A Fingerplay: The Turkey

Fingerplays benefit children in many ways, including: finger dexterity, coordination, developing the muscles of the hand, fingers and arms, development of vocabulary, understanding of the rhythm of language, development of memory skills, listening skills, following directions, order and sequence, and lengthening of attention span.


The Turkey



Here is the turkey

Hear him speak,


Here are his feathers



Here is his beak




Looking for food, he pecks the ground



He calls "gobble, gobble"
(open and close index and thumb fingers)




And wobbles around.

Our November Songs

We are learning Aiken Drum this month. In addition to singing the song we use props- vegetables or kitchen utensils (but really anything will do) to create Aiken Drum.

Aiken Drum (With Props)

There was a man who lived in the moon

In the moon, in the moon,

There was a man who lived in the moon

And his name was Aiken Drum.


He played upon a ladle, (We motion playing a guitar)

A ladle, a ladle,

He played upon a ladle

And his name was Aiken Drum.



His eyes were made of ____ (We take turns choosing and laying it on the tablecloth to make the face)

______, _______

His eyes were made of ______

And his name was Aiken Drum.

(Continue singing the verse for eyes, ears, nose, hair, and mouth)



Each time we sang it we made a different face. So much fun!





We are also singing Grey Squirrel

Grey Squirrel

Grey Squirrel,

Swish your bushy tail. (Arm is bent 90 degrees and hand is waved- think pageant queen!)

Grey Squirrel,

Grey Squirrel,

Swish your bushy tail. (Moving hand)

Wrinkle up your little nose, (wrinkle nose)

Hold the nut between you toes, (feet together)

Grey squirrel,

Grey squirrel,

Swish your bushy tail. (Moving hand)

Fingerplays and Movement for October

A little later than I planned, but here are our movement activities we've been using this month.

The Floppy Scarecrow


The floppy, floppy scarecrow

Guards his fields all day.

He waves his floppy, floppy hands

To scare the crows away!

(Repeat using arms, legs, head, feet)

And speaking of scarecrows if you are looking for a good scarecrow book we like this one. It is about a scarecrow that, because of his menacing looks, keeps all of the animals away. He watches the animals play from his lonely post in the field. But when winter comes and the snow falls the scarecrow becomes covered with snow and the animals are surprised to see he has turned into a friendly looking snowman. He is finally no longer lonely and even when the spring weather melts the snow, the animals have learned that he is in fact a friendly scarecrow.




And the other movement poem we've been using is:

Autumn



"Come little leaves," said the wind one day.

"Come o'er the meadow with me and play.

Put on your dresses of red and gold.
Summer is gone and the days grow cold."




As soon as the leaves heard the wind's low call,

Down they came fluttering, one and all.

Over the brown fields they whirled and flew,

Singing the soft little songs they knew.

Dancing and whirling the little leaves went,

Autumn had called them and they were content.




Soon they will sleep in their soft earthly beds

Waiting for winter to cover their heads.

October Circle Songs

The Pumpkin Song (sung to the tune of Have you ever seen a Lassie?)


If I could be a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin, If I could be a pumpkin, Which face would I have? A Sad face or Happy face...



A Frightened face or Scary face? If I could be a pumpkin, What face would I have?



We each pick one face and hold it up during the song. I also encourage my daughters to make the face too.



Song: Autumn-time is Coming (to the tune of Frere Jacques)

Red leaves falling
Red leaves falling
On the ground
On the ground
Autumn-time is coming
Autumn-time is coming
All around
All around

Orange leaves falling
Orange leaves falling
On the ground
On the ground
Autumn-time is coming
Autumn-time is coming
All around
All around

Brown leaves scattered
Brown leaves scattered
On the ground
On the ground
Autumn-time is here now
Autumn-time is here now
All around
All around Our mini play silks which happen to be red, orange, yellow and brown are the leaves. (For a change we will try substituting real leaves too) It is fun to throw them into the air and watched them gently float down as we sing the song.

(Movement and fingerplays are soon to follow)

Our September Finger Plays

I will be posting the finger plays we use at our circle at the beginning of each month. (They all can be found on the download at the side of the blog, too). This month, we are very much into apples, as we prepare for apple picking and a small apple festival at home. To reflect this, I have chosen the following apple finger plays which we will use/practice all this month.

Five Little Apples (I either use store bought, orchard picked, or the tiny crab apples my daughters find around our property for this one.) I have changed the words a bit to use my daughters' names so they can take turns taking an apple away.

We start by counting out 5 apples and laying them on the floor.



Five little apples lying on the floor. ______ takes one and that leaves four.



Four little apples, hanging on the a tree. ______ picks one off and that leaves three.




Three little apples, I know what to do! _______ puts one in her pocket and that leaves two.



Two little apples sitting in the sun. ________ picks one up and that leaves one.




One little apple waiting all alone. ________ will pick it up and take it home.



Apple Tree


This is the tree
With leaves so green


Here are the apples
That hang in-between
When the wind blows (sway side to side)
The apples will fall (hands fall to floor)



Here is the basket to gather them all.