classroom Camp experiences and tag Caitie on Instagram @SuperSimpleCaitie and Facebook @Caitie’sClassroom.

WEEK 1: ROAR! Dinosaurs!

Watch: ROAR! Dinosaurs!

Want More? Dinosaurs #1 (live episode), Dinosaurs #2 (live episode)

Monday: Frozen Dinosaur Ice Eggs

Tuesday: Imaginative Play: Small World Of Dinosaurs

Wednesday: Dinosaur Scratch Card

Thursday: Paleontologist Discovery Bin

Friday: Super Simple Stegosaurus Craft OR Super Simple Brontosaurus Craft

Find even more dinosaur-related activities, crafts, and videos from Super Simple on our Dinosaurs theme page. 

WEEK 2: Marvelous Music!

Watch: Marvelous Music

Want More? Music (live episode)

Monday: Homemade Guitar Craft

Tuesday: Drum Play

Wednesday: Musical instrument flashcard games & activities 

• Print two of each flashcard to play a memory game. Place the cards on the ground face down and take turns flipping them over two at a time to find a match!
• Hide the flashcards around the room for a hide and seek game. 
• Hold up the flashcards when that instrument is playing in the song When The Band Comes Marching In.
• Pretend to play each instrument and make its sound. 
• Listen to music and point to the instruments you hear. 

Thursday: Musical Instruments

Friday: Have a Super Simple dance party!

Find even more music-related activities, crafts, and videos from Super Simple on our Making Music theme page.

WEEK 3: Let’s Go Camping!

Watch: Let’s Go Camping

Want More? Watch Camping (previous live episode), Trees (previous live episode), and the full version of Tobee Goes Camping

Monday: Let’s Go Camping Dramatic Play

Tuesday: Let’s Go For A Walk Outside Scavenger Hunt

Wednesday: Stand Up Tree Craft

Thursday: Go on a rock hunt and make Alphabet Rocks

Friday: Let’s Go Camping Craft

Find even more nature-related activities, crafts, and videos from Super Simple on our Nature theme page. 

WEEK 4: All About Art!

Watch: All About Art

Want More? Watch Colors, Colors, Colors, and Art (previous live episode)

Monday: Abstract Art Activity

Tuesday: Creative Coloring With Color Spinner

Wednesday: Food Art

Thursday: Mother Nature Paint Brushes

Friday: Color mixing activity – paint a rainbow using only red, blue, and yellow!

Find even more art-related activities, crafts, and videos from Super Simple on our Crafts page.

WEEK 5: Yummy Foods!

Watch: Yummy Yummy Pizza, and Fantastic Fruit

Want More? Watch Pizza Party (previous live episode), and Ice Cream (previous live episode)

Monday: Play pizza shop using our Felt Pizza Craft & Activity and our Yummy Yummy Pizza Car Mat

Tuesday: Listen to 10 Apples On My Head and follow along with our 10 Apples On My Head Activity

Wednesday: Play Ice Cream Dough activity or Let’s Decorate Ice Cream Cones craft

Thursday:  Make homemade Blueberry Muffins

Friday: Who Took The Cookie card game Watch the How To Teach Who Took The Cookie? episode to learn how to play!

Find even more food-related activities, crafts, and videos from Super Simple on our Food theme page. 

WEEK 6: Beautiful Bugs!

Watch: Amazing Bugs, Beautiful Butterflies, and Buzzing Bees.

Want More? Watch Creepy Crawly Bugs (previous live episode)

Monday: Make a Bug Hotel and see who moves in!

Tuesday: Polka Dot Bug Craft

Wednesday: Play a Butterfly Matching Game and make a Symmetrical Butterfly Painting

Thursday: Rock Bug Craft

Friday: Amazing Bugs Discovery Bin

Find even more bug-related activities, crafts, and videos from Super Simple on our Bugs theme page. 

WEEK 7: Underwater Adventure!

Watch: Underwater Animal Adventure

Want More? Watch Baby Shark (previous live episode)

Monday: Magnet Fishing Game

Tuesday: Underwater Discovery Bin

Wednesday: Underwater Diorama Craft

Thursday: Watercolor Underwater Picture

Friday: Make Octopus Pizza

Find even more sea creature-related activities, crafts, and videos from Super Simple on our Sea Creatures theme page.

WEEK 8: Back To School

Watch: First Day Of School and Count With Me

Want More? Watch Back To School (previous live episode)

Monday: Lily Pads & Leaping Frog Counting Activity

Tuesday: ABC Star

Wednesday: Make Your Own Snakes & Ladders Game

Thursday: First Day Of School Car Mat

Friday: School Bus Picture Frame

You are ready to be a friendly camper at Caitie’s Classroom Camp! We hope you have a lot of fun learning, exploring, and playing all summer long! 

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As we gear up for back to school season, special education teacher Melissa shares how she uses Super Simple songs in her classroom! She’s also created some visual communication boards to use with our songs, which you can download here for free.

Music is a huge part of our day in my special education classroom. We use songs during morning meetings, transitions, movement breaks, and honestly – sometimes just because we need a little fun! Super Simple Songs have always been my favorite because they’re predictable, engaging, and naturally introduce so much functional vocabulary.

When I’m planning for my class, I’m always thinking about how I can make sure every student can participate.

Many of my students are nonspeaking or use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), so singing along doesn’t always look like traditional “singing.” Participation might look like pointing to a picture, making a choice, using AAC, signing, or imitating movements from the song.

That’s what inspired these Super Simple communication boards! The Song Choice Board allows students to choose which song they want to hear, along with individual boards for some of our favorite songs. Each board includes core words such as I want, yes, no, more, and all done, as well as vocabulary specific to the song.

For example, while singing “The Wheels on the Bus,” students can point to bus, wheels, door, wipers, etc. as they hear the words. During “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” we can model and identify the different farm animals throughout the song. The boards can be used alongside a student’s existing AAC system (not as a replacement for it) to give students another way to interact with the activity.

Download PDF

Modeling is such an important part of building communication. As we sing, the adults in the room can point to the corresponding pictures, model words like more, all done, yes, and no, and show students how they can use the board to make choices or participate in the song. Over time, students can begin to learn that those pictures have meaning and that they can use them to communicate with the people around them.

I also love that these boards give us opportunities to model communication without putting pressure on a student to respond or use the board in a specific way. A student might point to bus as we sing, request more when the song ends, choose the next song, or simply watch as an adult models the vocabulary. Participation looks different for everyone. The goal is to give every student access to communication, choice, and connection during an activity their classmates are enjoying too.

About the author

Melissa is a special education teacher in a K-1 self-contained autism classroom. She is passionate about creating an accessible classroom where every student has meaningful opportunities to communicate, participate, and build independence. Through her social media, Melissa shares practical strategies, visual supports, teacher resources, and an authentic look behind the scenes of special education. Her goal is to help other educators create structured, compassionate, and neurodiversity-affirming classrooms where all students can thrive. Find our friend Melissa on Instagram: @sped_with_melissa

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Let’s get ready to rock..with a homemade guitar! This little guitar might look fancy, but it’s surprisingly simple to put together, and is made with things you probably already have around the house! Little music lovers will love having their very own guitar to play, and friends of Caitie can play along as Caitie plays guitar and sings. You can explore different sounds by using different rubber bands, and decorate your guitar any way you like. Be sure to check out the Caitie’s Classroom episode all about Musical Instruments to see Caitie make the craft, and to explore other amazing instruments and the sounds they make!

Things you’ll need

For the guitar:

• Tissue box 
• Cardboard paper towel tube 
• Rubber bands – use different sizes and thickness for different sounds!
• Scissors 
• Craft knife 
• Craft paint 
• Paint brush 
• 4 Popsicle sticks 
• Glue stick 

Decorations:

• Pom poms 
• Decorative tape 
• Stickers 

Steps 

We are going to use a tissue box as the body of our guitar. First, remove the plastic parts from the opening of the box, and then paint the outside of the box. You can paint it any color you like – we used the color blue. You may need to paint a few layers to cover the pattern of your box, then leave it to dry.

We are going to use a cardboard paper towel tube for the neck of our guitar. Paint the tube any color you like – we painted it brown to look like a traditional guitar neck. Leave your tube to dry.

Assemble

Pick the side of the guitar that your neck will come out of – if you are right handed the neck will come out of the right side of the guitar when looking down at it. If you are left handed (like Caitie!) the neck will come out of the left side of the guitar when looking down at it. Hold the end of the cardboard tube to the side of the guitar body and draw two parallel lines the same width as the end of the tube but slightly closer together than the width of the tube. Connect the lines together with another line making an H shape.

With a craft knife, carefully cut along the lines and push the two tabs inwards. The hole should be slightly smaller than the tube so the tube will fit snugly in the hole without any other support. Then insert the tube into the hole to make your neck!

We are going to use rubber bands for our guitar strings! Most guitars have six strings, but we are using four strings which is a little more like a ukulele, another great instrument!

Add the strings by stretching them around the box, moving them over the opening in the guitar body as best you can. We put two strings on either side of the neck. Experiment with different sizes and thickness of rubber bands for different sounds!  To help our guitar sound better, we have to move the strings off the body of the guitar. To do this, glue two popsicle sticks together to make them a little thicker, then slide them under the strings and push them to either side of the guitar body.

Decorate

Now your guitar is built, and it is time to decorate! 

The lines on the neck of a guitar separate the frets. We used colorful tape and wrapped it around the neck to mark the frets. We used pom poms for the tune pegs, and decorated the body with stickers and gems!

Now you are ready to rock out with your guitar! Cue up Caitie and play along with her and her guitar!

For more fun with musical instruments, check out our theme page for making music filled with videos, activities and crafts for making music with little learners! 

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