I Lost the Farmer's Dairy Key

I Lost the Farmer's Dairy Key is a great folk song with an even better music game. You an find this song in many Kodaly Resources. I typically use this song in 2nd grade reviewing ta titi, reviewing La, and introducing Do. To introduce the song I talk about gardens back in the day and how they had really big stone walls around them with an iron gate. I then make up a story about someone who lost the key while working and is now stuck in the garden!

You may use a random key to play this game but I found these cheap skeleton keys on amazon that the students love!

https://www.amazon.com/Skeleton-Antique-Birthday-Treasure-Medieval/dp/B017EA9C1G/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=skeleton+key&qid=1552662391&s=gateway&sr=8-4

Game:

Have students make a circle.

students put hands together in front of them.

Pick one student to go in the middle of the circle and close their eyes.

Give key to another student.

When you start singing students start passing the key. If students don't have the key they are "fake passing". The student in the middle opens their eyes once you start singing and starts looking for the key (they do not move).

They key must keep moving throughout the entire song.

At the end of the song students stop passing the key and the person "trapped" in the garden get's three guesses to find the key.

Important: at the end of the song students hands must stay together in front of them, otherwise the person in the middle knows they don't have the key.

If they find the key then the person in the middle picks the next person. If they don't the person in the key is the next person "trapped" in the garden.