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.
March
Song Address, Phone, Birthday Songs
Finger Play Monkeys and Alligator
Nursery Rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle
Cooking Letter Bread
Science Whirly Bird
Craft Paper Plate Kite
Game Jump the Creek
March Recipes for FUN!
Address, Phone, and Birthday Songs
Your child can quickly learn important information with a familiar tune.
Addresses can be sung to “Do You Know the Muffin Man?”
495 Oak Tree Lane
495 Oak Tree Lane
405 Oak Tree lane
Is where Jason lives.
Sing phone numbers to “Twinkle Little Star.”
397-4121
397-4121
397-4121
I know my phone number.
397-4121
397-4121
If you live in an area where children need to know the area code as well, you can sing to “Michael Row Your Boat Ashore.”
668-397-4121
668-397-4121
Birthdays will be easy to remember with the traditional “Happy Birthday Song.”
March 17th
March 17th
I know my birthday.
March 17th
Monkeys and Alligator
Five little monkeys (Hold up 5 fingers.)
Swinging from a tree,
Teasing Mr. Alligator, (Point finger as if teasing.)
“Can’t catch me!
You can’t catch me!” (Shake head “no.”)
Along came Mr. Alligator (Put palms together and slowly
Quiet as can be, move like an alligator.)
And snatched a monkey (Open and clap palms as if
Right out of the tree! chomping on something.)
Four…three…two…one
“Missed me, missed me! (Put open hands on either side
Now you gotta kiss me!” of your head and wiggle.)
Hey, Diddle, Diddle
Hey, diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed.
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away
With the spoon.
Letter Bread
You will need:
bread
milk
food coloring
Q-tips
butter
toaster
Directions:
- Wash your hands.
- Take 4 cups and put a little milk in each.
- Add 2 drops of food coloring to each cup.
- Use the colored milk like paint and draw a letter or design on the bread with a Q-tip.
- Toast.
- Spread with butter.
Hint! Serve with honey, jelly, or cinnamon sugar.
Paper Plate Kite
Cut the inner section out of a paper plate. Decorate the rim with markers. Glue tissue paper streamers to one side. Punch a hole and tie a piece of string on the other side. Go outside and run to make your kite fly.Whirly Birds
Skills: experimenting; observing
Materials: construction paper
scissors
paper clips
Directions: Cut out the attached whirly bird. Fold over the bottom sections and attach a paper clip at the bottom. Fold down the top flaps in opposite directions. Hold the whirly bird high in the air and then let it go. Whee! Go out on the playground and drop whirly birds from a climber.
Adaptations: Fold the flaps in the same directions and let it go. Will it fly? Why not? Will it work without the paper clip?
Make whirly birds out of different types of paper (newsprint, tissue paper, card stock, etc.) and predict which one will fly best. Experiment and compare results.
Jump the Creek
Materials: 2 jump ropes
- Place the two ropes on the ground a few inches apart to make a “creek.”
- Have the children line up single file and try to jump over the creek one at a time without stepping on a rope.
- After every child has jumped, move the ropes a little farther apart to make the creek wider.
- Continue moving the ropes farther apart and letting the children jump over them. When a player can no longer jump over the rope, he must stand to the side of the game and be a cheerleader.
- The object of the game is to see how far the children can jump.
- You can play a similar game by drawing lines in the sand or dirt.
April
Song The Farmer in the Dell
Finger Play Caterpillar
Nursery Rhyme Little Boy Blue
Cooking Trail Mix
Science Popcorn Plants
Craft Box Tops Rock
Game Hug Tag
April Recipes for FUN!
The Planting Song
(Farmer in the Dell)
Let’s all plant some seeds, (Pretend to dig with a shovel.)
Let’s all plant some seeds.
Hi, ho, it’s spring you know,
Let’s all plant some seeds.
The rain begins to fall… (Have fingers fall like rain.)
The sun warms the earth… (Hands over head in a circle.)
The seeds begin to grow… (Make a fist with one hand and bring
the other hand up through it.)
Caterpillar
A caterpillar crawled (Hold up right arm like a tree branch.)
To the top of a tree. (Crawl left pointer up right arm.
I think I’ll take a nap said he. (Wiggle left pointer.)
So under the leaf (Pretend to crawl left pointer
He began to creep. under right palm.)
He spun a cocoon, (Wrap right hand around left pointer.)
And he fell asleep. (Hold hands very still.)
For six long months
He slept in that cocoon bed.
Til spring came along and said,
Wake up, wake up,
You sleep head. (Shake pointer.)
Out of the leaf he did cry, (Clasp thumbs and open palms.)
Lo, I am a butterfly! (Fly hands around like a butterfly.)
Little Boy Blue
Little boy blue,
Come blow your horn.
The sheep’s in the meadow,
The cow’s in the corn.
Where is the boy
Who looks after the sheep?
Under the haystack fast asleep!
Trail Mix
You will need:
Cheerios
pretzel sticks
raisins
fish crackers
chocolate chips
zip bags
Directions:
- Wash your hands
- Count out and put in the bag:
10 Cheerios
9 pretzel sticks
8 raisins
7 fish crackers
6 chocolate chips
• Zip the bag and shake.
• Yippee ti yi yo!
Hint! Serve trail mix in flat bottom ice cream cones. You can just eat the cone when you’re through with the mix.
• Use cheese crackers, sunflower seeds, M&Ms, or other dry cereals in your trail mix.
Popcorn Plants
Materials: clear jar or glass
paper towel
sand or soil
popcorn kernels
Directions: Take a clear jar and fold a paper towel so it fits inside the jar.
Put sand or soil inside the paper towel. Drop several beans or popcorn kernels between the paper towel and the cup. Water and place in a sunny spot. Children can observe the seed, root, and stem as they grow.
Box Tops Rock
Save your cardboard food boxes for a week and then use them for some of the toys and games below:
Cardboard castle – Let children use masking tape to create a castle or other play sculpture.
Books – Cut the fronts off the boxes. Hole punch and bind with a book ring. Great for reading environmental print.
Puzzles – Cut box fronts into puzzle shapes. Store in zip bags. For younger children use two like boxes. Cut one up and let them place the pieces on the second box.
Fronts and backs – Cut front and back panels off of boxes. Mix them up and then ask the children to match up the ones that go together.
Play a memory game where you place the fronts and backs face down on the floor. Children try to match up pairs.
Stencils and templates – Cut geometric shapes out of box fronts. Children cantrace these with colored pencils, crayons, or markers.
Cut seasonal shapes or objects that relate to a unit of study for the children to trace.
Sewing cards – Punch holes around the sides of boxes. Children can sew these with yarn, string, or old shoelaces.
Weaving – Cut notches around the sides of boxes and let children weave through these with yarn.
Hug Tag
Materials: none
- Designate a playing area. One child is “it.” “It” chases other children who must “freeze” when they are tagged.
- Players hug those who are “frozen” to “unfreeze” them
- Stoop Tag – Children stoop down on the ground when they are tagged.
- Cartoon Tag – Children must name a cartoon show when they are tagged.
- Shadow Tag – Children must freeze when “it” steps on their shadow.
- Sticky Tag – Children must hold the part of their body that is tagged.
May/June
Song BINGO
Finger Play Ten Little Friends
Nursery Rhyme Humpty Dumpty
Cooking Life Preserver Sandwich
Science Nature Scavenger Hunt
Craft Paper Bag Puppet
Game Mother, May I?
May/June Recipes for FUN!
BINGO
There was a farmer had a dog
And Bingo was his name-O.
B - I – N – G – O,
B – I – N – G – O.
B – I – N – G – O.
And Bingo was his name-O.
Spell your child’s name with this tune.
There is a boy that I love so
And Billy is his name-o.
B-i-l-l-y,
B-i-l-l-y,
B-i-l-l-y,
And Billy is his name-o.
Ten Little Friends
Ten little friends (Hold up fingers.)
Went out to play (Wiggle.)
On a very bright
And sunny day.
And they took a little walk.
Walk, walk, walk. (Walk fingers in front of your body.)
And they had a little talk.
Talk, talk, talk. (Put fingertips together.)
They climbed a great big hill (Move fingers over your head.)
And stood on the top very still. (Keep hands still.)
Then they all tumbled down (Roll hands around and down.)
And fell to the ground.
We’re so tired, (Hold up fingers.)
They all said.
So they all went home
And went to bed.
10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 –
5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1. (Put down fingers one at a time.)
Good night! (Lay head on hands.)
Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses,
And all the king’s men,
Couldn’t put Humpty
Together again.
Life Preserver Sandwich
You will need:
1 bagel (cut in half)
cream cheese
blue food coloring
fish crackers
Directions:
- Wash your hands
- Dye the cream cheese blue with a few drops of blue food coloring.
- Spread cream cheese on the bagel.
- Arrange several fish crackers on the cream cheese.
- Swim it into your mouth.
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Materials: paper sack
Directions: Give children a bag and the list below. Help them hunt until they find all the items.
CAN YOU FIND?
Something green
Something alive (but not an animal or bug)
Something dead (but not an animal or bug)
Something that smells good
Something smaller than you
Something older than you
Something the size of your thumb
Something that feels rough
Something that feels soft
Something that is beautiful to you
Something that does not belong there
Mother, May I?
Materials: none
- Children line up with their backs to a wall.
- One person is “mother” and stands about 30 feet in front of the others.
- One at a time “mother” names a child and tells them a different motion they must perform. For example, baby steps, scissor steps, twirls, giant steps, or frog leaps. The child must remember to ask, “Mother, may I?” before performing the movement or he is sent back to the starting line.
- The first one to reach “mother” becomes the next “mother.”
Hint: Change the name of the game to “Father, May I?” or “Grandma, May I?” or any other person in your family.