Preschool Powol Packets

I'm teaching a preschool class this year that combines music and movement to teach basic music concepts like pitch and listening skills while letting our preschoolers sing, run, and play!  I'm super excited to get started, and decided to share my lesson plans here in case anyone else wants some ideas for Music Time! Each week I will be following a different theme.  The first theme will be the Moon & Space! You can see more music lessons  here ! Here is my plan...I'll post a brief update to let you know how it went! Theme : Moon & Space Gathering Activity : Play with musical instrument toys Hello Song : On the first day we'll have name tags, and then we'll sing, " Hello *kid's name*, hello *kid's name*, hello *kid's name*, we're glad you're here today!" and then repeating that triplet enough times to welcome everyone to the tune of "Goodnight, Ladies." Warm-up Song : When I Sing La, La...

This is the perfect fall finger play rhyme! We love finger play rhymes because they are super fun, interactive, and teach prepartory skills like counting and rhyming.   I Can't Wait for Pumpkin Pie  fits great with fall, Halloween, harvest, and Thanksgiving themes too! We used out Flannel Board Box and felt pieces to narrate the rhyme too!  If you want to make simple felt pieces, you will want 5 pumpkins, a pie, and a vine.  Easy, right?! And here is the finger play rhyme: I Can't Wait for Pumpkin Pie! 5 little pumpkins on a vine,   (hold up 5 fingers) 5 little pumpkins that are mine!   (point to self) I pull one off and then I sigh,   (dramatically pull one off) "I can't wait for pumpkin pie!"   (dramatically sigh) 4 little pumpkins on a vine, 4 little pumpkins that are mine! I pull one off and then I sigh, "I can't wait for pumpkin pie!" 3 little pumpkins on a vine, 3 little pumpkins that are mine! I pu...

Ghost Pancakes Song (from Preschool Powol Packets) (to the tune of London Bridge): Ghost pancakes for Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Ghost pancakes for Halloween, We love pancakes!! To make your own Ghost Pancakes, pour the batter in a long, ghosty shape.  Use marshmallows and blueberries for the eyes and powdered sugar or whipped cream for the mouth.  Serve with warm blueberries and powdered sugar!  Yummmm!  I may share at any of these parties !

I love the finger rhyme 5 Little Pumpkins!  Not only does it review ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th), but it does so with a fun Halloween-y rhyme.  Using the finger puppets adds in a physical, motor skill, learning element too! Making the Little Pumpkin Felt Finger Puppets is fun and easy...my 5-year old daughter had a wonderful time helping! Simple Supplies: * green felt (one of the pre-cut pieces of felt will cut into 12 finger pieces) * orange felt * fabric scissors * hot glue gun and glue Easy How-to: 1. Cut out finger pieces from green felt.  Mine were about 2 1/2" x 2 3/4" rectangles.  They fit both my fingers and the kids' fingers just fine.  (My fingers are about sizes 5-6...if your fingers are much bigger, just make your rectangles longer so they fit easier.)  Also, cut out the stems from the green fabric. 2.  Cut out pumpkins from orange felt.  Make them between 1" and 1 1/2" wid...

Preschooler and toddler emotions are like a roller-coaster--they can switch from happy to crying, and back again, in an instant!  We had this Happy Sad Tube on our counter for months, and pulled it out to sing Smiles (by Daniel Taylor) whenever one of these roller-coaster moments came. Making a Happy Sad Tube is easy--simply use the image above as a guide to place stickers on a paper towel tube.  One minute it's smiling, flip it over, and it's sad...sound familiar?  Flip it back over, and it's happy again! Here are the lyrics to Smiles : If you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay. Quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown away. No one likes a frowning face.  Change it for a smile. Make the world a better place by smiling all the while. I may share at any of these parties !

Well, friends, I have another preschool song for you!  This one ties in numbers, counting, and colors with a springy, Easter-y theme!  I'll admit that posting songs (not just lyrics) is a little out of my comfort zone, but my kids have enjoyed this one so much that I decided to just get over it! This is particularly fun if you make 10 egg puppets for your child--one for each finger--and let them act out the song while you sing it.  You can use cloth or paper to make egg-shaped finger puppets. The lyrics are below the video.  If it won't go full screen for you, click here to watch it on YouTube. 10 Little Eggs (to the tune of 10 Little Indians) 1 little, 2 little, 3 little eggs, 4 little, 5 little, 6 little eggs, 7 little, 8 little, 9 little eggs, 10 little eggs are hiding! 10 little, 9 little, 8 little eggs, 7 little, 6 little, 5 little eggs, 4 little, 3 little, 2 little eggs, 1 little egg is hiding! Find them all, find them all, find all t...

Last week we read Bartholomew and the Oobleck, made some ooblek , and sang The Ooblek Song.  My kids loved The Ooblek Song.  My 4-year old insisted we put it on YouTube.  I resisted.  After a couple days, though, I decided that if my kids loved it so much, maybe others could enjoy it too.  The repetitive phrases and change in pacing have my kids totally addicted--they've been singing it for a full week!  So, I'm sharing it here.  You can watch it on YouTube or here on this blog.  Below the video is a copy of the lyrics. The Ooblek Song The magicians said, "It's not like rain, Not like snow, Not like fog," The magicians said, "It's not like rain, But what it is we just don't know!" Ooblek!  Ooblek!  Ooblek! But what it is we just don't know! The King of Didd did not want rain, Not want snow, Not want fog. The King of Didd did not want rain, But what he did he did not know! Ooblek!  Ooblek!  Ooblek! But what he did he did...

Rhymes for kids help children learn to speak and read, so I was very excited when I saw Katie's post about owl finger puppets at Playing With Words 365 !  She inspired me to make several sets of owls and start singing some rhymes! You can make owl finger puppets a million different ways.  I used Katie's basic tutorial design and sewed most of the pieces together.  I love how each owl seems so full of personality! Here are two of the owl rhymes I made up for us: Owl Counting Rhymes for Kids: Five Little Owls   (to the tune of Five Little Ducks) by Carla at Preschool Powol Packets Five little owls went out to fly Over the trees, up very high! When the mother owl sang, "To-whit-to-hoo!" One little owl went down and flew! (Repeat for four, three, and two little owls.) One little owl went out to fly Over the trees, up very high! When the mother owl sang, "To-whit-to-hoo!" Down she went and home she flew! ...