* Grey Squirrel Grey squirrel, grey squirrel Swish your bushy tail! Grey squirrel, grey squirrel Swish your bushy tail! Wrinkle up your funny nose Hold a nut between your toes Grey squirrel, grey squirrel Swish your busy tail! (My kids love this one. We do a whole body movement to it--swishing our own tails, etc.) * Squirrel story: NUTS TO YOU by Lois Ehlert. (Although when I read it I substituted Nuts FOR You because it sounded better to me! It's about a little squirrel who looks in the window, etc. and finally gets close enough for nuts.) * MY FAVORITE GIFE FOR THE CHILDREN TO MAKE: I have always had the children make these as Christmas gifts, but they would be great for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day as well! Each child needs a bar of soap and a pretty sticker. If your stickers are a little large they will completely cover up the soap "name" on the bar (if it is marked). Have the children each choose a favorite sticker, unwrap the bar of soap, and place the sticker on top. You (teacher or other adult) melts a bar of paraffin (like canning wax--very inexpensive). I usually melt the paraffin in a pie tin placed on top of saucepan, kind of like a double boiler. When the wax is melted you dip the top of the soap into the wax to seal the sticker. Then the sticker will last a long time and not come off when the soap gets wet. The paraffin not only seals--it makes the soap very shiny and pretty. After it cools it is ready to be wrapped and given away. The children enjoy making something that their parents can really use! After all these years of making them at Christmas, I just realized the other day that they would make nice Mother's Day presents too--Mom could put them in a drawer, like a sachet. You could use pastel soaps too and flower stickers. * Meat Tray Fish Tank We did this projct and it was great. to add more fun we let the children go fishing for their fish before making project. Just cut out fish, put a staple for mouth. Mark a circle on floor for water, put fish in circle and let children fish. We made fishing poles from bent hangers with string and a magnet. Just be sure to bend any sharp edges. * FISH MURAL Cut fish shapes out of white construction paper. Let the children decorate the shapes with crayons or felt-tip markers. Help the children glue their fish shapes onto a piece of butcher paper. Add twisted green crepe-paper streamers for seaweed. Hang the butcher paper on a wall and cover it with blue cellophane to make an underwater scene. CUTE! * Here are some ideas for having "Fun with Farm Animals" Song - "On a Farm" (Sung to "London Bridge is Falling Down") Animals live on a fram, on a farm, on a farm Animals live on a farm, with a farmer Cows and pigs live on a farm, on a farm, on a farm Cows and pigs live on a farm, with the farmer Goats and sheep live on a farm, on a farm, on a farm Goats and sheep live on a farm, with the farmer Hens and chicks live on a farm, on a farm, on a farm Hens and chicks live on a farm, with the farmer Animal Minipoems You can use these poems as text for a big book entitled, "We're Big on Farm Animals". Have the children color pictures of each animal to add the text to create the book. A Horse Goats A horse can trot Nanny goat, billy goat A horse can run What do you say? A horseback ride "Maa, maa", Silly goats, is lots of fun! Run away! The Cow Pigs The cow is big Pigs can oink, The cow says "moo" Pigs can snort The cow makes milk Pigs are fat For me and you. And kind of short. Sheep Geese Sheep are quiet Geese can honk Sheep are cute Geese can squawk Sheep give wool Geese can fly To make a suit. Or take a walk! Old Rooster The Farm Old Rooster woke up The farm has a cow Just so he could say, And a horse and a pig "How do you cock-a-doodle And a sheep and a goat Do today?" And a barn so big! Here Is The Barn (Fingerplay) Here is the barn (Form a roof shape with your hands) Where I like to go (Walk in place) It's as tall as a tree (Point up overhead) And cozy, you know (Hug body with arms) Here is the barn, (Make a roof shape with your hands) I'll go there with you (Walk in place) To pet a sweet lamb (Pretend to pet a lamb) And cuddle it, too! (Pretend to hug a lamb) * The Mixed-Up Animal Rhyme A sheep and a chick and and old brown cow, Got together on the farm, and, wow, somehow, All their sounds got all mixed up, And the worried farmer said, "Hey, what's up?" Directions: Explain that animals have their own special languages. Each animal makes a special sound. In this game the animals are "tricky"--don't let them fool you and the farmer! Have flannelboard cutouts of various farm animals. Place a cut out on the flannelboard and say something like: "And the cow said-----(build the suspense)-----"Quack!" "Oh, is that right? Or is it all mixed up? What does the cow say? Moo--you're right. Poor farmer! What will he do with a cow that says "quack?" Then go thru the other animals. Sometimes use the "correct" sound, sometimes the mixed-up sounds. At the end go thru them quickly again and make sure all the sounds are "right". Then say, and the farmer was SO happy...wouldn't you be!!!! Fun farm stories: The Cow that Went OINK and Farmer Duck. * Here are some things to do with pigs. The Tail of a Pig (Tune: "The Wheels on a Bus") The tail of a pig curls round and round, Round and round, round and round. The tail of a pig curls round and round All through the mud. The mouth of a pig goes oink, oink, oink, Oink, oink, oink, oink, oink, oink. The mouth of a pig goes oink, oink, oink, All day long. The snout of a pig goes root, root, root, Root, root, root, root, root, root. The snout of a pig goes root, root, root, All day long. The hooves of a pig go run, run, run, Run, run, run, run, run, run. The hooves of a pig go run, run, run, All day long. The ears of a pig go twitch, twitch, twitch, twitch, Twitch, twitch, twitch, twitch, twitch, twitch. The ears of a pig go twitch, twitch, twitch, All day long. Oink, Oink, Oink, Oink, Little Pig (Tune: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star") Oink, oink, oink, oink, little pig, Can you do a little jig? In the bright light of the sun, Are you having lots of fun? Oink, oink, oink, oink, little pig, I think that you will grow big. The Pigs are Pink and Plump Sung to "The Farmer in the Dell" The pigs are pink and plump, The pigs are pink and plump. They keep cool in mud all day, The pigs are pink and plump. The pigs have curly tails, The pigs have curly tails. The mother pig is called a sow, The pigs have curly tails. The piglets are so cute, The piglets are so cute. The piglets are the baby pigs, The piglets are so cute. Counting Pigs Sung to "Ten Little Indians" One little, two little, three little pigs, Four little, five little, six little pigs, Seven little, eight little, nine little pigs, Ten are in the mud. All are pink with pudgy noses, They don't smell a bit like roses, Curly tails that look like hoses. Rolling in the mud. Ten little, nine little, eight little pigs, Seven little, six little, five little pigs, Four little, three little, two little pigs. One is in the mud. Cut ten pig shapes out of pink felt and a big mud puddle out of brown felt. Place the puddle shape on a flannelboard. As you sing the first verse, place the pig shapes on the mud puddle, one at a time. Then remove the pigs as you sing the last verse. Out in the Barnyard Sung to: Down by the Station Out in the baryard, Early in the morning, You can hear the piglets Squealing up a storm. Here comes the momma pig, She will feed her babies, Oink, oink, oink, oink, on the farm. Brainstorm as many characteristics of pigs as possible - think about how pigs look, smell, feel, sound, taste. Use this poem format, and fill in with the descriptive words. We like pigs. _______ pigs _______ pigs _______ pigs _______ pigs. We like pigs. Pigs in a _______. Pigs on a _______. Pigs in a _______. We like pigs. Muddy Pigs Cut large pig shapes out of pink paper. Give each child a pig shape with a small amount of brown fingerpaint in the center of it. Let the children cover their pig with the brown fingerpaint "mud."