Teaching Children Their Own Personal Information Through Song

When Michael was little (as in still eating in a high chair little) I modified a nursery rhyme to teach him his full name. As he's gotten older I've added verses to teach him his address and his phone number. Song is a fun way to teach and learn and the children will beg to hear the song again and again because it is about them.

The names, addresses, and phone numbers used here are completely made up. Insert your own child's information (or student's information) as appropriate.

I use the tune for "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" (click on the link and hit play sample if you don't know the tune).

The original lyrics are:

First Verse:
Oh, do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, do you know the muffin man,
That lives on Drury Lane?

Second Verse:
Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
That lives on Drury Lane.

Here's the modified version for teaching a child's full name:

First Verse:
Oh, do you know Brian's full name,
Full name, full name,
Oh, do you know Brian's full name,
It's Brian Lewis Brown.

Second Verse:
Oh, yes, I know Brian's full name,
Full name, full name,
Oh, yes I know Brian's full name,
It's Brian Lewis Brown.

Alternately, you could sing:
Oh, do you know Brian's family name,
family name, family name,
Oh, do you know Brian's family name,
It's Brian Lewis Brown. (etc.)

This is how I sing the song when teaching their street address:

First Verse:
Oh, do you know Brian's street address,
Street address, street address,
Oh, do you know Brian's street address,
It's 44 Westing Estate.

Second Verse:
Oh, yes, I know Brian's street address,
Street address, street address,
Oh, yes I know Brian's street address,
It's 44 Westing Estate.

Alternately, you could sing:
Oh, do you know Brian's house number,
House number, house number,
Oh, do you know Brian's house number,
It's 44 Westing Estate. (etc.)

This is how I sing the song when teaching their phone number:

First Verse:
Oh, do you know Brian's phone number,
Phone number, phone number,
Oh, do you know Brian's phone number,
It's 123-456-7899.

Second Verse:
Oh, yes, I know Brian's phone number,
Phone number, phone number,
Oh, yes I know Brian's phone number,
It's 123-456-7899.

You could choose to leave out the area code if you live in an area where only one area code is commonly used. I also slow the tune down significantly when singing the 10 digits of the phone number to make sure each number is distinct.

Then put it all together.

And then you can string all three parts together for a "Song About You" - a six verse song that teaches your child's (or student's) full name, street address, and phone number. (You could also add two verses about city and state and another two about zip code if you are so inclined.)

Feel free to click on the image at the top of the post to open a one page printable to save to your computer. If you're using the song in therapy you might want to send home an example of what you're doing for parents to practice.