Action Song: Hat, Coat, Pants & Shoes

I have been looking for new action songs and rhymes to use as stretchers between stories on some of my Pre-K class visits, since I've been doing so many of those. I got some great suggestions from the folks on the Flannel Friday Facebook page, and Lisa's suggestion to revisit "Good old Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" actually inspired an idea of my own as well. 

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]

When I shared this song with the Pre-K group this morning, they looked at me a little uncertainly after I sang about the earmuffs, but I told them to watch out, because I was very silly and I might say something different next time. They giggled at wristwatch, laughed harder at bow tie, and then lost it when I put my fingers over my head and said, "Bunny ears!" The key, I think, is to really linger on the second syllable of glasses to build up the anticipation. That way, they all get their hands in glasses position and they are all paying attention by the time I say whatever silly surprise word I have in mind. I think it's also possible to vary the song based on the seasons, holidays or just different types of attire.

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!

Drop-In Story Time, 10/16/12

 

Book: Arabella Miller's Tiny Caterpillar by Clare Jarrett
This was a little bit long for my babies and toddlers, but the majority of kids were with me at the end because when I asked what the caterpillar turned into, everyone called out butterfly right away. 

Song: One, Two, Three Caterpillars
This is a song I wrote based on Ten Little Indians, where you count fingers, then put them together to make a butterfly. Simple, and good for adults to do with babies on their laps.

Book: Princess Baby by Karen Katz
When I read this to myself, I thought nothing of it, but when I read it aloud, I realized it's kind of a how-to for being spoiled. The kids seemed mesmerized by  the bright colors, though, and the page where the baby is shown dressed as a buttercup and her other pet names was my favorite.

Song: There is Clapping in the Castle 
I like this song a lot, and normally I don't change the words at all when I share it, even when I don't use the recording. Today, though, I decided "mirth and merriment abound" was a bit much for the toddler crowd, and I changed the end of the first verse to, "Can you hear that clapping sound?" Then we stomped and snapped for the other two verses. 

Book: Golden Bear by Ruth Young, illustrated by Rachel Isadora
I realized when I started to read that I had no idea if  the child is a boy or a girl. I have since decided it's a boy. 

Rhyme: Two Little Teddy Bears
I love to write new rhymes based on Two Little Blackbirds. This is a recent one:

Two little teddy bears
sitting on my bed.
One named Lucy, 
One named Fred.
A big hug for Lucy.
A big hug for Fred.
Goodnight, little teddy bears,
lay down your sleepy heads!  

Letter of the Day: Letter H

• I Hide My Hands
• If You're Happy and You Know It
• Head and Shoulders
• Hop Your Bunny

Songs (with ukulele): ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep 

Song: Sing a Happy Song 

Song: Brown Squirrel / Gray Squirrel 

Song: Bumpin' Up and Down in My Little Red Wagon 

Song: The Wheels on the Bus


I use the same hello and goodbye songs at almost every session. Click here for the tunes and words. For descriptions of each of my story times, click here.

Preschool Story Time (Digging Theme), 10/12/12

I use the same hello and goodbye songs at almost every session. Click here for the tunes and words. For descriptions of each of my story times, click here. 

Book: The Diggers by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Daniel Kirk
This was a crapshoot, but I'm glad I took the chance. The kids loved this one.

Song: One Seed by the Laurie Berkner Band
This group typically does not like to sing, but they seemed to like learning the motions to this one.

Book: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
Some toddlers wandered in during this story, and they lost interest really quickly, but the big kids were completely engrossed. 

Song: Shake My Sillies Out

Book: Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin
This was the biggest hit of the session. They didn't get all the jokes, but they loved talking about the illustrations.

Song: These Are My Glasses

Toddler Lap Time, 10/12/12

I use the same hello and goodbye songs at almost every session. Click here for the tunes and words. For descriptions of each of my story times, click here. 

This session was extremely chaotic. One of the moms helped her son get into my shaker egg bag, and all the kids ended up grabbing them. She also moved my books and my set list, which threw off the momentum of the whole thing. I'll have to make a lot of changes for my remaining two Toddler sessions this Fall.

Action Rhyme: Way Up High in the Apple Tree

Song: Way Up in the Sky

Song: Bumpin' Up and Down in My Little Red Wagon

Action Rhyme: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

Book: The Bridge is Up by Babs Bell 

Song: Ring Around the Rosie
For this one, we just turned our hands instead of going around in a circle. Then we all fell down!
  

Book: The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri

Song: Brown Squirrel

Book: A Good Day by Kevin Henkes

Song: Sunny Day

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider
 
Song: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle / Baa Baa Black Sheep 
 
Songs with Shaker Eggs:

• Shake Your Eggs (based on Sing a Happy Song)
• Shake My Sillies Out
• Can You Shake Your Egg with Me?
• Shake Your Egg Down Low (Goodbye Song)