Recipes for FUN!
Simple ideas for songs, finger plays, nursery rhymes cooking activities, science explorations, crafts, and games families can do together. Run these ideas off and send them home or put them on your class website.
Hint! Adapt the songs and activities to support your curriculum and units of study.
August/September
Song The Wheels on the Bus
Finger Play Me
Nursery Rhyme Jack and Jill
Cooking Polka Dot Pizza
Science Discovery Walk (Spooky Walk)
Craft Cutting Tub
Game I Spy
August/September Recipes for FUN!
Let’s Sing!
The Wheels on the Bus
(Traditional Tune)
The wheels on the bus
Go round and round,
Round and round,
Round and round.
The wheels on the bus
Go round and round,
All around the town.
Wipers – swish, swish, swish…
Horn – beep, beep, beep…
Lights – blink, blink, blink…
Doors – open and shut…
Driver on the bus…”Move on back”…
Children on the bus – bounce up and down…
Help children learn the name of their school and their teacher’s name by changing the words to the song.
The name of my school is (school’s name), (school’s name), (school’s name).
The name of my school is (school’s name).
That’s the name of my school.
The name of my teacher is…
Let’s Do a Finger Play!
ME
(Children repeat each line after you.)
I’ve got ten little fingers, (Hold up both hands.)
And ten little toes, (Point to feet.)
Two little eyes, (Point to eyes.)
And a mouth and a nose. (Point mouth and then nose.)
Put them all together, (Circle arms as if hugging.)
And what have you got? (Hands on hips.)
You’ve got me, baby, (Put thumbs in chest.)
And that’s a lot! (Wiggle hips.)
Let’s Say a Rhyme!
Jack and Jill
Jack and JillWent up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down
And broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
Here are some additional verses:
Then up got Jack
And said to Jill
As in his arms he took her.
You’re not hurt,
Brush off that dirt.
Now let’s go fetch that water.
Let’s Cook!
Polka Dot Pizza
You will need:
1 English muffin
pizza sauce
sliced pepperoni
mozzarella cheese (grated)
Directions:
- Wash your hands.
- Spread 2 tablespoons of sauce on half a muffin.
- Put 4 slices of pepperoni on top.
- Sprinkle with cheese.
- Broil in the oven until the cheese melts.
- Mama Mia! What a pizza!
Hint! Try other toppings like green peppers or mushrooms.
Let’s Explore!
Discovery Walk
Materials: none
Directions: Take your child on a feeling walk. Let them touch various objects in nature and describe how they feel. Ask them to close their eyes and try to identify an object in their hands by using their sense of
touch. What things do you like to feel? What things do you not like to feel?
Adaptations:
Take a listening walk where children close their eyes and identify
the sounds in their environment.
Go on a “smelling” walk where children try to identify different
smells in nature.
Just for fun, take a “Spooky Walk” one night with a flashlight!
• Are there different sounds and sights at night?
Let’s Make Something!
Cutting Tub
You will need a plastic tub or shoebox with a lid, plus some safety scissors your child can use. Fill the tub with old catalogs, junk mail, greeting cards, wrapping paper scraps, etc. Supervise your child as she practices cutting items in the tub.
Let her make a collage on a paper plate by gluing shapes she cuts from the paper scraps.
Let’s Play a Game!
I Spy!
You can play this game in the car, outside, or any place you might be. The first player begins by saying, “I spy something that is (name a color).” Family members take turns trying to identify what the object might be. The first one who guesses is the next one to say, “I spy!”
You can adapt this game for shapes. For example, “I spy something that is a square.”
Play this game using rhyming words. “I spy something that rhymes with look.”
October
Song Itsy Bitsy Spider
Finger Play The Apple Tree
Nursery Rhyme Little Miss Muffet
Cooking Spider Sandwich
Science Binoculars
Craft Rubbings
Game Guess Who I Am? (pantomime and riddles)
October Recipes for FUN!
Let’s Sing!
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
(Traditional Tune)
The itsy bitsy spider (Fingers pretend to
Went up the water spout. climb up in front of you.)
Down came the rain (Wiggle fingers down.)
And washed the spider out. (Cross arms.)
Out came the sun (Make circle above head.)
And dried up all the rain.
And the itsy bitsy spider (Take fingers and climb
Went up the spout again. in front of you.)
The big, fat spider… (Sing this version in a loud voice
and make large, exaggerated movements.)
The teensy weensy spider… (Sing in a quiet voice and make very
small motions with your fingers.)
Let’s Do a Finger Play!
The Apple Tree
Way up high in the tree, (Look up and point.)
One red apple smiled down at me, (Hold up 1 finger and smile.)
So I shook that tree as hard as I could. (Pretend to shake a tree.)
Down came an apple, (Roll hands around.)
Mmm! Mmm! Good! (Pat your tummy.)
Add more verses to this finger play by using other types of fruit:
Two yellow pears…
Three purple plums…
4 orange peaches…
5 green limes…
Let’s Say a Nursery Rhyme!
Little Miss Muffet
Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider
And sat down beside her.
And frightened
Miss Muffet away!
• Model how to look up words, such as tuffet and curds and whey, that you don’t understand in the dictionary.
Let’s Cook Something!
Spider Sandwich
You will need:
2 slices of bread
peanut butter and/or honey
raisins
8 pretzel sticks
Directions:
- Wash your hands
- Cut 2 circles out of the bread with a cookie cutter or plastic cup.
- Spread peanut butter and honey on one circle.
- Put the other circle on top to make the spider’s body.
- Make a face with raisins.
- Add 8 pretzel sticks for legs.
- Eat it and let it wiggle and jiggle and tickle inside you!
Hint! Use carrot sticks or cheese curls for legs. Substitute cream cheese for peanut butter and honey.
Let’s Explore!
Binoculars
Materials: paper towel roll
tape
hole punch
string or yarn
Directions: Cut the paper towel roll in half. Tape the two halves together.
Punch a hole in the top of each roll and tie a piece of string through the holes. (Make sure the string is long enough to go easily over the head.) Let the children decorate the binoculars with markers or crayons. Take a nature walk and then have the children draw what they saw through their binoculars.
Adaptations: Have children look out the window and then describe, write, or draw what they saw.
Let’s Make Something!
Rubbings
Materials: paper, old crayons
leaves, coins, and other textured objects
Directions:
Peel the paper off of several old crayons. Put leaves on the table and place a sheet of paper on top. Rub over the object with the side of the crayon. (It will work better if you rub in one direction.)
Compare the rubbings of different leaves. Why are they the same or different?
• Rub over coins.
• Do a rubbing of the bottom of your shoe.
• Go outside and make rubbings of tree bark, rocks, and other objects in
nature.
Let’s Play a Game!
Guess Who I Am?
First, take turns acting out animal movements and making appropriate sounds. Can you guess which animal it is?
Next, pantomime animal movements and characteristics. Can you guess who it is?
Make up animal riddles similar to the ones below:
I give you milk. Do you want some now? Moo, moo, moo! I’m a ______.
In the dirt I play and dig. Oink, oink, oink. I’m a _______.
I have horns and a beard on my throat. Naa, naa! I’m a ______.
I’ll give you a ride on my back, of course. Neigh, neigh! I’m a ______.
Cluck, cluck, cluck, in the pen. I lay eggs because I’m a _______.
Who would like my wool to keep? Baa, baa. I’m a ______.
I can be white or black or skinny or fat. Meow, meow! I’m a ______.
I’m man’s best friend. I’m not a hog. Woof, woof! I’m a ______.
When it rains, I’m in luck. Quack, quack! I’m a _______.
November
Song Little Red Box
Finger Play Mr. Turkey
Nursery Rhyme Old Mother Hubbard
Cooking Rainbow Kabobs
Science Color Mixing
Craft Homemade Play Dough
Game Step School
November Recipes for FUN!
Let’s Sing!
Little Red Box
(Tune: “Polly Wolly Doodle”)
I wish I had a little red box (Cup hands in front of you.)
To put my mommy in. (Pretend to put something in.)
I’d take her out and go, (Pretend to take something out.)
Kiss, kiss, kiss, (Do three air kisses.)
And put her back again. (Pretend to put something back in the box.
Daddy: Hug, hug, hug. (Hug self.)
*Make up additional verses for other family members and pets.
Let’s Do a Finger Play!
Mr. Turkey
Mr. Turkey went for (Start with hands behind your back.)
A walk one day (Bring right thumb out in front of you.)
In the very best
Of weather.
He met Mr. Duck (Bring left thumb out in front.)
Along the way
And they talked (Have thumbs look at each other.)
Together.
“Gobble, gobble, gobble.” (Wiggle right thumb.)
“Quack, quack, quack.” (Wiggle left thumb.)
“Good-bye.” (Bow right thumb.)
“Good-bye.” (Bow left thumb.)
And they both walked back! (Wiggle thumbs behind your back.)
Let’s Say a Nursery Rhyme!
Old Mother Hubbard
Old Mother Hubbard
Went to her cupboard
To get her poor dog a bone,
But when she got there
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.
Let’s Cook Something!
Rainbow Kabob
You will need:
red strawberries
blue blueberries
green grapes
yellow pineapple chunks
wooden skewers or toothpicks
Directions:
- Wash your hands.
- Clean the fruit and cut into bite-size pieces.
- Push fruit onto skewers to make a rainbow of colors.
- Make a wish and eat!
Hint! Use bananas, kiwi, pears, and other types of fruit.
Let’s Explore!
Color Mixing
Skills: observing; experimenting
Materials: ice cube tray
eye droppers
food coloring
cups of water
Directions: Prepare 3 cups of water with the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue). Let the children take the eye dropper and mix a few drops of each color. What happens? What colors make purple? Green? Orange?
Adaptations: Give the children crayons and paper to record their results.
Let children experiment with water colors to create a color wheel.
Play Dough
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup salt
2 TB. cream of tartar
2 TB. vegetable oil
2 cups water
food coloring
Mix all the ingredients together in a pan and stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until the mixture forms a ball and sticks to the spoon. Cool and knead. Store in plastic bags or covered containers.
• Add oil of mint or other extracts to play dough to give it a fragrance.
• Use 2 TB baby oil or massage oil in place of the vegetable oil.
• Unsweetened Kool-aid mix can be used in lieu of food coloring. The flavor will add a sweet aroma!
• Make surprise balls. Follow the recipe, omitting the food coloring. Take small amounts of dough and roll them into balls. Poke a hole in each and add a drop of food coloring to the middle of each ball. Pinch to seal in the color. Children knead the balls and – surprise!
Hint! Have children play with dough and clay on plastic placemats or lunchroom trays. Add scissors, cookie cutters, play dishes, birthday candles, and other cooking props.
Step School
Materials: pebble or small toy, stairs
- The children sit on the bottom step, which is "kindergarten".
- One child, who is "the teacher" stands on the ground and faces the others. "The teacher" takes the pebble, puts it behind her back, and then hides the pebble in one of her hands. "The teacher" then brings forward both fists.
- The first child on the step chooses a hand. If she selects the hand with the pebble, then she may move up a stair to "first grade." If she selects the empty hand, then she continues to sit in "kindergarten."
- "The teacher" continues hiding the pebble and allows other members in the game to select the hand with the pebble. The game continues until a child reaches the top step. That child then becomes the next "teacher."