Singing and Story Workshop Prep -1-2, Family & Local History
“Thanks so much for coming to our school last week,
the kids absolutely loved it and so did our grade one teachers.”
Rebecca Loomes, Trinity, Narre Warren
Jan as a toddler, with his parents.
Brief
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With my banjo I teach a song about how we all have a story, and the main song about family (see below)
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Using shirts printed with family pictures I ‘hang out the washing’ and tell my family stories from the song.
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We talk about how to enquire of parents and grandparents about your family story.
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With two students – a boy and a girl – we write and all sing a couple of simple verses about their particular family.
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With the class we then write and sing a verse about their school and local district.
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We record both songs for continued work in class with lyric templates and other activities/research to go on with.
Practical Details
Duration: 60 mins plus questions Set up: 1 hour Cost: $5/student. $500 minimum. Plus travel to some locations.
Listen to students singing HOME (is with my family)
THE SONG – Jan’s original version
Words & Music: Jan Wositzky
Home, is with my family
You can live on top of a mountain
You can live along the sea
But home, is with my family.
I’m proud of my home, for me it is the best
And you can make it your home, if you need to rest
Full of friends and family, a peaceful place at night
I’m proud of my home, for me it is alright.
My name is Jan and I live in Castlemaine
It’s a town up the country, you can get there on the train
In the bush around about they once found lots of gold
Maybe I will find some too before I grow too old
When I was a little boy I sailed across the sea
On a boat to Australia with my family
And I met King Neptune he was sitting on the deck
|He came out of the water with seaweed ‘round his neck.
My Dad was Czechoslovak, my mother was a Scot
My uncle was Hungarian, we are a mixed up lot
My kids are partly Jewish
And my full name is Frantisek Jan McMurray Wositzky.
Lyrics written by kids from Glenorch PS
Words & Music: Jan Wositzky
Verses by Glenorchy PS
Home is with my family
You can live on top of a mountain
You can live along the sea
Home is with my family
Now I live in Glenorchy, a peaceful place to be
By the big, long river that we all love to see
The people here are friendly, we all have a house
It doesn’t have much traffic, it’s quiet as a mouse
Running down the east side we see the railway line
The farmers bring their grain there when the season’s fine
The town is bathed in sunlight, at school the kids plant trees
And they do a good job to bring us the birds and bees
Now I live in Glenorchy, the mail comes to the hall
We sing and dance a lot there, the closest town is Stawell
So if you need a place to live Glenorchy is the spot
It’s everything in our lives, the weather can be hot
And I’m proud of my home, for me it is the best
And you can make it your home, if you need to rest
Full of friends and family, a peaceful place at night
I’m proud of my home, for me it is alright
Home is with my family
You can live on top of a mountain
You can live along the sea
Home is with my family