"This Little Light of Mine"

This iconic American gospel song has been energizing and uniting diverse groups of people for nearly a century. It’s impossible to sing this song without moving your body and feeling a spark of excitement and purpose. It is a great song to sing with kids because the words are so repetitive, and the message is so positive!

Check out Episode 6 of our podcast to hear this and other songs highlighting black artists of the 20th century!

We’ve added some simple actions to each verse, and suggested a flashlight activity for the second time through -- kids and flashlights always seem to be drawn to each other, right?

This is just one of many songs found inside our “American Classics” online music course inside our All Access Membership. (Find out how to subscribe here and join in the fun!). In that course, each song/activity comes with written notes for the parents. These notes tell you exactly how to prepare for the activity, how to extend the activity or adapt it for various ages, what your child is learning through the activity, as well as the origin of the song. 

How to prepare:

• Clear space to move
• Grab a flashlight

How to adapt/extend “This Little Light of Mine”:

• Explore more verses to the song here, or make up your own additional verses - ask your child about where and how they can let their light shine? (“When I am at school, I’m gonna let it shine” or “Sharing with my friends, I’m gonna let it shine”)
• This is a great song to get your kiddo singing, because it is so repetitive! Once you’re tired of hearing it over and over again the same way, add some variety by singing forte, then piano, or slow (adagio), then fast (presto), or using different actions each time.
• It’s hard to sing this song without DANCING -- get out there with your kiddos, whether they are babies in your arms, or preschoolers with their own wild moves, and enjoy moving your body rhythmically with the music!
• For parents: enjoy this great article which includes information about the history of the song, including how it has been used by activists as a tool of resistance.
• Listen to some different versions of this song
• Aretha Franklin
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe
• Fannie Lou Hamer

What your child is learning through this activity:

• Steady beat, sense of rhythm
• Movement with music
• Gross motor skills

Music Credit

• Gospel song of unknown origin. Thought to be originally written as a children’s song in the 1920s, popular throughout African American churches by the 1930s, and later becoming an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.

You won’t want to miss the rest of this course - it is FUN, incorporating gospel, jazz, Shaker and Appalachian folk songs, and classical music by Gershwin, Copland and Sousa. Click here to join!