Building A New Way
by Martha Sandefer of the Weavers; additional lyrics and arrangement by Mark Weltner
Social/emotional benefits
I frequently adapt songs to make them better suited for preschoolers. Here, I added the verse “When I make a mistake, it’s okay. When you make a mistake, it’s okay. ‘Cause when we’re building a new way, everybody makes mistakes…” After one class learned the song, a child who sometimes struggled with behavior issues turned to his teacher during this verse and said that it was his favorite part of the song.
If you hear a song that you like part of, I highly recommend that you make it your own, changing it so that it works for you in the classroom. The original version of this song is very little like the version I do. Check out this amazing version (LINK).
