Fingerplay Fun Friday!

This week's rhyme is filled to the brim with opportunities for play-acting: Miss Polly Had a Dolly

Miss Polly Had a Dolly

Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick, sick, sick
So she phoned for the doctor to be quick, quick, quick
In came the doctor with his bag and hat
And knocked on the door with a rat-tat-tat

He looked at the dolly and he shook his head
He told Miss Polly to put her straight to bed
He wrote a prescription for a pill, pill, pill
"I'll be back in the morning with my bill, bill, bill"

I like this rhyme because it tells a very practical story.  What do we typically do when someone is feeling under the weather?  We seek professional advice.  Kids love pretending to be adults and taking care of a doll is a familiar exercise for many kids.  I especially love the presence of the word "prescription."  It is a word that gets used quite a lot in life.  When kids are exposed to words like this, they are building their vocabularies.  And while "prescription" isn't a word that shows up in most beginning readers, it is a word that kids will eventually encounter.  If they already know and understand the word, it will be so much easier for them to make sense of the word once they finally do come to it in its written form.

Fingerplay Fun Friday!

Here is an upbeat cumulative song all about musical instruments: The Music Man

The Music Man

I am the Music Man
I come from down your way
And I can play
What can you play?
I play the piano

Pia -- pia - piano.
Piano, piano
Pia -- pia -- piano
Pia -- piano.

I am the Music Man
I come from down your way
And I can play
What can you play?
I play the saxophone

Saxo -- saxo -- saxophone
Saxophone, saxophone
Saxo -- saxo -- saxophone
Saxo -- saxophone.

Pia -- pia - piano.
Piano, piano
Pia -- pia -- piano
Pia -- piano.

(keep building with Big Bass Drum and Triangle)

This is such a fun way to introduce kids to the names of musical instruments! 

I have followed the most common version of this old folk tune.  In particular, I like how the instrument names are broken down into their syllable components.  The structure might be a little complicated for very young children.  To make the rhyme a little more kid friendly, I would recommend changing the rhyme to:

I am the Music Man
I come from down your way
And I can play
What can you play?
I play the saxophone

Saxo -- saxo -- saxophone

Saxo -- saxo -- saxophone
Saxo -- saxo -- saxophone

Pia -- pia -- piano

Pia -- pia -- piano
Pia -- pia -- piano.

When we slow down our pronunciation by breaking words into to their syllable parts, we are helping kids to understand that words are made up of smaller sounds.  We call this phonological awareness.  It is an extremely important skill that kids need to master in order to become successful readers.

For another fun way to share this rhyme, simply replace the instrument's name with an onomatopoeic sound... like this:

I am the Music Man
I come from down your way
And I can play
What can you play?
I play the piano

Plinka -- plinka -- plinka-plink
Plinka -- plinka -- plinka-plink

When you extend and build on this rhyme by introducing multiple instruments and then recalling their order in reverse, you are helping kids to practice their memories.  And we all know how beneficial a strong memory is!

New Beginning Readers

For kids to become successful readers, they first need to be motivated to read.  It is absolutely critical that they see a personal benefit to reading.  That means they need to have access to books that interest and excite them personally.

Beginning readers have always been a little tricky.  It can be far too easy to find books for new readers that read more like old-fashioned primers... "the cat is on the mat."  Without a fun and interesting story, motivation flies out the window.

Thankfully, there are tons of cool beginning readers out there.  Here is a list of some new brand new beginning readers that I have been enjoying:

 Title: A Big Guy Took My Ball!
Author: Mo Willems
Find this book at your library

This new Elephant and Piggie title adds another great story to an already great series.  Kids will immediately sympathize with the strong emotions felt by Elephant and Piggie. The gestures they use compliment the story perfectly and make it easier for the reader to comprehend what is happening.

Title: The Loopy Coop Hens: Letting Go
Author: Janet Morgan Stoeke
Find this book at your library

Three hens discover Newton's Law of Gravity first-hand while sitting beneath an apple tree.  The stories in the Loopy Coop Hens series include chapter titles, which is a great early introduction for kids.  I particularly like how the author has stressed the scientific method.  When the hens wonder who is throwing apples at them, rather than assume it's a FOX they get a ladder and climb up to discover the truth!

Title: Penny and Her Marble
Author: Kevin Henkes
Find this book at your library

When Penny discovers a marble in Mrs. Goodwin's yard, she fears that she has stolen someone's property.  Her imagination and strong emotions will ring true with kids who are still mastering the ideas of ownership.  Told in four chapters and 48 pages, this is a great first step for kids who want to move into the big world of chapter books.

Title: A Pet Named Sneaker
Author: Joan Heilbroner
Illustrator: Pascal Lemaitre
Find this book at your library

A brand new title in the Dr. Seuss I Can Read It All By Myself series all about a heroic pet snake.  Amazing that it has been over 50 years since author Joan Heilbroner wrote her last beginning reader, Robert the Rose Horse.  This is sure to appeal to kids who love Danny and the Dinosaur and Go, Dog. Go!  What kid doesn't dream about bringing his pet to school?

Title: Pug & Doug
Author: Steven Breen
Find this book at your library

Pug and Doug are best friends... until Doug discovers that Pug might not like him all that much.  This is a classic tale of mistaken information.  The artwork is absolutely incredible, including a step-by-step visual description of how to do Pug and Doug's secret pawshake.  This is easily one of my favorite books of the year (so far).


Photo by: Hgilbert

Fingerplay Fun Friday!

This weeks rhyme is all about fun with homophones and hand clapping: A Sailor Went to Sea

A Sailor Went to Sea

A sailor went to sea, sea, sea  (hold hand palm down and move up and down like waves)
To see what he could see, see, see  (hold hand palm down over eyes and move head back and forth)
But all that he could see, see, see  (repeat previous gesture)
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea  (repeat first gesture)

This is such a fun and deceptively simple little rhyme.  Shifting between moving your hand like the ocean waves and holding it above your eyes as you scan the horizon is a lot harder than you might think.  The concept that underlies the rhyme is equally complicated!

In the rhyme, "sea" and "see" are the two main words that we emphasize.  It is surprising to little kids that these words can sound exactly the same but mean two completely different things.  We call words like these homophones.

When you share this rhyme with older toddlers and preschool-age kids, you can explain how "sea" and "see" are two completely different words even though they sound the same.  You can drive this point home by showing how we write the words.  When you do this, you will be expanding their understanding of print awareness, or the idea that we use printed language to convey meaning. 

When I share this rhyme, I sequentially replace the last words of each line with hand claps.  This further complicates the rhyme for older kids.  It turns it into a sequencing game.  Understanding sequence is a critical part of the early literacy skill called narrative skills.

For babies and young toddlers, this rhyme makes for a fun little lap-bounce.  Gently rock baby back and forth and then bounce on the last three words of each line. 

Although extremely short, this rhyme is packed full of early literacy-boosting goodness!!  Kids who understand that words can be spelled differently but sound the same will have an easier making sense out of what they read once the begin to lean how to read!

Fingerplay Fun Friday!

Continuing on our recent trend into Mother Goose's rich history, this week we present: Mary Mary Quite Contrary

Mary Mary Quite Contrary

Mary, Mary, quite contrary  (wag your pointer finger)
How does your garden grow?  (shrug shoulders or lift hands palms up while wiggling fingers)
With silver bells  (hold hands in fists and extend one thumb)
And cockle shells  (extend other thumb)
And pretty maids all in a row!  (extend the rest of your fingers)

This is a great little rhyme for letting kids practice their fine motor skills, especially moving their fingers independently.  As I have mentioned before, fine motor skills are crucial for kids who are learning to write.

What I like best about this rhyme, though, is its fanciful language.  "Contrary" is a word that rarely gets used in daily conversation.  Nevertheless, it is a great word for kids to learn.  The more words kids know, the easier it will be for them to become proficient readers in the long run.  Vocabulary is a strong predictor or future reading success.

Silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row require a little more work to explain to kids.  I've always thought of the rhyme as describing a pretty bed of flowers surrounded by a border of sea shells.  Mother Goose scholars don't entirely agree on the original meaning of this rhyme.  Some assessments are quite frightening!  I will stick with flowers, myself.

BOOM, CRASH, TICK-TOCK, SPLASH!!!!!

"Mooooo!" goes the cow.
"Baaaaaa!" goes the sheep.
But what does the dog say?

In my opinion, the coolest words ever are the ones that sound exactly like what they mean.  Words like “BAM” and “SQUEAK” and “WOOF” are super-fun to say out loud.  We call words like these onomatopoeias, words that sound exactly like what they mean.

Children’s books are packed with of onomatopoeic words.  It’s not too surprising, because kids love to hear the funny sounds.  Folks who regularly share books with little ones can attest to the fact that if you really ham it up and over-enunciate your pronunciation, you’re sure to draw constant laughter and smiles of delight.

Besides being terribly fun to read aloud, onomatopoeic books do a fantastic job of showing kids exactly how printed language works.  Just like the old 1960s Batman TV series, many books with fun sound words emphasize and call special attention to the words by using interesting fonts and bright colors.  A child's understanding of how printed language works is called print awareness.  When we call attention to the word on the page by pointing or running our finger below the word, we are helping build a solid print awareness foundation. 

Here are a bunch of my favorite onomatopoeic picture books:

 Title: And the Train Goes ...
Author: William Bee
Find this book at your library

There are all kinds of fun train sounds!  "Clickerty-click, clickerty-clack!"  Couple this book with a fun train rhyme and you're golden!

Title: Cock-a-doodle-doo, Creak, Pop-pop, Moo
Author: Jim Aylesworth
Illustrator: Brad Sneed
Find this book at your library

There are more sounds on the farm than those of the animals.  This book does a beautiful job taking the reader on an auditory journey through a day at the farm!

Title: Doggies
Author: Sandra Boynton
Find this book at your library

Dogs say more than just "WOOF".  Ten different dogs show off their voices in this perfect counting book!

Title: I Stink!
Author: Kate McMullan
Illustrator: Jim McMullan
Find this book at your library

Loads of truck sounds fill this stinky tale of a garbage truck.  This books gets bonus points for containing the most epic "BURRRP" ever!

Title: Jazz Baby
Author: Lisa Wheeler
Illustrator: R. Gregory Christie
Find this book at your library

Rhythmic text and cool jazz sounds make for a whole bunch of be-bopping fun!

 Title: Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?
Author: Dr. Seuss
Find this book at your library

Does it come as any surprise that Dr. Seuss wrote the greatest-ever onomatopoeic book for little kids?  Nope.

Title: One Frog Sang
Author: Shirley Parenteau
Illustrator: Cynthia Jabar
Find this book at your library

A chorus of frogs liven up the springtime night on a lonely country lane, singing out their many songs!

Title: Red Sled
Author: Lita Judge
Find this book at your library

A funny little story about a group of animals and the winter fun they have on a sled, told entirely in sound words!

Title: Slop Goes the Soup
Author: Pamela D. Edwards
Illustrator: Henry Cole
Find this book at your library

Everything gets hairy and out of control when a warthog accidentally sneezes while holding a container of soup.  Tons of slip-sloppy fun!

Title: Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!
Author: Wynton Marsalis
Illustrator: Paul Rogers
Find this book at your library

Probably my favorite read-aloud of 2012.  This book is aptly subtitled "A Sonic Adventure".  A little boy describes the sounds that surround him in a most-rhythmic and entertaining way.

Title: Who Is Driving?
Author: Leo Timmers
Find this book at your library

A very cool overview of the sounds vehicles make.  The reader is asked to help guess which animal drives which vehicle, making this book extremely engaging.

Fingerplay Fun Friday!

We raided the oldy moldy Mother Goose books for this week's Fingerplay... we hope you enjoy this long-forgotten gem: Two Little Birds

Two Little Birds

(hold fists in front of you with either thumbs or pinkies extended)

There were two little birds who sat on a stone
Fa, la, la, la, la, DEE-DUN

One flew away and then there was one
Fa, la, la, la, la, DEE-DUN

The other flew after,
And then there were none
Fa, la, la, la, la, DEE-DUN

And so the poor stone
Was left all alone
Fa, la, la, la, la, DEE-DUN!!

I found this rhyme while digging through the 1904 facsimile of John Newbery's 1791 edition of Mother Goose's Melody.  It was originally published with a title of "Aristotle's Story" and included a funny little note about its status as an early logic primer (teaching the concept of consequence to early American children).  I made some minor changes and came up with both the tune and actions.  I use my pinkies, but thumbs would work just as well.

After recording the video, I did a little more research and found the rhyme listed in my personal copy of The Annotated Mother Goose (sadly, out-of-print).  It tacks on a number of additional lines that I think make for a happy resolution:

One of the birds then back again flew,

Fa, la, la, la, la, DEE-DUN

T'other came after, and then there were two,
Fa, la, la, la, la, DEE-DUN

Said one t'other --
How do you do?
Fa, la, la, la, la, DEE-DUN

Very well, thank you,
And how are you?
Fa, la, la, la, la, DEE-DUN!!

This rhyme is very reminiscent of Two Little Blackbirds.  I love the repeated Fa, la, la refrain.  It slows down the rhyme, extending the fun and making for a more musical cadence.  As with Two Little Blackbirds, this rhyme provides kids with a great opportunity for practicing their fine motor skills.  Beyond helping kids hold their pencil when they learn to write, being able to manipulate fingers independently will also help them when they learn to type!