November Songs * Little White Duck There's a little white duck (quack) Sittin' in the water There's a little white duck (quack) Doin what he oughter. He took a bite of the lily pad Flapped his wings & he said, "I'm glad, I'm a little white duck Sittin' in the water." (Quack, quack, quack) Here's a little green frog (ribbet) Swimmin' in the water Here's a little green frog (ribbet) Doin what he oughter. He jumped right off of the lily pad that the little duck bit & said, "I'm glad I'm a little green frog Swimmin' in the water." Glumph, glumph, glumph. There's a little black bug (chirp) Floatin' in the water There's a little black bug (chirp) Doin what he oughter. He tickled the frog on the lily pad That the little duck bit & he said, I'm glad I'm a little black bug Floatin' in the water." (Chirp. chirp, chirp) There's a little red snake (SSS) Layin' in the water A little red snake (SSS) Doin what he oughter. He frightened the duck & the frog so bad He ate the little bug & he said. "I'm glad I'm a little red snake Layin' in the water." SSS, SSS, SSS. Now, there's nobody left (sob) Sittin' in the water Nobody left (sob) Doin what he oughter. There's nobody left but the lily pad: The duck & the frog ran away, It's sad that there's nobody left Sittin' in the water, Boo-hoo, hoo!!! * BAT MURAL Take a piece of paper & fold in half.Cut out a bat shape.Or make a template that you trace around on each paper & let the kids cut out.I let the children decorate.I show them pictures of bats >NOT all bats are black.Some are white.Some are black with white spots.Some are brown,red & gray & many other colors.I let the child pick out the bat that they want to color.We color them as they look in the book.The name of the bat is written on the bat's body.I draw a huge cave using brown paper.I hang all the bats around the cave.It really looks beautiful.Parents are amazed at all the different kinds of bats.Here's a few of them>wrinkle-faced bat,kitti's hognose bat,hoary bat,false vampire bat,spear-nosed bat,lesser long-nosed bat, spotted bat, pallid bat,Honduran white bat,red bat,Indiana bat, Mexican Free-tailed bat,short-tailed fruit bat,black-bearded tomb bat,fisherman bat,grey-headed flying fox,little brown bat, lesser long-nosed bat,frog-eating bat,little yellow-eared bat,townsend's big eared bat,Jamaican fruit eating bat,wahlberg's epauleted bat,gothic bat,Egyptian fruit bat, Chapin's free-tailed bat,& many others. When I make my bat mural with the children I always post this sign: The truth about bats is a far cry from popular superstition & mythology.In reality bats are intelligent,attractive animals,& one of man's best friends as well.Some species can gobble up to 600 mosquitoes & other insect pests in an hour;some species have an agent in their saliva that could dissolve blood clots in humans & their guano provides a rich soil nutrient. Tropical bats are important pollinators for many commerically valuable fruits,& aid in seed dispersal & reforestation.Nearly 1000 bat species account for about 25% of all mammals.Contrary to belief,bats are not rodents but are more closely related to monkeys than mice.Fewer than half of 1% contract rabies.Bats are not blind & use high frequency sounds to navigate.This echolocation allows them to avoid something as fine as a human hair. I also post the address to B.C.I. for more info.& tell them to request a free catalog. The children love this project.Make it educational. When you hang the bats>fold the wings to wrap around the body like real bats do.Some are hanging,flying etc...Write the name & kind of bat on the outside so that when it is hung >it will be seen. I like to do bats with my unit on HALLOWEEN. * Leaf Match Use a glue stick to glue leaves plucked from 4-6 different trees on to a poster board. Cover with clear contact paper. Sandwich leaves of the same size and variety between two pieces of clear contact paper. Trim around each leaves leaving a ¼ " sealed edge. Set the board and leaves on a tray. The children match the leaves. Pumpkin Hunt Ask some avid tennis players to save (flat) orange tennis balls for you. Use a permanent black marker to draw Jack O’ Lantern faces on some of the balls. Hide the balls in the play yard. As the children find them, they sort them into one of two bushel baskets - one for plain pumpkins and one for Jack O Lanterns. Song to sing during the hunt. (Tune: Paw Paw Patch) Pickin’ up pumpkins; put ‘em in the basket, Pickin’ up Pumpkins; put ‘em in the basket Pickin’ up Pumpkins; put ‘em in the basket Way down yonder in the pumpkin patch. Activity: Make a scarecrow in the play yard. We used a child size flannel shirt and coveralls. Slide the pants on to the bottom of a wood tee, pounded into the ground. The children crumble newspaper and stuff the pants. Fit the shirt onto the T, and stuff. Our head was made from two plastic garbage bags, inside each other for strength, stuffed with newspaper. Use a rubber band to hold it together. Draw on facial features. Push the rubber band over the top pole, and secure well with making tape. Add a neck banana and a straw hat. Song: Jack O’ Lantern (Tune: Daniel Boone) Born in a pumpkin patch in my backyard, Where Mister Scarecrow stands on guard. Born in a patch where he knew every weed - Before he was a pumpkin, he was a pumpkin seed. Jack O--, Jack O’ Lantern, King on Halloween night. * Light up pictures Q-tips, tempera paint, manilla paper, salad oil Provide Q-tips and small amounts of tempera paint in small containers. Let the children use the Q-tips to paint designs on manilla paper. After the paint is dry, let the children use a paint brush to quickly spread the oil over the entire picture. Light will show through and light up the picture when it is hung in a window. Most special person box Put a small mirror in a little box with a lid. Tell the children to take turns opening the box and looking inside to see who is a most special person. Kerplunk tin can, buttons or pop-bottle lids Let each child take a turn telling the names of everyone in his/her family. As each name is said, the child is given a button to hold. Then the child drops a button into the tin can for each person in his family. As the buttons drop, the rest of the children count the kerplunks. * Apple Songs Picking Apples Sung to the tune of Frere Jacque (can use when picking up legos, blocks, ect) Picking apples Picking apples One by one One by one Put them in a basket Put them in a basket Oh, what fun! Oh, what fun! All Around The Apple Tree sung to the tune of Mulberry Bush Here we go round the apple tree, the apple tree, the apple tree Here we go around the apple tree On a frosty morning. This is the way we climb the ladder -pick the apples -wash the apples -peel the apples -cook the apples -eat the apples On a frosty morning! Apple Fingerplays Here Is An Apple (make circle with thumb and pointer) Here is an apple (make circle with other thumb and pointer) and here is an apple (Make circle with arms) and a great big apple I see Now let's count the apples we've made (reapeat above actions) 1 - 2 - 3 ! Ten Red Apples (Both hands high) Ten red apples grow on a tree (Dangel one hand and then the other) Five for you and five for me. (Shake body) Let us shake the tree just so (Hands fall) And ten red apples will fall below (Count ea finger) 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Apple Mural Cut out a lg apple shape from a lg paper roll. Let the children do apple printing on the shape during art time. Use a variety of sizes and shapes and colors - red, green, yellow. Tack apple print to wall and play a variety of games with the mural. 1 - count the apple prints 2 - find the print that is the largest/smallest 3 - find the print that is the darkest/lightest 4 - do any of the shapes look the same/different? * AMAZING BAT TRIVIA The world's smallest mammal is the bumblebee bat of Thailand,weighing less than a penny. Giant flying foxes that live in Indonesia have wingspans of nearly six feet. The common little brown bat of North America is the world's longest-lived mammal for it's size,with life spans sometimes exceeding 32 years. Mexican free-tailed bats sometimes fly up to two miles high to feed or to catch tailwinds that carry them over long distances at speeds of more than 60 miles per hour. The pallid bat of western North America is immune to the stings of scorpions & even the seven-inch centipedeupon which it feeds. Fishing bats have echolation so sophisticated that they can detect a minnow's fin as fine as a human hair,protruding only two millimeters above a ponds surface. African heart-nosed bats can hear the footsteps of a beetle walking on sand from a distance of more than six feet. Red bats,which live in tree foliage throughout most of North America,can withstand body temperatures as low as 23 degrees F. during winter hibernation. Tiny woolly bats of West Africa live in the large webs of colonial spiders. The Honduran white bat is snow white with a yellow nose & ears.It cuts large leaves to make "tents" that protect its small colonies from jungle rains. Frog-eating bats identify edible from poisonous frogs by listening to the mating calls of male frogs. Vampire bats adopt orphans & have been known to risk their lives to share food with less fortunate roost-males. To learn more about bats write for a free catalog Bat Conservation International P.O.Box 162603 Austin,Tx.78716 (512)327-9721 Please help educate our kids & parents on this subject.It really is fasinating. * Carve out some time to try these pumpkin projects. __Silly Squash_____ Long ago, people believed that carved pumpkins could keep away evil spirits. You can decorate miniature pumpkins to bring happy faces to your friends. Use markers, stickers, glue, construction paper, beads, feathers and other decorations to make funny faces on the pumpkins. Then give the little pumpkin heads to your friends. __Super Stew_____ GATHER * 1 medium-sized pumpkin * 1 pound beef, cut into cubes * 1 package beef gravy mix * 3 cups water * 2 carrots, sliced * 2 stalks celery, sliced * 2 potatoes, cut into cubes * 2 tomatoes, diced GO 1. Ask an adult to cut off the top of the pumpkin. Clean out all the seeds and pulp. Wash the pumpkin. 2. Ask an adult to brown the beef. Add the gravy mix and water to the pan and stir it well. Bring the mixture to a boil. 3. Pour the beef mixture into the pumpkin shell. 4.Add the other ingredients and mix them. Put the top on the pumpkin and wrap the stem with foil. 5.Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet in the oven. Bake it at 350 degrees for 2 hours, until the pumpkin is tender. 6. Place the pumpkin on a hot pad on the table for a fun centerpiece. When you serve the stew, scoop out part of the pumpkin. __Seedy Snacks_____ Wash the seeds from a pumpkin. Sprinkle them with salt. Place them on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake them at 200 degrees for 30 minutes to 1 hour until the seeds are dry and crisp. Eat them for a healthy snack. * Here are a few Fall finger plays & songs: The Pumpkin in the Dark (tune: Farmer in the Dell) 1. The pumpkin in the dark: (repeat) Hi Ho on Halloween, the pumpkin in the dark 2. The pumpkin calls a witch (repeat) 3. The witch calls a bat (repeat) 4. The bat calls a ghost (repeat) 5. The ghost says, "Boo!" (repeat) In a Pumpkin Patch - poem Three little pumpkins laying very still In a pumpkin patch on a great big hill. The first pumpkin said, "Oh, my I'm very, very green But I'll be orange by Halloween." The second one said, "Oh, me! Oh, my! Today I'll be a pumpkin pie." The third one said, "Oh, I am on my way To be a jack-o-lantern gay." The Great Pumpkin (tune: Did You Ever See a Lassie?) I am the great pumpkin, great pumpkin, great pumpkin. I am the great pumpkin. Come dance with me. For you friends are my friends & my friends are your friends. I am the great pumpkin. Come dance with me. Three Little Pumpkins (tune: Ten Little Indians) One little, 2 little, 3 little pumpkins Rolled down the lane like funny bumpkins Had their faces carved & thought they were somethin's Funny Halloween jack-o-lanterns! One Little Pumpkin (tune: Mary Had a Little Lamb) One little pumpkin rolled round and round Rolled round & round, rolled round & round One little pumpkin rolled round and round For this is Halloween. 2. Two little goblins hopped up & down 3. Three little skeletons walked down a street 4. Four little witches flying thru the air. Pumpkin Man (tune: The Muffin Man) Have you seen the pumpkin man, The pumpkin man, the pumpkin man, Have you seen the pumpkin man, Who lives in pumpkin patch? Have you seen the old black witch, The old black witch, the old black witch, Have you seen the old black witch, Who lives in the haunted house? Have you seen the scary ghost, The scary ghost, the scary ghost, Have you seen the scary ghost, Who lives in the old ghost town? * Pine Cone Trukey Take one red Chenille bump & shape into an "S". Glue this to the rounded end of a pinecone with the bump protruding somewhat above the cone for the head of the turkey. Take one orange bump & shape into a "V". Glue this under the bottom of the round part of the cone for the legs & feet. Take 5-7 other bumps & carefully bend them so the narrow ends can be twisted together leaving the puffy end somewhat rounded. Glue as many of these as nicely fits close to the flattened stemmed end of the pinecone remembering to use glue on the twisted end of the wire. Potato Turkey Give each child a Russet potato & a pre-cut turkey head with 2 tabs at the bottom of the neck. Using 2 halves of toothpicks, secure tabs to potato. Using another toothpick pock holes in the side of the potato & place a real feather in each hole. Use 4 toothpicks as legs. * Take a wire coat hanger and bend into an oval with the hook at the top. Stretch a leg of brown, tan panty hose over hanger, tie at the top. Children cut out and glue on six feathers, three each side. Two eyes, pupils, triangle orange nose, red gobbler, and two orange feet. We hang ours from the ceiling - they are adorable. We also do Rudolphs and Ho Ho's! * A variation of the Potato Turkey is the APPLE TURKEY. Use the apple for the turkey body, pre-cut turkey head, and those frilly cocktail toothpicks for feathers. My son made this when he was 3 (12 years ago) in his pre-school class and we used it for a centerpiece at Thanksgiving. Now I make it with the classes I teach and everyone loves it!