I often use the version of Head and Shoulders from the Wee Sing baby CD. The tune is London Bridge, which everyone usually knows, and I enjoy singing that tune more than the original tune for the song. This week, I'm doing two different story times about things we wear - one for a Pre-K class (which happened this morning) and one at my branch's own preschool story time. When Lisa suggested singing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes - and better yet, singing it backwards - I had a sudden burst of inspiration. Why not sing about articles of clothing, instead of body parts?
So I sat down and came up with this:
Hat [hands on head]
coat [hands on shoulders]
pants [hands on knees]
and shoes [hands on feet]
Pants and shoes
Pants and shoes.
Hat, coat, pants and shoes
Glasses [hands make rings around eyes]
Earmuffs [hands over ears]!
Then I started thinking about how unexpected it would be to sing about earmuffs, and how much the kids might giggle at that surprise. I wondered, were there other silly things I could put at the end of the song?
My list, as of now, is as follows:
- Bow tie [pretend to tie a tie]
- Scarf [similar to bow tie, pretend to tie it around neck]
- Visor [shield eyes]
- Bunny Ears [put two fingers on either side of top of head]
- Fairy Wings [flap arms]
- Mittens [wiggle fingers]
- Umbrella [pretend to hold an umbrella]
- Wristwatch [tap wrist]
For example:
- Summer: Visor, tanktop, shorts, flip-flops... sunglasses...
- Winter/Snow: Hat, coat, snowpants, boots... ski goggles...
- Rain/Spring: Rainhat, raincoat, pants and boots...
- Dressing Up (Girls): Headband, jacket, dress, and tights...
- Easter: Bonnet, dress, tights, and shoes...
- Baseball Season: Cap, jersey, pants, and cleats...
- Football Season: Helmet, jersey, pants and cleats...
Not all of these would be appropriate for a public library story time, necessarily, but the nice thing about songs like this is they can be adapted for use by parents at home, too! I think I might make variations of this song a regular part of my preschool and pre-K story times - at least until I or the kids get sick of them!
Very cute, I love singing in story time and am always looking new ideas. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for these new ideas. Singing is fun during story time.
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