Hunt the Cows is a Great Folksong for practicing Sol-do (so-do)

I like to specifically isolate sol-do after my students have learned mi-do and so-mi-do. For most of us, second grade is the year we teach “do”. However, Hunt the Cows is a folk song that works great from kindergarten to second grade. That way, students are already very familiar with the sol-do interval by second grade, because of the preparation from younger grades.

Hunt the Cows is a fun song that can teach many concepts. If you haven’t heard of it, here’s the music:

I use it to teach fast and slow to Kindergartners, fermata to 1st and 2nd grade, and – my favorite – sol-do to 2nd grade.

I love that you have 4 perfect isolations of s-s-s-d. I love that it’s slow so students can lock in on pitches. And, I love the fermata over “do” lets you hold and emphasize that pitch.

Here are 2 fun images for your students as you are preparing and practicing s-s-s-d.

The traditional game idea for Hunt the Cows is:

However, I have multiple games and center activities I use with my students on this song. If you’re interested in ready-to-go resources for Hunt the Cows, you can find them here: