Yesterday I shared some of my favorite songs to play when we're using recorded music at storytime. To add to the list, here are some great traditional and camp songs that are perfect for when you don't have a CD player handy. A lot of these are perfect for school or scouting visits. Most of them work wonderfully to start off slow while the kids learn the motions and then get faster and faster until the audience is a sweaty, giggling mess. If I missed your favorite, please leave a comment! I'm always on the lookout for more activities like these.
"Johnny Works with One Hammer," perfect for a construction themed storytime (pair it with "Five Little Nails"). Or anytime you want to get a little bit silly. The Wiggles popularized this song so the odds are good some of the kids will know it.
"Chester Have You Heard About Harry" is another song I learned at camp in elementary school. My public school sent all the fifth graders to a sleep-away camp in the fall for 2 nights as a field trip, and one of the activities was singing this song over and over and over and over again. There are lots of different lyrics. The version I learned is similar to this video except that I learned "I hear he knows how to wear a rose" but I think "touch his toes" is actually better. I've also heard "how to wear his clothes" but we don't need people picturing a naked guy while we're trying to talk about the library, so I think that's out.
"Sleeping Bunnies" How did I miss this one growing up, in library school, and until now? Thanks to the Storytime Underground crowd for mentioning it on Twitter. It's awesome! The kids love anything where they pretend to be asleep and then "wake up" and go bananas! This version includes other animals and you can make up your own verses too. My friend Miss Mary has a video where she shows you how to play this song on the ukelele, if you are not incredibly untalented musically like myself.
"Johnny Works with One Hammer," perfect for a construction themed storytime (pair it with "Five Little Nails"). Or anytime you want to get a little bit silly. The Wiggles popularized this song so the odds are good some of the kids will know it.
"Hi, My Name is Joe and I Work in a Button Factory" I actually learned this song at summer camp as a rising fourth grader and have very fond memories of singing it in the mess hall. The guy in this video is crazy animated, so you've been warned.
"Chester Have You Heard About Harry" is another song I learned at camp in elementary school. My public school sent all the fifth graders to a sleep-away camp in the fall for 2 nights as a field trip, and one of the activities was singing this song over and over and over and over again. There are lots of different lyrics. The version I learned is similar to this video except that I learned "I hear he knows how to wear a rose" but I think "touch his toes" is actually better. I've also heard "how to wear his clothes" but we don't need people picturing a naked guy while we're trying to talk about the library, so I think that's out.
"Sleeping Bunnies" How did I miss this one growing up, in library school, and until now? Thanks to the Storytime Underground crowd for mentioning it on Twitter. It's awesome! The kids love anything where they pretend to be asleep and then "wake up" and go bananas! This version includes other animals and you can make up your own verses too. My friend Miss Mary has a video where she shows you how to play this song on the ukelele, if you are not incredibly untalented musically like myself.
"If You're Happy and You Know It" I start all my 2's and 3's storytimes with this one. I like to do silly verses, preferably with animal actions like "flap your wings," "shake your tail," etc. I also enjoy gross motor ones (jump up high, spin around) or even smaller ones like trying to get them to blink their eyes. I end with "SHOUT HOORAY" and we all bring our arms up at "HOORAY!"
I haven't thought of "Hi My name is Joe and I work in a button factory" in years! Oh man, good memories and one I can definitely bring to storytime.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing all these!