songs

Halloween Songs and Fingerplays

Trick or treat! Halloween is almost here, and that means choosing costumes, planning trick or treat routes, and kids dreaming of bags full of chocolate, candy, and treats. These Halloween songs and fingerplays will build excitement and help your kids make it through the wait until the big night. They are also a great way to incorporate counting skills and new vocabulary, and they also prepare toddlers and preschoolers for some of the potentially scary or confusing costumes and images associated with Halloween.

 

Halloween songs and fingerplays

Halloween Songs:

 

THE HAUNTED HOUSE
(tune: "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round")

The ghost in the house goes "Boo! Boo! Boo!"
"Boo! Boo! Boo!, Boo! Boo! Boo!"
The ghost in the house goes "Boo! Boo! Boo!"
On Halloween.

The steps in the house goes "Creek, creek, creek..."
The cats in the house go "Meow, meow, meow..."
The mice in the house go "Squeak, squeak, squeak.."
The kids in the house go "Trick or Treat"

 

THIS OLD GHOST
(tune: "This Old Man")

This old ghost, he played one,
He played peek-a-boo on the run
With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap, clap, clap
This old ghost is a friendly chap
Two: peek-a-boo in a shoe
Three: peek-a-boo behind a tree
Four: peek-a-boo near a door
Five: peek-a-boo on our drive


PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN ORANGE PUMPKIN
(tune: "Ten Little Indians")

Pumpkin, pumpkin, orange pumpkin
Pumpkin, pumpkin, orange pumpkin
Pumpkin, pumpkin, orange pumpkin
Halloween is near!

Verse 2: Give him eyes like 2 triangles (make a triangle with your fingers)
Verse 3: Give him a nose that's round like a circle (touch your nose and draw a circle in the air)
Verse 4: Give him a mouth to make him smile! (point to your mouth and draw a smile in the air)
Verse 5: Repeat verse one

DID YOU EVER SEE A PUMPKIN?
(tune: "The More we Get Together the Happier We'll Be)

Did you ever see a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin
Did you ever see a pumpkin with no face at all? (hold up hands as if asking a question)
With no eyes and no nose and no mouth and no light (point to features)
Did you ever see a pumpkin with no face at all? (hold up hands as if asking a question)
 

So I made a Jack-o-lantern, a Jack-o-lantern, a Jack-o-lantern.
So I made a Jack-o-lantern with a bright shining face.
With bright eyes and a bright nose and a bright mouth and a bright light (point to features)
So I made a Jack-o-lantern with a bright shining face.


Chants and Fingerplays

FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh, my it's getting late"
The second one said, "There are witches in the air."
The third one said, "But we don't care."
The fourth one said, "Let's run, let's run!"
The fifth one said, "Isn't Halloween fun?"
    
Then Woooooo went the wind
And out went the lights.
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.


PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN ROUND AND FAT

Pumpkin, pumpkin, round and fat (Make big pumpkin with arms in front of body)
Turned into a jack-o-lantern (Turn all the way around)
Just like that! (Clap your hands)

Posted by momstown Teach on 10/14/2012 - 23:56
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Apple Crafts and Activities for Preschoolers

It is apple picking season in many parts of the country, and that makes it the perfect time to do an apple themed unit with your preschool or toddlers.  From books about apples, to apple crafts, to apple songs and fingerplays, and recipes with apples, there are so many great ways to learn about apples with kids. After a recent trip to the farmer's market, we made these paper plate apples:

 

 

This is a great craft to do with very young children, or a group with mixed ages.  Even our youngest crafters had fun fingerpainting their apples:

 

 

Here's what you need to make your own paper plate apple:

  • a white paper plate
  • red paint (a marker or crayon would work too)
  • brown construction paper
  • green construction paper
  • glue
  • scissors

1. Paint your back of your paper plate red.

2. While paint is drying, cut out a rectangle out of brown construction paper for the apple's stem, and a leaf shape out of green construction paper.

3. Once paint is dry, glue the brown stem to the top center of your apple, and glue the leaf to one side of the stem.

 

OPTIONAL: You can also turn this craft into a great bulletin board display or gift for a parent or grandparent by having kids glue pictures of themselves to the centre of the apples, and writing the words "You're the apple of my eye" onto the front of the apple with a black marker, or "Our Students are the Pick of the Crop" to a header above the bulletin board.

 

 

Need ideas for apple songs and fingerplays to go along with your craft? Here are two of our favourites:

 

Here We Go Round the Apple Tree

(Sung to the tune of "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush")

Here we go round the apple tree,
The apple tree, the apple tree,
Here we go round the apple tree,
On an autumn morning.

Following verses:

2. This is the way we shake the tree...
3. This is the way we climb the ladder...
4. This is the way we pick the apples...
5. This is the way we eat the apples...

~anonymous

 

Five Red Apples


5 Red apples, hanging on the tree (hold up your hand showing 5 fingers)
Boy oh boy, they look good to me (place your hand on your forehead as if you were shading your eyes to look up)
So I picked one off and munch, munch, munch (pretend you're eating an apple)
I ate that apple for my lunch! (rub your stumach)

Continue counting down. After you've eaten the last apple, chant the following verse:

No red apples hanging on the tree
I ate them all for lunch you see
But the little green apples will soon be red
And I’ll eat them for my lunch instead!

~ C. Reid

Posted by momstown Teach on 09/13/2012 - 21:43
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