Apples are a delicious fruit, come in all kinds of colors and have wonderful names. Most of us buy apples at the grocery store, but in the fall, if you are lucky, you might have a farm nearby where you can go and pick your own apples – straight off the tree. Zoe and Tom go to Yew Tree Farm to pick apples with their parents in our story, and have lots of fun bobbing for apples and even go on a hay ride.

This podcast is called APPLES, and our first song is about apples. It is a song I composed and I hope you will sing along.  It’s very easy! The second song called “Goin’ on a Hay Ride” was composed by my friend Linda and is sung by Bethany.

 

HERE WE GO ROUND THE APPLE TREE

Here we go round the apple tree,

The apple tree, the apple tree.

Here we go round the apple tree

So early in the morning.

 

2. This is the way we climb the ladder
3. This is the way we pick the apples
4. This is the way we wash the apples
5. This is the way we peel the apples
6. This is the way we chop the apples
7. This is the way we cook the apples
8. This is the way we eat the apples
9. This is the way we eat apple pie

 

Listen to the accompanying mp3 audio file for the tune – you will probably know it – “This is the way we__.” You can make up actions for each verse and use as many of the verses as you like, plus others you can make up depending on whether you are just eating apples, making pie,  making applesauce …

HICKORY DICKORY DOCK

Sing along with Alex in this nursery rhyme and count the time – from one o’clock to five o’clock.

 

WHAT TIME IS IT MR. WOLF?

Here is a game that was popular in the school yard when I was a little girl. We would play with quite a big group, but it can be equally successful with only two – you and your child! Mr. Wolf stands away from the children, leaving a gap for at least several steps. The child/children chant:

“What time is it Mr. Wolf?”

Mr. Wolf replies:

“It’s ___ o’clock.”

Then the children take that “o’clock” number of steps towards Mr. Wolf and then chant again. This continues until someone is quite close to Mr. Wolf and this time Mr. Wolf replies:

“It’s time to eat you up!”

And chases the children back to the start.

I would always start with the adult as Mr. Wolf. This way the adult can use numbers appropriate for the children participating. Help the children count the steps. Some children will take tiny steps because they do not want to get close to Mr. Wolf. Others will stride ahead because the chasing is fun!  Some will want to be caught, yet for others, this will spoil the game.

As always, take your cue from your children.

A grandfather clock features in a song on our podcast called TIME. Long ago when grandfather clocks were very popular, they would usually stand in the hall of a big house and would be made of wood. The face of the clock would be glass so that you could see the numbers, and there would often be a glass panel showing the pendulum moving from side to side, making the tick tock sound. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock goes the grandfather clock – just like Alex sings in the song!

This song has different times for different meals, like breakfast, lunch etc. You could use this opportunity to talk about what time you have lunch or supper in your family. You could look at the times on a clock. It is a very simple song where you can easily put in new times and new activities. I love songs where children can create their own verses.

Our story is about Flora (who we meet in other stories) waiting for her Aunt to visit. Flora has not seen her for a long time and is a little anxious. Will she recognize her aunt? Will her aunt know who she is? Sometimes, what we think of as a short amount of time seems like FOR EVER to youngsters.

When I ran my own preschool, we would always give a five minute warning whenever we were close to transitioning to a new activity – such as cleaning up for snack, or getting ready for outside play. Children have no concept that the transition is close, and it is very frustrating to have just started something new and then immediately be told to clean up! I wish I’d thought to be consistent with this with my own children when they were youngsters.

The second song is the well-known nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock. Alex goes on to sing times other than one o’clock, and I have inserted chimes in the song so that children can practice counting along with the chimes.

I had a hard time coming up with a name for this podcast, and ended up calling it FOX, even though there are lots of other animals in the podcast. The story is called “The Lazy Fox,” but you will have to decide if you think Fox is lazy or clever! The first song is also a game and begins with rabbits playing in the meadow, then along comes fox. In the podcast I explain how to play the game and show how the music changes when fox comes along. I have played this song-game many times with children, sometimes with large groups of children. Some children like to be one of the rabbits and play in a safe place the whole time. Some like to be one of the rabbits that get chased by the fox. Some children enjoy being a fox, moving slowly, carefully, sneaking up on the rabbits. You will need to decide what is best for your situation. There is no right or wrong way to play, EXCEPT there has to be safe place for rabbits. I think you will enjoy this game.

The second song features animals from the story plus other animals, and allows children to participate by deciding what kind of sound the animals make and put the sounds in the song. Like many of my songs, once you know the format, you can make up your own verses. Be creative!!

Growing up in England the weather would always be a surprise. It could be warm and sunny in the morning, raining by lunchtime, then cold and windy in the afternoon. What’s the weather like for you today? As I am writing this, it is warm and sunny where I live. Our podcast this time is called WEATHER, and the first song Bethany sings is called “What’s the Weather Today?” The story is called “Picnic in the Park” and teachers Miss Hannah and Miss Emily take their class to the park and have quite an adventure. Teri sings a well-known song called “Rain, Rain, Go Away.” Do you know it? Teri sings the names of the children in the story in the song. Perhaps you would like to put your own name in the song too. If you don’t know the song, you will quickly learn the words and be able to sing along with Teri.

ABC

Here is a nursery rhyme that is not very well known:

ABC, tumble down D,

The cat’s in the cupboard

And can’t see me.

 

You can have a lot of fun changing different elements of this rhyme. Here are some suggestions:

• Think of different animals to use instead of the cat
• Think of different places for the animal to be instead of the cupboard – such as in the sink, under the chair, behind the curtain etc
• Use three different letters instead of ABC. They don’t even have to consecutive letters in the alphabet, just three letters your child knows
• Put your child’s name in the rhyme –he will think it is so funny to be in the cupboard!!

Enjoy!

September is the month when school often starts up after the summer break. You may be going to school for the first time, or perhaps to a different classroom with a new teacher. In our story, Flora is going to school for the first time. You can hear what her family does to make her first day go smoothly. The podcast is called SCHOOL, and we have a song composed by my friend Linda called “I Can’t Wait” and it’s all about going to school. Were you excited for the first day of school? Did you have a backpack or a new lunchbox to take along? Then after the story, Alex sings the ABC song. I expect you know that one, so don’t forget to sing along with Alex.