Pick and choose depending on audience size, setup, and attention
You’ll Sing A Song by Ella Jenkins Song on: Raffi’s “The Corner Grocery Store”
You’ll sing a song and I’ll sing a song
And we’ll sing a song together.
You’ll sing a song and I’ll sing a song
In warm or wintry weather.
Continue with: clap your hands, stomp your feet, dance a jig, flap your arms, etc.
To settle the crowd, close with: sit right down
Singable Book: Sitting on the Farm by Bob King (if using puppets, be sure to bring frog and bear – the rest are the farm animals below)
Cluck Cluck Red Hen (puppets)
Lyrics by Raffi, Tune: "Baa Baa Black Sheep"
Song on Raffi's album "The Corner Grocery Store"
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.
One for your sweater and one for your rug,
And one for your blanket to keep you warm and snug.
(repeat first two lines)
Cluck, Cluck, Red Hen, have you any eggs?
Yes sir, yes sir, as many as your legs.
One for your breakfast and one for your lunch,
Come back tomorrow, I'll have another bunch.
(repeat first two lines)
Moo, Moo, Brown Cow, have you milk for me?
Yes sir, yes sir, as tasty as can be.
Churn it into butter, make it into cheese,
Freeze it into ice-cream or drink it if you please.
(repeat first two lines)
Buzz, Buzz, Busy Bee, is your honey sweet?
Yes sir, yes sir, sweet enough to eat.
Honey on your muffin, honey on your cake,
Honey by the spoonful, as much as I can make.
(repeat first two lines)
Doing the Chocolate Shake (anytime stretch)
You squat right down (squat)
Up you stand (stand up)
Stomp your feet (stomp)
Shake your hands (shake hands)
Wiggle all over (wiggle)
And mix real well (roll hands over & over)
Doing the Chocolate Shake! (clap hands)
Yum! (reach high)
(Repeat, faster each time.)
Read: Vegetables in their Underwear by Jared Chapman or
Read: Veggies with Wedgies by Todd H. Doodler
Fair Sounds (puppets very young audiences only)
Tune: “The Wheels on the Bus”
The cow in the barn goes “moo moo moo”
“moo moo moo”, “moo moo moo”
The cow in the barn goes “moo moo moo”
All around the fair.
… pigs in the pen go oink, oink, oink…
… hens in the coop go cluck, cluck, cluck…
… horses in the field go neigh, neigh, neigh…
… bees in the hive say buzz, buzz, buzz…
… lambs on the pen go baa, baa, baa…
… snakes in their cages go hiss, hiss, hiss
… bunnies in the hutch go (silently wiggle nose
with finger), etc.
Book: A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson (old lady, old man, chicken, goat, pig, and cow puppets & kid volunteers) (optional)
Book: Mary Had a Little Lamb by Sarah Josepha Hale, photos by Bruce McMillan
The Squishy-Squooshy (Action)
Tune: “The Hokey-Pokey”
Pretend that you are a pig and there is a big mud puddle in front of you. Oooo-ooo glorious mud!
You put your in.
You take your out.
You put your in and you moosh it all about.
You do the squishy-squooshy and you turn your self around.
That’s what it’s all about!
1) left hoof 2) right hoof 3) pig foot 4) piggy snout 5) pig belly 6) curly tail
7) whole piggy self
Stone Soup (Old Woman, Young Man puppets, kettle, onions, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes and butter props) based on the version by Ann McGovern script here: carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2014/02/school-age-storytime-soups-on.html
I Know An Old Lady (Do this with a volunteer, clear plastic bag, and puppets)
Lyrics by Rose Bonne, tune by Alan Mills
Song on “Peter, Paul , and Mommy, Too”
I know an old lady who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.
I know an old lady who swallowed a spider,
That wiggled and jiggled and tiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why…
…bird / How absurd to swallow a bird…
…cat / Imagine that -- to swallow a cat!
…dog / What a hog, to swallow a dog!…
…goat / She opened her throat and in walked that goat…
…cow / I don't know how she swallowed a cow…
I know an old lady who swallowed a horse--(pause) (spoken) She's dead, of course!
Then take plastic bag filled with puppets, put inside black plastic bag and get 6 volunteers to act out The Great Big Enormous Turnip using the bag as a turnip. (would be lovely to have a small turnip to show) based on the story by Alexei Tolstoy – can also use the tune from Big Pumpkin. (could use hang tag neck signs)
Once upon a time an old man planted a little turnip and said,
“Grow, grow, little turnip, grow sweet. Grow, grow little turnip, grow strong.”
And the turnip grew up sweet and strong, and big and enormous!
Then one day, the old man went to pull it up.
He pulled and pulled again, but he could not pull it up.
He called the old woman.
The old woman pulled the old man. The old man pulled the turnip.
And they pulled and pulled again, but they could not pull it up.
So the old woman called her granddaughter…
The granddaughter called the black dog…
The black dog called the cat…
The cat called the mouse….
They pulled and pulled again, and up came the turnip at last.
I’m Being Swallowed by a Boa Constrictor (puppet) – good stretch – use anytime
I’m being swallowed by a boa constrictor, a boa constrictor, a boa constrictor,
and I don’t like it very very much.
Oh no, he’s swallowed my toe!
Oh rankle, he’s swallowed my ankle!
Oh fee, he’s swallowed my knee!
Oh sigh, he’s swallowed my thigh!
Oh fiddle, he’s swallowed my middle!
Oh heck, he’s up to my neck!
Oh dread, he’s swallowed my (gulp!)
Down at the Fair (adapted from: Down By the Bay (flannel)
On Raffi’s “Singable Songs for the Very Young)
Also available as a book.
Down at the fair, where the watermelons grow
Back to my home, I dare not go,
For if I do, my mother will say…
1. "Did you ever see a goose kissing a moose
2. "Did you ever see a whale with a polka-dotted tail
3. "Did you ever see a fly wearing a tie
4. "Did you ever see a bear combing his hair
5. "Did you ever see llamas eating their pajamas
6. "Did you ever see a spider drinking apple cider
7. "Did you ever see an orange….apple…
8. "Did you ever have a time when you couldn't make a rhyme? Down at the fair!
(Children can make up additional verses
e.g. Did you ever see a bee with a sunburned knee…)
Going to the Fair (adapted from: “Going to the Zoo”) Song by Tom Paxton on his album “Goin’ to the Zoo and Raffi’s “Singable Songs for the Very Young.” (puppets)
Mommy's taking us to the fair tomorrow,
Fair tomorrow, fair tomorrow,
Mommy's taking us to the fair tomorrow,
We can stay all day.
Chorus:
We're going to the fair, fair, fair
We’ll see a cow and a mare, mare, mare
You can come and stare, stare, stare
We're going to the fair, fair, fair.
2. Look at all the chickens cluck, cluck, clucking
Pecking at their food as they’re cluck, cluck, clucking
Lots of pretty colors and they’re cluck, cluck, clucking
We can stay all day. (chorus)
3. Look at all the cows moo, moo, mooing
Chewing their cuds and they’re moo, moo, mooing
Giving lots of milk moo, moo, mooing
We can stay all day! (chorus)
4. Look at all the horses prance prance prancing,
All around the rink, they’re prance prance prancing,,
Ridden by their riders and they’re prance prance prancing,,
We can stay all day. (chorus)
5. Look at all the dogs bark, bark, barking,
Lots of different kinds and they’re bark, bark, barking,
Can I pet one that’s bark, bark, barking?
We can stay all day. (chorus)
6. Goats in the pen all bleat, bleat, bleating,
Brushed and clean and bleat, bleat, bleating,
Trying to eat my shirt and bleat, bleat, bleating,
We can stay all day. (chorus)
7. Look at all the snakes all twisting and curling
Big and small all twisting and curling
Can I touch one all twisting and curling?
We can stay all day. (chorus)
8. (slower) We stayed all day and I'm gettin' kind of sleepy
Sittin' in the car gettin' sleep sleep sleepy
Home already and I'm sleep sleep sleepy
We have stayed all day.
Final Chorus:
We've been to the fair, fair, fair
We saw you there, there, there
All we did was stare, stare, stare
We've been to the fair, fair, fair
BUT! Daddy’s taking us to the fair tomorrow (shout) WE CAN STAY ALL DAY!
Sing (Everyone joins hands in a circle – on the La, La’s – join hands in a circle and bring everyone to the center and then out again. –then repeat the whole song…louder and stronger!)
Song by Joe Raposo,-- on “Sesame Street Platinum”
(Start singing quietly:)
Sing, Sing a song --
Sing out loud --
Sing out strong --
Sing of good things, not bad --
Sing of happy, not sad --
Sing, Sing a song --
Make it simple to last your whole life long --
Don't worry that it’s not good enough --
For anyone else to hear --
Just Sing, Sing a song!
La, La, La, La, La
La, La, La, La, La
La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
Other book possibilities: Color Farm by Lois Ehlert, Barnyard Banter by Denise Fleming, Fast Food by Saxton Freymann
Flannels (no time): I Am A Pizza, On Top of Spaghetti, House is a House for Me,
8/15 BWL
Performed at 4H Fair County Tent 8.15, 8.16 – also prep tent and ARC group (Stone Soup & I Know an Old Lady) – multiple 15-20 minute sets – order varied
Next year, bring portable MIC & Speaker.
SCLS Bridgewater Branch Librarian Carol Simon Levin performing a variation of Raffi's song "Down by the Bay" at the 4H Fair using a "human flannel board" -- Bridgewater kids Jon & Laurel plus Zack & Emma and their mom, Fran.
"Did you ever see a goose kissing a moose? Did you ever see a fly wearing a tie? Did you ever see a bear combing his hair? Did you ever see a whale with a polka-dotted tail? Did you ever see llamas eating their pajamas? Did you ever see a spider drinking apple cider? Did you ever have a time when you couldn't make a rhyme...down at the fair!
“Buzz, buzz busy bee, is your honey sweet?”
”I’m being swallowed by a boa constrictor!”
Sharing the singable book “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
and puppet play-acting “My House is a Squash & a Squeeze”
