Little Sandy Girl

 This song originates from Tobago and is a popular circle game with various versions.

First, the song is catchy and easy to memorise. Action songs are always a fun way to promote literacy. The narrative nature of the Sandy Girl demonstrates how to tell a story. The rhyming of 'stone' with 'alone' possibly will arouse some older children's interest in looking for rhyming words. A useful tip is finding rhyming words for each other's name.

Another interesting learning outcome could be related to social development. The lyrics suggest a positive attitude/ strategy to make friends and initiate relationships. The song helps children to develop empathy, as they would learn to comfort a sad peer by playing with her. From my experience, when a younger child saw another child in distress, he might think she missed her mummy, whereas an older child might recognise the other child possibly needed company and friendships as well.

As always, action songs promote interests and knowledge in creativity. Children sing along will understand the difference between a singing voice

and speaking voice. Also, the dramatic component encourages children to improvise and express with body language and facial expression. I particularly like the ending of the song when the couple collaborate some sort of dance. While some children have a rich repertoire of dance moves, other children may not. The teacher may take advantage of the opportunity to guide the children, such as swing your hips and arms; hammering with your fists and so on. Remember, playing is learning, like the Australian early childhood curriculum says.

To download the easy alphanotes sheet music, look here. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

There was a little sandy girl sitting on a stone,

Weeping, crying all de day alone.

Rise up sandy girl, wipe your tears away,

Choose the one you love the best and run, run away.

other versions:

See the little Sandy Girl (or Boy)
Sitting on a stone
Weeping, crying, all the day alone
Stand up Sandy Girl (or Boy)
Wipe your tears away
Choose the one you love the most and dance, dance away
(child picks someone from the circle and they hold hands and dance)

(same tune)
Tra la la la la la la la la la
Tra la la la la la la la la la