Written for Junior School Harvest assembly. OK so Cauliflowers are STILL fluffy but sometimes you have to ring the changes just to keep your sanity. This time I’ve added the ‘Reggae Reggae Harvest’ song to go along with the ‘Harvest Gospel’ and ‘Harvest Hoe Down’ - just to give some alternatives. This one is dead easy to sing and introduces the idea that all countries harvest their own crops and fruits and vegetables even though the produce may be very different to that which we see in shops where we live. Written in a reggae style this song references fruit and veg. you may find in Jamaica - so there is some fun to be had identifying the various foods named in the song - such as Callaloo, Johnny Cakes or Duckanoo. The last line of the chorus adds a ‘reggae’ lyric on every repeat, so we start off with ‘Reggae Reggae’ and end up with ’ Reggae, reggae, reggae, reggae, reggae’. Go to the You Tube demo to check the song out. Enjoy! If you need a vocal score, chords or piano score just let me know : kidzmusicals@icloud.com - I’ll try and add it soon anyway, but please ask - I can also change key or tempo - no charge.

This song has a beautiful, simple melody with lyrics which vary only in the gift - so basically the same (easy to learn) verse sung three times, each verse highlighting the gift brought by that King. There is a short musical interlude to allow the Kings to present the gift before the next verse is sung. This is from 'Nanny's Nativity' John Gleadall kidzmusicals@icloud.com

Here's a KS1/2 Harvest song in a country style. It is written to have a line dance in the middle of it - you could do 'The Funky Cowboy' as demonstrated in the video, or get the children to create a 'Harvesting Line Dance' with digging and reaping actions. If you don't fancy the line dance, simply repeat a verse or write some lyrics of your own. There is a vocal demo, a backing track, a score and a set of lyrics.

Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky, set to music. Can be used to augment any drama or performing work, or as an introduction to any work on Alice. I’ve set all of Lewis Carroll’s poems to music, in as bizarre a way as possible - if you need music to any of his other work , let me know. It would be a great Performing Arts project for the pupils to devise their own presentation of the stories using the songs as a framework.

Here is the whole of ‘The Walrus and The Carpenter’ set to a bluesy jazzy piano style. This would make a great dance/drama/vocal centrepiece to any performing arts evening. It’s 8 minutes long so you could involve whole teams of performers. I’ve set 17 Lewis Carroll poems to music - watch out for others as I post them. If you need anything in particular, let me know - I think I’ve done all the poems in Alice and Through The Looking Glass.

A dialogue in song between the Innkeeper and Mary and Joseph. There is a very simple one finger ukulele part (chord windows shown on the score). If anyone requests it I'll post a video on You Tube showing how to play it. The main feature is the grumpy Innkeeper who counterpoints the gentle melody with sharp ripostes - until the end of the song - but you know how it ends...... Ask for more information if required. This song is from 'Nanny's Nativity' John Gleadall kidzmusicals@icloud.com

I asked the children to write their Christmas list - the stuff they really wanted this Christmas. I then asked them to pretend that they were one of the migrants displaced by war in the middle East - or they were a child in Paris (November 2015) and their Mum or big brother, or any close family member was involved in the terrorist attack. I then asked them to write another Christmas list. Suddenly the iPads and other consumer products were missing from the list. Here's what we came up with: Christmas is a window on a world of love and peace An annual reminder we want war and hate to cease We’d like to have a future of happiness and love We’d like to show the world the meaning of Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas Open up the window and we’re sure that you will see The world is full of children who are just like you and me We only want a future and we can show the way We want the Christmas feeling everyday Christmas - A time of love and peace Christmas - A time for war to cease Christmas - Why can’t we live this way Christmas - Live Christmas everyday Just look through the window and we’re sure you will agree The greatest gift at Christmas is a loving family So families come together, unite in every land And we will make the people understand Christmas - A time of love and peace Christmas - A time for war to cease Christmas - Why can’t we live this way Christmas - Live Christmas everyday

Rising sevens asked for a song about poetry for their class assembly. We discovered that there is a worldwide dearth of poetry numbers so we made one up using the poetic "vocab - u - lary " (listen to the demo) they are learning about. You could do what we did and make up your own lyrics? If anybody really needs a score then let me know and I'll make one. kidsmusicals@icloud.com musicals4kidz

From 'The Nativity Play' - A different kind of Christmas song from John Gleadall. It takes some effort to get this right, but I promise you it totally works; the children want to sing it and play it. It’s a one finger ukulele song and a quirky arrangement with exchanges between boys and girls. I’ve been told it’s not ‘normal’ enough for juniors but I do it every year with year 3 and they just love it. Listen to the demo - you’ll smile. You've got a demo track a backing track and a lyric sheet - if you need any help with the uke part, please get in touch - I will put a lesson on You Tube if anyone requests it. kidzmusicals@icloud.com

The Shepherds meet the angels meet the wise men in a three part contrapuntal song with a Bollywood dance routine in the middle - just listen to it! Heavily influenced by Middle eastern music tradition with a splash of Bhangra. From ‘The Nativity Play’ coming soon on the TES resources site. Any questions or request, please get in touch at kidzmusicals@icloud.com

This is simple to sing - yet extremely effective. This works from year 2 up to adult. It's a simple three part song with three melodies that all work together and finishes on a great three part chord - harmony by stealth! It makes a great start to any Christmas Concert - it just works. The Lyrics are: 1 Time is back again welcome back again Though it's been a year Since the music played seasons come and fade Now we're singing here - Christmas 2 Time is near The music's here - Christmas 3 Time is near, it's a year, we've been here Sing our song, it's so long. now we're here - Christmas And that's it! Your singers/class/choir/whole school will learn it in ten minutes. Get them to go to the youtube link and learn it at home. Get in touch if you have any questions or requests. musicals4kidz.com

A ‘Gospelled Up’ version of this song with a new four part bridge section which is totally mesmerising when you get four groups singing a part each. Totally doable and totally good fun - plus you get the whole school doing contrapuntal part singing!!!! The sound on the chorus is amazing when you get the handclaps going……: John Gleadall kidzmusicals@icloud.com

A song written as a songwriting project with year 5 children. Every child in year five wrote a couple of lines using a vocabulary and ideas bank we created through discussion. Then every child sang their own (or somebody else’s ) short phrase. I edited and glued it all together with accompaniment. You could add your own lyrics - if you would like to change the structure by adding another verse or middle 8 let me know and I will change the music for you. This is now an assembly song at my school - I think it’s lovely! The demo is sung by the children who wrote it. Get in touch with me, John Gleadall, if you have any queries: kidzmusicals@icloud.com

The Mock Turtle’s Song from Alice In Wonderland, set to an unexpected tune - not a quadrille at all - but then the turtle was a mock turtle, so nothing is as expected! It’s a very infectious melody and this piece would fit in with any study or presentation of Lewis Carroll’s work. I’ve set all of his ‘Alice’ poems to music, so if you need anything just ask!

This is Humpty Dumpty’s recitation set to a rather modern backing style. This would fit in with any module of working involving ‘Alice’ by Lewis Carroll. I’ve set all of the ‘Alice’ poems to music so let me know if there’s anything you are looking for.

This is a new song to start off the year, the term, the week or the day. It tells us that every day is a new beginning and offers a chance to help children reflect on the fact that they have an important choice to make every single day - how will they behave today? Will they make to most of the chances offered to them. It's a 'seize the day' song! The chorus of this song should be sung in three parts. I would have year 6 on the first part, year 5 on the send part and years 3 and four on the third part. It's very simple and ends on a three part chord. There is a vocal demo, an accompaniment track, lyrics and a score. It's in a really good fun western style complete with 'yee haa' at the end!

Here’s a school band arrangement created for the bizarre collection of instruments available at my junior school. The audio link provides a guide. If you want a midi file or other parts get in touch. I notice that this arrangement has clocked up over 5000 downloads and not many ‘thank yous’ it would be great to get some feedback! kidzmusicals@icloud.com Who you gonna call………

A different kind of Christmas song from John Gleadall. It takes some effort to get this right, but I promise you it totally works; the children want to sing it and play it. It’s a one finger ukulele song and a quirky arrangement with exchanges between boys and girls. I’ve been told it’s not ‘normal’ enough for juniors but I do it every year with year 3 and they just love it. Listen to the demo - you’ll smile. kidzmusicals@icloud.com

A song written as a songwriting project with year 5 children. Every child in year five wrote a couple of lines using a vocabulary and ideas bank we created through discussion. Then every child sang their own (or somebody else’s ) short phrase. I edited and glued it all together with accompaniment. This is now an assembly song - I think it’s lovely! The demo is sung by the children who wrote it. Get in touch with me, John Gleadall, if you would like the backing track or have any queries: kidzmusicals@icloud.com