Shark Week! Somewhere in the Ocean

This sing-a-long book includes fantastic illustrations of 10 different kinds of sea creatures. You can count them as you go and there is even a hidden number on each page the kids can find! The musical score in included in the book, so you can figure out the tune if you don't already know it. Worth the time to learn this song!

Shark Week! Charlie Over the Ocean

There are a few different versions of this folk song, and true to my nature I've tweaked it a little and made it mine. :) Here are the words I use:

Charlie Over the Ocean (have kids echo "Charlie over the ocean")
Charlie over the sea (echo)
Charlie caught a big fish/dolphin/shark/octopus...etc. (echo)
Can't catch me! (echo)

I have the kids take turns naming all the different ocean animals they can think of, and they enjoy changing the lyrics slightly. I do hand signs as well to keep them involved. On the first line I make a wave with my right hand. On the second line I make a wave with my left hand. On "Charlie caught a big fish" we pretend to cast a fishing line, and on the last line we shake our heads left to right. There are lots of things you can do with this song. You could bring finger puppets of sea animals. You could show them pictures of sea animals and have them guess what they are. You could even have mini-lessons between each verse to teach them about the animals they are naming. If the kids are slightly older you can have them take the lead on the song and have everyone, including you, echo their lead. This is fantastic practice for helping them learn to sing confidently on their own!

Here's an audio file of my daughter and I singing this song:

SHARK WEEK! 5 Little Fishies

This is by far one of the funnest songs for the little ones! The fear, but LOVE this shark. 5 Little Fishies is just like 5 Little Monkeys. We chant it like this:

5 little fishies swimming in the sea
Teasing Mr. Shark, "You can't catch me, no you can't catch me!"
Along came Mr. Shark, quiet as can be and SNATCHED a fishie right out of out of that sea!

Of course, from there you sing it again singing about 4 little fishies and so on until there are no little fishies swimming in the sea. I have the kids put their fingers up and pretend that their fingers are the little fishies. I walk around with the shark and stealthily swerve between the kids and usually snatch their fingers several kids per verse. A lot of giggling ensues and a lot of smiles are made. :)

Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?

This book elaborates on a simple and favorite childhood song. The dog's owner scolds him and the dog runs away. He goes on a grand adventure and decides that home is the best place for him. Adoring, cute and a lot of fun to sing!

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

An oldie, but goodie! This is a great one to start with when a group of kids is just getting comfortable with you. They all know the song, and want to participate with the familiar. But let's face it...this song gets a little boring, right?  Here are a few ideas to make the song more interesting for all:

1. Bring a bag full of Little People farm animals. The kids can take turns pulling animals out of the bag. If kids are too shy to come up to take an animal out I usually bring it around to them. It gets them warmed up to the idea of interacting with me.

2. Change the wording a little to say "Old MacDonald had a band. E-I-E-I-O! And in that band he had a horse. E-I-E-I-O! With a clop-clop here..." Pull out the musical instruments and let the kids accompany the song. Here are ideas for farm animal noises:
Horse...with a clop, clop (Use a wooden block with a stick, or two sticks together)
Cow...with a cling, clang (Use a cow bell or a triangle)
Cat...with a scritch, scratch (Use wooden blocks covered with sand paper)
Snake...with a shake, shake (Use an egg shaker or maraca)
Bird...with a tweet, tweet (Use a recorder or other high pitched instrument)
End with "and in that band EVERYONE played, E-I-E-I-O" and then go through all the noises you've played thus far (with a clop, clop here and a clop, clop there; a cling, clang here and a cling, clang there, a scritch, scratch here...)

3. Gather as many farm animal hand puppets as you can and let the kids BE the animals.

There are lots of fun things you can do with this song. It lends itself well to after-song-time crafts, too.  Be creative and let me know what YOU do with this song!

Animal Week (Again!): I Went to Visit a Farm One Day

The number of verses to this song is limited only to the number of farm animals the kids can think of! I love two things about this song: Kids are eager to suggest animals and to tell you what the animals say, which gets them creating their own verses, and the kids sing the animal noises back to you, which gets them started on solo singing. I usually have them sing the proper pitches for the animal sounds (they're MUSICAL animals!), and the kids then begin to learn pitch memory. Here are the lyrics for the first verse:

I went to visit a farm one day,
I saw a cow along the way.
And what do you think that cow did say?
MOO, MOO, MOO. MOO, MOO, MOO!

There are many YouTube videos where you can hear the melody of this song, and see verses that others have come up with. This is the one I see most referenced: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeO3WxV35GE.

Often I will bring in pictures of farm animals, and if the kids get stumped but really want to be involved, I have them pick a picture. You could also bring in animal puppets and have them pick one out of a bag to sing along. There are a lot of fun things you can do with this song!

We're Going to the Zoo

I love this song! You can use it as a music and movement song before you share this book. Have the kids think of different animals at the zoo and what the animals might be doing. Make up your own lyrics for the animals they think of, and have them act out what the animals do. You can also have them act the song while you sing the book. The illustrations in this book are great! The illustrator captures the joy of going to the zoo and does a great job showing the animals acting their parts. This book promises to be fun for you and the kids in your life!

If I Were a Bird

Ann Moyle was the music and movement teacher at our local library before and after I did my 2 year stint there. She is AMAZING and created many of her own songs. This is one of her songs and I got permission from her to share it. I love the different take she has on this animal song. Instead of singing about the noises each animal makes, this song focuses on the movements they make. Here are the lyrics:

If I were a bird, if I were a bird,
I'd fly and fly and fly all day if I were a bird.

If I were a fish, if I were a fish,
I'd swim and swim and swim all day if I were a fish.

Here's the vocal audio file:


The kids love coming up with all sorts of animals and deciding what their movement should be. And of course, this is the kind of song we act out as we sing it! (Please respect her copyright on this. She would love for you to use it for your non-monetary experiences).

Animal Week!

We just celebrated two birthdays in our family. Both kids wanted a Wild Kratts party. We are so fortunate to live near a Wild Animal Rescue and Education center and they came and entertained our kids and their friends with fun animals like a Chinchilla, a fox, and Macaw, and many more. We had so much fun and I thought I'd continue the fun with songs about animals this week. One of the absolute favorites for ANY class I teach is Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

What in the world does Row Your Boat have to do with animals, you may ask! Well, I have taken ideas I've found on preschool websites, added a couple of verses of my own, and transformed this song into one of the funnest ever! Here are the verses (sung to the traditional tune):

Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.

Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream.
If you see a dinosaur, don't forget to scream! (Have them scream)

Row, row, row your boat gently to the shore,
If you see a lion (tiger), don't forget to roar!

Row, row, row your boat gently to the bay.
If you see a turtle, let's all shout hooray!

Rock, rock, rock your boat, gently to and fro.
Wibbly, wobbly, wibbly, wobbly, OVER the side you go!!


Before the first verse, have the kids grab a partner and sit on the ground facing their partner. Have them match their feet up (soles against soles), grab hands, and move front and back in a rowing motion as they sing this song. On the second verse (still rowing), have them think of animals that might make them frightened; on the third verse, animals that roar; on the forth verse, animals that they would be happy to see. On the fifth verse, change from rowing to rocking from side to side. When you say the word "OVER" have them tip all the way to one side and spill onto the floor, just as though they tipped out of their boat. This song is useful in many ways. It gets them feeling the rhythm of the song as they row, they get to create lyrics by suggesting animals to sing about, and they improve social ties as they work with a partner. Admittedly, this song takes awhile because so many of them want to suggest lyrics and the last verse almost always has to be done two or three times! I hope you all enjoy this favorite as much as I do!

A-Hunting We Will Go!

This book is great for winter! The two main characters are children, all warm in their jammies and getting ready for bed. While they are getting ready, they imagine all sorts of fun scenarios with their stuffed animals as they gather them together for bedtime. Each page is rich with many things to look at and so much going on that you could spend a long time pointing out all the fun things to your kids.