Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Leaves in the Fall Songs

Leaves are Falling  Sung to "Are you sleeping?"
Red leaves falling, Red leaves falling   (wiggle fingers down to the ground)
On the ground, on the ground   (Hit floor 3 times)Autumn time is coming, autumn time is coming   (Clap 3 times)All around, all around   (Spread arms around in circle)

Substitute Red for the fall colors: Orange, yellow, brown.

Idea #1: You can cut out leaves from paper and pretend they are falling
Idea #2: Use scarves to pretend with as you sing about the leaves falling
Idea #3: Have leaves cut out and spread out on the floor or table. Tell the children they have to find the leaf you sing about it the song


Leaves are Falling  Sung to “Jingle Bells”
Leaves are falling, Leaves are falling
One fell on my nose
Leaves are falling, Leaves are falling
One fell on my toes
Leaves are falling, Leaves are falling
One fell on my head
Leaves are falling, Leaves are falling
Yellow, orange and red
This is the way Sung to “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush”
This is the way we rake the leaves, rake the leaves, rake the leaves
This is the way we rake the leaves at Autumn time
Throw the leaves
Jump in the leaves
Five little leaves
Five little leaves in the autumn breeze
Tumbled and fluttered down from the trees
The 1st leaf said “I am red
I shall rest in a flower bed”
The 2nd leaf said “I am yellow
I’m a happy-go-lucky fellow”
The 3rd leaf said “I am green
I change color so you shall see”
The 4th leaf said “Orange am I
Brightly colored I will fly”
The 5th leaf said “I am brown
I shall blow all over town”
The leaves on the trees Sung to “The Wheels on the Bus”
The leaves on the trees are changing colors
Changing colors, changing colors
The leaves on the trees are changing colors
All around town
The wind makes the leaves go “Swish,swish, swish”
Then the leaves come tumbling down
The leaves on the ground make a crackling sound
We’ll rake them up into a pile
It Must Be Autumn  Sung to “When the Saints go Marching In”
Oh, when the leaves fall off the trees
Oh, when the leaves fall off the trees
We know it must be autumn
When the leaves fall off the trees
When the wind begins to blow
When the leaves are changing colors
When the squirrel gathers his food
When there’s a chill out in the air
When we put our jackets on


Recommended Reading
1. Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert
2. Why do leaves change colors? by Betsy Maestro
3. When the leaf blew in by Steve Metzger
4. Leaves by David Ezra Stein



Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Candy Match Up

Here is a fun worksheet for primer levels that have students match the notes to the missing letters.  Download to print, for some reason it is not linking up right to print straight from this page.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Apple Songs

She’ll be coming round the mountain
She’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes 
(YeeHaw) punch fist
She’ll be bringing big red apples when she comes 
(Oh ,boy) hands on face
She’ll be peeling big red apples when she comes 
(Ch, ch) brush hands together
She’ll be cooking big red apples when comes 
(Put em in a pot) pat legs
She’ll be making apple jelly when she comes 
(yum ,yum) rub tummy

Shake, shake the apple tree
Shake, shake the apple tree, apples red and rosy
Shake, shake the apple tree, apples red and rosy
Apples green and yummy
Apples yellow and sunny
Use shakers with this song
Five Red Apples Sung to: "This Old Man"
Way up high, in a tree (raise hands over head)
Five red apples smiled at me (smile)
So I shook that tree as har-r-d as I could (Pretend to shake tree)
Down came the apple, Ummm, it was good!!!! (Rub tummy)
Have students hold apples and countdown the apples as they fall
Five little apples
Five little apples hanging in a tree,
Teasing Mr. Slinky worm can't eat me,
Along comes Mr. Slinky worm quiet as can be...
and...CRUNCH!
He ate that apple right out of the tree.
Have students hold apples and countdown the apples as they fall


"1 little 2 little 3 little Apples"
(to the tune: 1 little 2 little 3 little Indians) 

1 little 2 little 3 little apples,
4 little 5 little 6 little apples,
7 little 8 little 9 little apples, on my apple tree.
Munch little, munch little, munch little apples
Crunch little, crunch little, crunch little apples
Bunch of little, bunch of little, bunch of little apples,
Good for you and me!
Count backwards

Apple Sauce (Sung to Peanut Butter and Jelly)
Apple, Apple Sauce Yum
Apple, Apple Sauce Yum

First you take an apple
And you skin it You skin it
And you skin it

Apple, Apple Sauce Yum
Apple, Apple Sauce Yum

Then you take the apple
And you chop it You chop it
And you chop it

Apple, Apple Sauce Yum
Apple, Apple Sauce Yum
Then you take the apple

And you squish it You squish it
And you squish it

Apple, Apple Sauce Yum
Apple, Apple Sauce Yum

Then you take the sauce
And you eat it You eat it
And you eat it

Apple, Apple Sauce Yum
Apple, Apple Sauce Yum
Five Red Apples
Five red apples hanging in a tree (Hold up five fingers)
The juiciest apples you ever did see.
The wind came by and gave an angry frown (Fingers flutter downward)
And one little apple came tumbling down (One finger falls)
Four red apples, hanging in a tree, etc.
All Around The Apple Tree Sung to: "Mulberry Bush"
Here we go round the apple tree, the apple tree, the apple tree
Here we go around the apple tree
On a frosty morning.
This is the way we climb the ladder
-pick the apples
-wash the apples
-peel the apples
-cook the apples
Ten Red Apples 
(Both hands high) Ten red apples grow on a tree
(Dangle one hand and then the other) Five for you and five for me.
(Shake body) Let us shake the tree just so
(Hands fall) And ten red apples will fall below
(Count ea. finger) 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.
Apple On A Stick
Apple on a stick, apple on a stick
I can lick it all day and not get sick.
Apple in a cup, apple in a cup
I can drink it all day and not fill up.
Apple in a crunch, apple in a crunch
I can eat it all day, it is so good to munch
Apple in a cake, apple in a cake
I can eat it all day with no tummy ache
Apple in a pie, apple in a pie
I can eat it all day and never cry.
Apple in a dish, apple in a dish
I can eat it all day, it's so delish!
A Wiggly Worm  Sung to: "Boom! Boom! Ain't It Great to Be Crazy?"

Chorus:
Yum! Yum! Don't you know I love apples?
Yum! Yum! Don't you know I love apples?
Red and green and yellow, too…
Yum! Yum! Don't you know I love apples?

Verse 1
Way up high in an apple tree, I saw two eyes look at me.
I reached for an apple; it started to squirm…oops! I found a wiggly worm!
Chorus

Verse 2
That wiggly worm is a friend of mine. We eat apples all the time.
I let him crawl back to that tree… hey! I see that worm looking at me!
Chorus
Apple Sung to: "Bingo"

I know a fruit that grows on trees,
An apple is its name, oh!

(Chorus)
A. P. P. L. E.
A. P. P. L. E.
A. P. P. L. E.
An apple is its name, oh!

In summer and in early fall
It's time to pick an apple!
Chorus

It may be sweet or may be tart,
It's red, or green, or yellow!
Chorus

A McIntosh or Granny Smith,
A Winesap or Delicious!
Chorus

Make applesauce or apple juice
Or apple pie with apples!
Chorus

Take away a letter from the chorus each time, clapping instead of saying the letter:
 X P P L E,  X X P L E, X X X L E, X X X X E, X X X X X



Monday, September 20, 2010

Wiggly Worm Game

Wiggly Worm Game: Students take turns 
Identifying the apple card.  If they identify it correctly
they get to keep the card.  When they draw a wiggly
worm card, they get to take a card from the another
player, but they must identify the card first.  If they 
cannot identify the card they must give it back.  
Play continues until all the card are gone.  Whoever
has the most cards at the end of the game wins.



Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Nursery Rhymes



To Rhyming Land We Go! Sung to: " Farmer in the Dell"
To Rhyming Land we go,
To Rhyming Land we go!
High-ho the derry-o,
To Rhyming Land we go!

Continue singing the song substituting the following verses:
King Cole wears a crown
Jack and Jill fall down
High-ho the derry-o
Crown rhymes with down

V. 4: Bo-Peep has lost her sheep.
V. 5: Boy Blue is fast asleep.
V. 6: The cat can play a tune.
V. 7: The cow jumps over the moon.
V. 8: A star shines in the sky.
V. 9: And now we'll say good-bye!
Humpty Dumpty Sung to the tune of 10 green bottles.
5 Humpty Dumpty's sitting on a wall
5 Humpty Dumpty's sitting on a wall
And if one Humpty Dumpty should accidentally fall....
CRACK! There'll be 4 Humpty Dumpty's sitting on a wall....
Repeat until there are no eggs left
Humpty Dumpty 
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. (Extend arms in a circle.) 
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. (Pretend to drop something.) 
All the king’s horses, 
And all the king’s men, 
Couldn’t put Humpty (Shake head “no.”) 
Together again. (Hold palms up.) 
Activities:  Make up additional verses with other body parts.  For example:  “Humpty 
Dumpty sat on a peg.  Humpty Dumpty fell on his leg.”  Bed – head; farm – arm; rose – 
toes; nest – chest; tack – back; pie – eye, etc/ 
Hickory Dickory Dock
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down!
Hickory Dickory Dock.
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The bird looked at the clock,
The clock struck two 2,
Away she flew,
Hickory Dickory Dock
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The dog barked at the clock,
The clock struck three 3,
Fiddle-de-dee,
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The bear slept by the clock,
The clock struck four 4,
He ran out the door,
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The bee buzzed round the clock,
The clock struck five 5,
She went to her hive,
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The hen pecked at the clock,
The clock struck six 6,
Oh, fiddle-sticks,
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The cat ran round the clock,
The clock struck seven 7,
She wanted to get 'em,
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The horse jumped over the clock,
The clock struck eight 8,
He ate some cake,
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The cow danced on the clock,
The clock struck nine 9,
She felt so fine,
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The pig oinked at the clock,
The clock struck ten 10,
She did it again,
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The duck quacked at the clock
The clock struck eleven 11,
The duck said 'oh heavens!'
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck noon
He's here too soon!
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Hickory Dickory Dock
Hickory, Dickory, Dock (clap w/ each word) 
The mouse ran up the clock (L arm straight up & run R fingers up L arm) 
The clock struck 1 (over head, clap hands together once loudly over head) 
The mouse ran down (R fingers run down L arm while saying words) 
Hickory, Dickory, Dock (clap w/ each word)
Hickory, Dickory, Dock (repeat hand motions) 
The mouse ran up the clock (repeat hand motions) 
The clock stuck 2 (clap twice) 
The mouse said, "BOO!" (say loudly with hands cupped around mouth...or what ever movement you choose) 
Hickory, Dickory, Dock (repeat hand motions)
Hickory, Dickory, Dock (repeat hand motions) 
The mouse ran up the clock (repeat hand motions) 
The clock struck 3 (clap three times) The mouse went Whee! (slide R fingers down L arm fast while saying words) Hickory, Dickory, Dock (repeat hand motions)
The children enjoy the "BOO" and Whee! parts.
Itsy Bitsy Spider 
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider
Went up the spout again

Substitute 'itsy bitsy' with emotions: the sad little spider (sing in a sad voice), the scared little spider (frightened voice), the shy little spider (soft voice) , the happy little spider (giggly voice) the proud little spider (opera voice) mad little spider (loud voice)

Nursery Rhyme Rap (Tune:  “100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall”) 
Jack and Jill went up the hill (Clap hands.) 
To fetch a pail of water. 
Jack fell down and broke his crown, 
And Jill came tumbling after. 

Chorus: 
A B C D E F G (Cross over touching right hand 
H I J K L to left knee, then left hand to right 
M N O P knee.) 
Q R S 
T U V W X Y Z 

Use other nursery rhymes: Humpty Dumpty…Little Miss Muffet…Hey, Diddle, Diddle…Little Boy Blue… 
Hickory  Dickory Dock 



Monday, September 13, 2010

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Teaching the White Keys

I use the story of two houses to teach the names of the white keys.  There is the big house of the three black keys and the little house, which is the dog house.  As we learn more keys we find out that the big house is Grandma's house (G) and she loves to make things with apples (A).  The F and B are the front door and the back door.  Beside the dog lives a Cat (C) and Elephant (E).

Here are some worksheets I use to introduce the concept.


Google Doc Link: Name of the White Keys Worksheet
Name of the White Keys