Search results matching tags 'holidays' and 'classroom management'

Making BOO! Fun

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Making BOO! Fun

Miss Carole here – with another fun song from Macaroni Soup!

This is the season of Boo! and Aaaahhhh! and Gotcha! But it’s not nice to scare little children, right? RIGHT! So let’s have fun songs that deal with the elements of October’s holiday, without the fearfulness that some children experience with ghosts lurking around every corner and skeletons dangling in doorways.

So let’s have fun songs that deal with the elements of October’s tricking and treating holiday, without the fearfulness that some children experience with ghosts lurking around every corner and skeletons dangling in doorways.

Let’s start with bats. Last month I shared a great bat song, “Bats are Sleeping”, which will be on my new cd when it’s released in about a month. But remember – you don’t need the cd to do it – you probably know “Frere Jaques”, the tune, so you can just sing it.

Let’s supersize it – add another batty song, a book, and a craft idea.

THE SONG: “BLACK BAT FARM” (by me, c. 2002)

Tune: “The Green Grass Grew All Around” – but in a minor key!

Supplies: You can either draw the parts to the song on paper, or do it on a flannelboard. Be sure to cut enough felt bats for everyone to put one on the board.

You can hear the song at my website: http://www.macaronisoup.com/Songs/October2004.htm

Lyrics:

There was a farm      (kids echo)
A spooky little farm    (echo)
The spookiest farm   (echo)
That you ever did see (echo)
A field's on the farm, the farm's full of spooks...BOO!

(refrain:)
And the black bats flew all around, all around
The black bats flew all around, oooohhhh!
The black bats flew all around, all around
The black bats flew all around.

And in that field (echo) There is a vine (echo)
The creepiest vine (echo) That you ever did see (echo)
The VINE...Field...Farm...Spooks...BOO!

(refrain)

And on that vine (echo) There is a pumpkin (echo)
The cutest little pumpkin (echo) That you ever did see (echo)
The pumpkin's on the VINE...Field...Farm...Spooks...BOO!

(refrain)

And in that pumpkin (echo) There are some seeds (echo)
The slimiest seeds (echo) That you ever did see (echo)
The seeds are in the pumpkin... Vine...Field...Farm...Spooks...BOO!

(refrain)

What to do: This song can be done many ways, depending on the age and ability of the child. With my older 3’s and 4’s, we first make a flannelboard story (see picture above), then listen and sing along with the cd. Sometimes I draw a barn on paper. I ask the children to add the bats, vine and pumpkin with markers.

As the children become familiar with the song, they can get up and fly around as bats, coming back to the rug to sing each verse. If space is an issue, they can always remain seated and flap their “wings”.

You can also do motions for the song:

Barn: Trace a rectangle in the air with your pointer fingers

Vine: Squiggle one pointer finger from overhead to the floor

Pumpkin: Connect thumbs and pointers to make a circular object

Seeds: Wipe hands together as if something is gooey!

NOTE: we talk about the sound an organ makes, as it can be scary to a child who has never heard one before. Also, I tell children, “If at any point in the song you feel a little scared, snuggle up to a teacher or friend.” Most children seem to like “just a little spooky.” Some just go for the snuggle because it feels good!

THE BOOK: THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A BAT by Lucille Colandro (available on Amazon or Scholastic Books)

This delightful book (and the others like it in the series) will have kids giggling in no time! Sing it to the traditional tune for “The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly”.

THE CRAFTY PROJECT: FINGER BATS!

Cut a 2-3” bat out of paper or funfoam. Staple it to a small ponytail holder or scrunchie. The children can slip it onto their fingers, bat on top of their hand, and “fly” it around the room. It’s been my experience that having a bat prop helps them to move their arms higher and lower because they focus on making the bat fly.

Remember – bats are good animals.

BAT FACTS: They don’t get in your hair. They eat bugs – especially mosquitos, which makes them VERY good in my opinion. They sleep in the daytime and fly around at night (using echolocataion – which makes them NOCTURNAL – a nice new word for growing vocabularies.) Try this website for more great facts: Bats4kids.org.

Now – GO BATTY!

Yours for a Song,

“Miss Carole” Stephens

Macaroni Soup! Active Music for Kids!

Changes.

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 12:00:00 GMT

This week, I was greeted with a wonderful surprise. When we returned from our winter break I was nervous about the behaviors I might encounter after so much time off. To my delight, not only were there no behavior issues from our respite, but the friends who struggled with some of our class rules had seemingly grown up.

A few little boys who often spent time in our Rest Stop thinking about their actions had just simply stopped their trips to the chair. Our first day back, I thought they were either tired or in shock about their return to school. By the second and third day back, I knew something had shifted. By Friday, I was on could nine… my little kindergartners were becoming first graders before my eyes.

We have a lot more to learn before our time together is over and it appears my sprouts are just a little more serious about school. To be clear, we still are having fun, dancing and singing our hearts out and finding time for silliness… but when it’s time to focus on our learning, it seems we’re all a lot more focused now.

The hugs haven’t diminished either. In fact, they seem to have increased. Perhaps it was the time away from each other or maybe it’s just a realization that, after our one hundredth day together, our time is limited, but whatever the reason, the hugs are constant. What I love most are the hugs from kids who almost never offer them up… like a rare gem, when I’m least expecting it, I’ll feel arms wrapped around me, look down and see a face I wasn’t expecting.

I am always telling my class you never stop learning… I often use myself as an example and try to highlight when I learn something new. This week, I discovered the magic of March in kindergarten… and those pesky enchanted leprechauns haven’t even visited us yet.

Christmas bows and boxes in preschool

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 10:00:20 GMT

The other day, I shared with you how our curriculum coordinator puts together activity boxes for the classrooms. I thought I would now show you one of the activities in action… In this particular activity box, the children found boxes with numbers (1 – 5) printed on the outside and a set of Christmas bows. [...]

Sparkle Box came to mind as I blogged about Have Fun Teaching as...

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:34:00 GMT

Sparkle Box came to mind as I blogged about Have Fun Teaching as another great site for a wide variety of printables. Their FREE products really do sparkle. Not only do they have wonderful things for students but they also have great things for teachers too. They have classroom management resources/printables and bulletin boards signs/posters too. It’s kind of hard to describe what they have because there is so much and it all sparkles with color so I encourage you to check it out for yourself. This site can really brighten your world.

Below is just a sneak peak (screenshot) of what is waiting for you at Sparkle Box.