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Animals have these advantages over man: they never hear the clock strike, they die without any idea of death, they have no theologians to instruct them, their last moments are not disturbed by unwelcome and unpleasant ceremonies, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills.

Voltaire (1694-1778)

Head Shoulders Knees And Toes!

Knees

Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
And eyes and ears and mouth and nose
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes

Ankles, elbows, hands and feet, hands and feet
Ankles, elbows, hands and feet, hands and feet
And arms and legs and chin and cheeks
Ankles, elbows, hands and feet, hands and feet

Notes:

I guess this song is used by more children's teachers of English than any other, at least the first verse. Adding other verses can both renew interest in the song and introduce more body parts.

The second verse above focuses on some of the different parts of the arm and leg. This is useful for young Japanese learners as Japanese doesn't discriminate between these in the same way as English, or rather, can have a more woolly usage.

When using this song, I think that varying the tempo and introducing pauses adds to the fun and learning process. I usually slow down when doing the third line, pause at the end and then do the final fourth line very fast.

Something else which is important is to do big, dramatic actions. I think this applies to almost all physical activities. The more presence we can have the better.

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