Pumpkin Songs

It’s pumpkin season and I want to share a few pumpkin songs for your felt board. Let's sing about our favorite gourd!

Make a Jack-O-Lantern Songs

I have a big felt pumpkin. When it is blank, we sing "I'm a Little Pumpkin"

I'm a Little Pumpkin
Tune: I'm a Little Teapot

I'm a little pumpkin, orange and round.
The cutest squash that you ever have seen.
I grow on a vine that is leafy and green,
Straight from the farm in time for Halloween.

Then I add a face. Sometimes, I pick the shapes to add or I let a few children each add one shape. (Remember the mantra: process over product! When you let the kids make the face it might be a bit Picasso-esque.) Then we sing "Give Me a Face." (I don't always sing the verse of this song. It is a little long that way and I like to have time to make multiple faces.)

Happy jack-o-lantern!

Is this jack-o-lantern singing or surprised?

Give Me a Face
Tune: Home on the Range

Chorus:
Oh, Give me a face.
A mouth and two eyes right in place.
Shapes will decorate and make me feel great!
Carve a pumpkin to celebrate.

Verse:
Triangle eyes, a circle nose,
A mouth with a toothy grin.
Your jack-o-lantern can be what you want it to be.
Put a light in me so you can see!

Pumpkin Questions to ask your preschoolers:
What do you call a pumpkin after you give it a face?
What is inside a pumpkin?
How do you think this pumpkin is feeling?
 

Two Pumpkins Counting Songs

I made these five little pumpkins for our counting songs, but I also have pom-pom pumpkins for my Silly Glove.

Pumpkins on a Vine
Tune: This Old Man

Five pumpkins on a vine,
Each little pumpkin’s feeling fine.
And a Fall wind blows (*Woosh) a pumpkin down the hill.
How many pumpkins are there still.

*Woosh: At this point, I stop the song briefly to have the kids blow like the Fall wind. (This was surprisingly funny to my kids!)

Five Little Pumpkins on a Gate

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one says, "Oh my! It's getting late!"
**The second one says, "There are witches in the air!"
The third one says, "But we don't care!"
The forth one says, "I'm ready for some fun!"
The fifth one says, "Let's run and run and run!"

Ooooooh! Goes the wind and out goes the lights,
And five little pumpkins roll out of sight.

**Alternative verse:
The second one says, "There's a chill in the air!"

Many people sing this song, and everyone has a different melody. I usually chant this one, but this is Raffi's version. (The video leaves something to be desired, but the song is gold!)

My sister and my cousin posing with their Jack-O-Lantern. 

Don't forget the best pumpkin sensory activity there is! Open that pumpkin up and let your preschoolers and scoop out the seeds and goo!

I have many fond memories of carving pumpkins with my father. I remember sitting on his work bench with my three sisters and scooping goop out. Then we each drew faces on our pumpkins and my dad carved them. We would line them all up on our porch and light them with a candle. 
My mother (an educator) would have us carefully separate the seeds from the goo and then roast them for us. I still remember the smell! (That's a great sensory experience and fine motor work.)

There are so many pumpkin activities to do in your classroom or at home. What activities do you enjoy?

Happy Halloween and Happy Singing!

Traffic Light

This week we are singing about transportation. Here is my Traffic Light song. I use my felt board and three felt circles. We get to talk about the color red, green and yellow.

Traffic Light
(Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle)

Look up at the traffic light.
On the corner shining bright.
Red means stop.
Green means go.
Yellow means very, very slow.
Look up at the traffic light.
On the corner shining bright.

Here is another songs about transportation from a previous blog. Going on Vacation gives you the opportunity to sing about all kinds of modes of transportation. (I also use it as an excuse to imagine myself on a warm, sandy beach.)

One Last Note: One of my favorite songs we sing in music class is Drivin' in My Car by Ralph's World. (I know many of the parents and children will agree with me on this.)
Ralph from Ralph's World is playing at a fundraiser in Chicago on Sunday, May 4th.
It is raising money for a great cause and sounds like a great time!

Happy Singing!

Stegosaurus Felt Board

I wanted to share a new song about Stegosaurus and their plates. I made my stegosaurus for my felt board. I like to have a clear visual when I am counting with children and talking about basic math concepts, and this song introduces the concept of subtraction.

Scientists can't be sure why the Stegosaurus had these giant plates on their back, but they have many theories. One theory is that the plates were a defense mechanism or possibly to make the dinosaur look bigger to predators. Another theory suggests the plates were used in regulating the body temperature of these cool blooded creatures. Other theories believe they were used to attract mates. Ask your kiddos to theorize why the stegosaurus had plates... I bet they have some pretty interesting ideas.

Stegosaurus Lost His Plates
Tune: Camptown Races

Stegosaurus lost his plates.
Oh No! Oh No!
Stegosaurus lost his plates.
Oh No! Oh No!

Five were on his back.
How many does he lack?

Stegosaurus found one plate!
Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

Happy singing!