ENVIRONMENTAL AND GARDEN THEMED EDUCATIONAL SONGS
This packet includes environmental and garden themed educational songs, which can be used to teach
elementary school children about a variety of topics. These songs can be used in isolation or as part of
a larger lesson plan. Each song aligns with one or more of the Massachusetts science standards. The
majority of these songs are written by the Banana Slug String Band. Recordings can be purchased from
their website www.bananaslugstringband.com. Albums and individual songs can also be purchased on
iTunes.
Song………………….Massachusetts Science Standard
Compost Cake………..Grades 3-5, Earth and Space Science, standard 3 (decomposition)
Gusano………….Grades 3-5, Earth and Space Science, standard 3 (decomposition)
Decomposition…………..Grades 3-5, Earth and Space Science, standard 3 (decomposition)
Dirt Made My Lunch………...PreK-2, Life Science, standard 3 (life cycles)
Grades 3-5, Earth and Space Science, standard 3 (decomposition)
The FBI……………...PreK-2, Life Science, standard 3 (life cycles)
Grades 3-5, Earth and Space Science, standard 3 (decomposition)
The Food Chain………..PreK-2, Life Science, standard 3 (life cycles)
Photosynthesis………..PreK-2, Earth and Space Science, standard 4 (sun provides heat needed for life)
Roots, Stems, Leaves………..PreK-2, Life Science, standard 1 (plants and animals are living)
Grades 3-5, Life Science, standard 16 (plant parts)
Water Cycle Boogie…………PreK – 2, Earth and Space Science, standard 3 (weather)
Grades 3-5, Earth and Space Science, standard 6 (types of weather)
COMPOST CAKE
(Steve Van Zandt of the Banana Slug String Band)
Chorus:
In the compost pile, it’s a party for new soil
In the compost pile, new dirt is what we make
In the compost pile, come and join our celebration
In the compost pile, making compost cake
Cooking up a batch of that compost cake
Group 1:
Group 2:
Group 3:
layer it and layer it, layer it and layer it, layer it and layer it, compost cake!
turn it and turn it, turn it and turn it, turn it and turn it, compost cake!
pile it high, pile it high, pile it high, compost cake!
Layer it and layer it with straw or leaves
And that leftover salad that we didn’t eat
Microscopic life turns on the heat to bake it
It’s a compost cake, that’s what it takes to make it
Chorus
Turn it and turn it, let the air flow through it
The beetles, bugs, and worms will chew to renew it
Whatever is here will never ever stay the same
Because decomposition is the name of the game
Chorus
Pile it and pile it with more and more
To heat it up for sure we add some manure
This luscious steaming stack of organic decay
Whatever you’ve got we’ll watch it rot away
Chorus
GUSANO
(Written by Mel McMurrin and Kevin Beals)
I am a worm.
The wondrous worm.
It’s down under.
I love to squirm.
To eat the dead.
And the living’s my toil.
And what comes out makes magnificent soil.
Chorus:
Gu-sa-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na-no—si!
Gu-sa-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na-no—si!
I aerate the earth as I tunnel and squirm.
I’m proud to be called a worm.
Our tunnels flood.
It rains all night.
Come up for air.
Be killed by light.
When people die.
Worms attend.
Though its dull.
But no one comes to a worm’s funeral.
Chorus
A robin’s cute
But have you heard?
Of the massacres.
Of the early bird.
We do such good.
From us you could learn.
But you make us fish bait in return
Chorus
DECOMPOSITION
(Steve Van Zandt of the Banana Slug String Band)
Is there waste? Well I don’t know
One thing dies to let another grow
This circle we see almost every day
And the name that we call it is… decay
Chorus:
Well come on all you people, gather ‘round
Break down and listen…..
To decomposition:
Group 1:
Group 2:
Group 3:
Muncha, muncha, muncha…..
Decomposition, decomposition, decomposition….
I get down, I break down, I get down, I break down….
There are many kinds of bugs
Worms and snails and banana slugs
They are useful for me and you
They help to make the soil… renew.
Chorus
Decomposition is a useful game
A tree drops its leaves, but they don’t stay the same
A bug chews them up and spits them back out
Making the soil for a new tree to… sprout.
Chorus
DIRT MADE MY LUNCH
(Steve Van Zandt of the Banana Slug String Band)
Chorus:
Dirt made my lunch, dirt made my lunch
Thank you dirt, thanks a bunch
For my salad, my sandwich, my milk and my munch
Dirt you made my lunch
Dirt is a word we often use,
When we’re talking about the earth beneath our shoes.
It is a place where plants can sink their toes,
And in a little while a garden grows.
Chorus
A farmer’s plow will tickle the ground,
You know the earth has laughed when wheat is found.
The grain is taken and the flour is ground,
For making a sandwich to munch on down.
Chorus
A stubby green beard grows upon the land
Out of the soil grass will stand.
But under hoof it must bow,
For making milk by way of a cow.
Chorus
THE FBI
(Steve Van Zandt of the Banana Slug String Band)
Chorus:
The FBI, whenever something dies,
The FBI, is there on the scene
The FBI, is working overtime
The FBI, to pick those bones clean
Fungus! (fungus), Bacteria! (bacteria),
Invertebrates! (invertebrates), the FBI (2x)
There’s fungus all among us and it’s breaking things down
Returning nutrients into the fertile ground
Millions of mycelium underground that’s why
When you hold a handful of the earth you hold the FBI
Chorus
There are billions of bacteria in that soil over there
Microscopic life in the water, land and air
You should know that they are there though they are too small for your eye
These are the secret agents of the FBI
Chorus
Insects, bugs, slugs, and worms are working night and day
The invertebrate crew are special agents of decay
To remove whatever’s rotten they will hop, crawl, hide or fly
Enforcing nature’s laws they are the FBI
Chorus
Lay down very still in the duff and learn their ways
Lift up a rotten log and you will surely be amazed
Go creeping through the forest learn to see and be a spy
In search of evidence of the FBI
Chorus
FOOD CHAIN
(Steve Van Zandt of the Banana Slug String Band)
Plants are producers, they’re sun users in the food chain; chain, chain
They make food from the sun and the food chain has begun, food chain; chain, chain
Chorus
Predator and prey
Producers and decay
Are in the food chain; chain, chain
Rabbit comes along and eats the plants down in the food chain; chain, chain
But the plants they have more to feed that herbivore in the food chain; chain, chain
Chorus
Coyotes likes to eat a little rabbit meat in the food chain; chain, chain
And it really makes his day to eat that rabbit prey in the food chain; chain, chain
Chorus
Coyote lifts his tail and scats on the trail in the food chain; chain, chain
For the bugs that’s a deal, scat’s a gourmet meal in the food chain; chain, chain
Chorus
The scat will decompose and a new plant grows in the food chain; chain, chain
So the food chain never ends, it just begins again in the food chain; chain, chain
Chorus
You can see from this song how energy moves along in the food chain; chain, chain
So eat your food my friend but think of where it’s been in the food chain; chain, chain
Chorus
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
(Steve Van Zandt of the Banana Slug String Band)
Chorus
It’s a miracle up in those trees (A miracle, a miracle)
It’s a miracle in each green leaf (A miracle, a miracle)
All of life depends on this (A miracle, a miracle)
Miracle, photosynthesis (A miracle, a miracle)
Group 1:
Group 2:
Group 3:
…sunlight coming down…
…a miracle, a miracle…
…photosynthesis!!!
Scientists don’t even know how it’s done
How plants make sugar out of the sun
Water, air combined with skill
By the magical green stuff chlorophyll
Chorus
Now you can’t go out and take a bite
Of the water, air, or the sunlight
We depend on the plants to survive
Making food to keep us alive
Chorus
ROOTS, STEMS, LEAVES
(Steve Van Zandt of the Banana Slug String Band)
Chorus
Roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds.
Roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds.
That’s six parts, six parts,
Six plant parts that plants and people need.
The roots hold the plants in the ground,
They gather up the water that falls around.
And there’s a root inside of me
Because a carrot is a root that I eat.
Chorus
A stem is an elevator growing up from the ground
The water goes up and the sugar back down
And there’s a stem inside of me
Because celery is a stem that I eat.
Chorus
The leaves are the kitchens where the food is done
They breathe the air and catch rays from the sun.
And there’s a leaf inside of me
Because lettuce is a leaf that I eat.
Chorus
The flowers are dressed so colorfully
They hold the pollen and attract the bees
And there’s a flower inside of me
Because cauliflower is a flower that I eat.
The fruit gets ripe, then it falls on down
It holds the seeds and feeds the ground
And there’s a fruit inside of me
Because an apple is a fruit that I eat.
Chorus
Chorus
The seeds get buried in the earth
And the cycle starts again with a new plant’s birth
And there are seeds inside of me
Because sunflower is a seed that I eat.
Chorus
Now you all know what this whole world needs,
It’s roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds.
There’s six plant parts inside of me
Because a garden salad is what I eat.
Chorus
WATER CYCLE BOOGIE
(Steve Van Zandt of the Banana Slug String Band)
Chorus
Evaporation, condensation, precipitation,
The water cycle boogie goes round and round.
The water cycle boogie goes up and down.
The sun gives the water cycle power to spin
The water goes up and down again
The surface of the water heats up with the sun
The water rises up and then the boogie’s begun
What’s that called? What’s that called? EVAPORATION!!!
Chorus
Water holds together chemically,
Hydrogen bonding is what you see.
All those airborne vapors they squeeze together,
To form a cloud that could change the weather.
What’s that called? What’s that called? CONDENSATION!!!
Chorus
All those dark clouds can’t hold together,
The water boogies down bringing stormy weather.
Fog, rain, hail, flurries, ice and sleet,
Splish, splash, and crunch beneath your feet.
What’s that called? What’s that called? PRECIPITATION!!!
Chorus
Two thirds of the earth is water, it’s true,
It gives life to every plant and animal too.
Respect water’s power, only use your share,
Don’t waste a drop, there’s none to spare.
Let’s do the water cycle boogie again! Let’s go for another spin!
Chorus