Book of Fingerplays & Activities

Description

First Steps in Music for Preschool and Beyond

by John Feierabend

A collection of traditional finger plays and action songs – each phrase has a motion; each new phrase, a new motion. The expressiveness of the melody or spoken rhyme is reflected in the accompanying expressive movement. Some are chants, while others have songs with the melody line notated. Most of the songs in other languages have a general translation given (not a singable translation).

Contents: 

Fingerplays:
Bouncing Around: A Ball for Baby, I See a Ball, I Can Make a Hammock, A Ram Sam Sam.

People We Know: Grandma’s Glasses, Lincoln Hoed, Mr. Lynn, Miss Polly Had a Dolly, Frederick Fountain, John Brown’s Baby.

Things That Go: Crocodile Song, El Carro de Mi Jefe (in Spanish), The Wheels on the Bus.

Mother Earth: Green Leaf, This Is the Sea, Over There the Sun Gets Up, Ahi Esta la Luna (in Spanish), Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree, Pickin’ a Spot, This Is the Tree, Up the Apple Tree, Kahuli Aku (in Hawaiian).

Hands & Shoulders Knees & Thumbs: Tommy Thumb, Oh Chester Have You Heard, Open Them Shut Them, Do Your Ears Hang Low.

How Many/So Many: 2 Little Apples, 2 Tall Telephone Poles, 2 Little Houses, 2 Old Gentlemen, Mein Hut (My Hat – in German, with a singable English version as well), This Old Man, 5 Little Ladies, 5 Little Leaves, 5 Little Peas, 5 Little Jack-o’-Lanterns, 5 Little Pumpkins, I Love Sixpence, 10 Little Candles, 10 Little Soldiers.

How Many Animals/So Many Animals: 2 Little Blackbirds, 5 Little Fishes Swimming, 3 Little Ducks, 3 Little Squirrels, 10 Little Squirrels, 5 Crayfish, 2 Mother Pigs, 3 Little Monkeys, See See See 3 Birds Are in a Tree, 5 Little Mice Came Out to Play, On the Pantry Floor.

More Animal Friends: The Monkeys and the Crocodile, A Slippery Snake, I Had a Little Pig, Eensy Weensy Spider, Alle Meine Entchen (in German), There Was a Little Turtle, This Is My Turtle, Fishy Fishy in a Brook, Here Is a Frog, Bunny with Ears So Funny, A Great Big Cat, Whisky Frisky, Gray Squirrel, Here’s a Nest, Here Is the Ostrich, A Big-Eyed Owl, Mr. Turkey Took a Walk, A Sparrow’s Home, Where Are the Baby Mice, Little Mousie Brown, The Little Mice Go Creeping, A Caterpillar Crawled, Here Is the Beehive, Sleepy Caterpillars, Fuzzy Wuzzy Caterpillar.

Yummy in My Tummy: Here’s a Cup, Here Is a Saucer, Zucker und Kaffee (in German), Chop Chop Chippity Chop, Pop Pop Pop, Mix a Pancake, Peanut on a Railroad Track, A Pumpkin for Pie, These Are Mother’s Knives & Forks.

Our House Is a Very Fine House: Here Is the Church, Here Is a House, The Wise Man, Carpenter’s Hammer, My Little House, The Roof of the House, Here Is the Chimney.

Winding Down: Wind Wind Wind the Bobbin, Help Me Wind My Ball of Wool.

Time for Bed: Ready for a Nap, When I Am Sleepy, Sleepy Fingers.

Action Songs:
Animal Friends: My Big Gray Cat, Hop Like a Bunny, The Elephant, I Saw a Little Rabbit, My Little Puppy, Alice the Camel, Mother Goonie Bird.

Action Head & Shoulders Knees & Toes: Toes Knees Chest Nut, Oliver Twist, Head & Shoulders Baby, Head & Shoulders, Hang About.

Hopping & Jumping: The Jack-in-the-Box, Pick a Bale of Cotton, Hop Up & Jump Up.

Going Places Doing Things: In the Apple Tree, Marco Polo, The Wind Came Out to Play, There Once Was a Man, I’m a Little Teapot, Cousin Peter, When I Was One, The Noble Duke of York, Wake Up You Lazy Bones, A Sailor Went to Sea.