Welcoming Comments
Rhymes and Reads
- We Hit the Floor Together (something active that everyone can do. Parents see that they can model it with their children. He adds in other verses such as “We brush our hair together.”)
- Old Mother Goose
- It’s Bitsy Spider
- Two Little Pretty Birds Sitting on a Cloud (or a variation such as Two Little Penguins Playing in the Snow or Two Little Puppy Dogs)
Two little puppy dogs (hold up two fingers.)
Lying in a heap, (let two fingers fall down.)
Soft and wooly (pet two fingers with opposite hand.)
And fast asleep. (lay hands against the side of your face and close eyes.)
- Rain on the Green Grass (fingerplay that ends with a hug, as if the parent is the child’s umbrella)
- Baby Shark (This is a favorite of children and adults. They love Grandpa Shark!)
- Eency Weency & Great Big Spider (with puppet kisses)
- Book: Where is Baby Pumpkin by Karen Katz – (Derek sometimes asks if any of the children wanted to come up and open up the panels, and they love it. Another book he uses is Row, Row, Row Your Boat” by Jane Cabrera. It adds new lines to the classic song that showcases different animals and the animal sounds they make. He likes it because it’s a song that people are familiar with but adds new material that is unexpected. It’s in a similar vein to the 80% repetition, 20% new material principle within the MGOL program.
Flannel Board Interactive Rhymes (choose one from the three following rhymes)
Humpty Dumpty (knocking a felt Humpty off of his wall)
How Does the Busy Bee (putting the bee on top of the flower)
How does the little busy bee improve each shining hour,
and gather honey all the day, from every opening flower?
Bat Under My Hat (kids put the bat under the hat)
Bat, bat, come under my hat
And I’ll give a piece of bacon.
And when I wake, I’ll bake you a cake
If I am not mistaken.
Body Rhymes
Fingers – Fingers Like to Wiggle Waggle, This Little Piggy Went to Market (Choose one)
Hands – Ladybug, Ladybug
Knee Bounces – Way Up High in the Banana Tree
Way up high in the banana tree, I saw a banana smile at me.
I rocked that tree as hard as I could (Gently rock child back and forth)
Down came the banana (Lower child back on lap)
Ummmm, it was good. (Give child a kiss)
Knee Bounces – Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We’re Going to the Moon (When children come week after week he will increase the numbers for the countdown to enrich the rhyme)
Knee Bounces – Row, Row, Row Your Boat (Fast and slow)
Rum Pum Pum Drum Sequence
Rum, Pum, Pum, This is My Drum
Standing up Rhymes
The Hokey Pokey
Jack in the Box (Shows a real Jack-in-the-Box before doing the rhyme)
Handy Spandy
Animals (Chooses one of the following rhymes)
I Went to Visit the Farm One Day (singing the animal sounds from Eric Carle’s illustrations for The Very Busy Spider)
When the Cow Gets Up in the Morning (with puppets)
Hickory, Dickory, Dare (passing pig puppet around)
Old MacDonald (interactive: children are given felt animals and they bring them up to place on the flannel board when their animal’s name is mentioned.)
Musical Instruments (When people who have just entered Tot Trails hear the instruments, they come to join in)
Bells – We Ring Our Bells Together Because It’s Fun to Do
Bells – Grandfather Clock (Derek points to the clock on the wall for mother’s kitchen clock and to his own watch for brother’s little watch)
Bells – Jack in the Box (Using the same rhyme for multiple purposes)
Bells – Bells Away (Parents have often said to Derek, “I wish I could get my child to clean up so easily at home.)
Colored Scarves
Scarves – Wind, Oh Wind
Scarves – Peek-a-boo (Derek plays peek-a-boo with each child individually)
Scarves – Jack in the Box (Children ball the scarves up in their hands and then throw them up in the air)
Scarves – Scarves Away
Lullaby (Sometimes Derek will lead into the lullaby BEFORE collecting the scarves; he asks the children to pretend that it is their blanket.)
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Closing Sequence
Can You Kick With Two Feet?
We’re So Happy Everyone is Here.
(If the children have held onto their scarves, Derek will say, “Take your scarves and we’re going to throw them up in the air! The program thus ends with a beautiful display of color.)