Stylish Worms

With the Summer coming to an end, I would like to share a song that I composed called, "Five Little Worms Fat" which originally came from the "Five Little Snowmen" Song.

It goes something like this:
Five Little Worms Fat
All wearing a silly hat
Out came the sun
and dried up one.
(Take one worm away)
What a sad day was that.
(Continue with 4, 3, 2, 1)

I created my own stylish worms with their own silly little hats: a magician's hat, a hat that looks like Mr.Potato Head, an upside down boot, a girly fashionable hat and an Afro hat. Quite unique, but I think the children would love to choose from the five hats as it's pretty versatile! Enjoy!

Campfire Pokey

My class is getting into the theme of camping. I really needed some ideas, so I found a fun song courtesy of Story time with Miss Mollie and Story Time Katie. It's called the CAMP FIRE POKEY:

"Camping Pokey"

Sung to: "Hokey Pokey" 

You put your marshmallow in, 

You take your marshmallow out, 

You put your marshmallow in 

and you shake it all about, 

You do the campfire pokey, 

and you turn yourself around, 

And that's what it's all about, hey!

Of course I made some of my own favorite food and substituted marshmallow with potato, fish, shishkabob, chicken, corn, hot dog, hey-- may as well throw in a burger (from the last posting) and even an ice cream for the ending! Be sure to end it with a "You put your ice cream in... (Hide ice cream) HEY, what happened to my ice cream? ... IT MELTED=(" 

Burgers!

Barbecue season is here!

Brown Bun, Brown Bun, What do you see?
(Adapted from Brown Bear, Brown Bear)

Ever feel the need for a juicy burger?
Well, fear not, just make one and sing it with your kids!!!

Hopefully that'll stop my cravings! haha.

It starts with a nice sesame round bun, then comes the green crispy romaine lettuce, the orange cheddar cheese, the juicy red tomato, the sizzling brown hot patty, and some yellow Dijon mustard.

Make the story longer by asking children what they like on their burgers and ask them to stack those toppings on!

I've been so busy nowadays. I don't even know what is going on through my mind. Sometimes I'm trying to do five things at once! There are so many projects that I still want to do; however, I've been so caught up with stress.

Meanwhile...
I've been trying out a lot of new recipes. My most favorite one is waffles! I made this one for my dad. Happy Father's Day! I made green tea flavored ones. I made several pieces with food coloring as well just to see if it looked good. I may one day make some for the children at the center. I love love loveee this! =)

Speaking of Father's Day. I want to share a felt story I made a year ago. It's about a boy and his grandpa: "Something From Nothing". It's one of my most favorite book through childhood. I don't know how to explain it. But here is a little info from Chapter's website: "Throw it out!" Cries Joseph''s mother. So Joseph runs to his grandfather with his favourite blanket. Grandpa can fix anything. From the tattered blanket, Grandpa makes a handsome jacket. With a few passes of his needle, a vest becomes a Sabbath tie. And snip! Snip! A ragged handkerchief turns into a brand-new button. But when the button is lost, what''s to be done? Even Grandpa can''t make something from nothing!

There was an old lady who swallowed some bugs...
and you know what happens. This old lady jumps from her costume and is actually a FROG!

Slippery Fish

I must've re-made Slippery Fish more than five times. I upgraded to this one, where all the fishes fit within one another by fitting them in the pockets I made. I added some fabric paint to jazz it up. Simple, yet, interactive! In my version, the tuna fish gets eaten by the octopus.

Slippery fish, slippery fish, swimming in the water,Slippery fish, slippery fish, Gulp, Gulp, Gulp!Oh, no! It’s been eaten by an…

Tuna fish, tuna fish, flashing in the water,Tuna fish, tuna fish, Gulp, Gulp, Gulp!Oh, no! It’s been eaten by a…

Octopus, octopus, squiggling in the water

Octopus, octopus, Gulp, Gulp, Gulp!Oh, no! It’s been eaten by a…

Great white shark, great white shark, lurking in the water,Great white shark, great white shark, Gulp, Gulp, Gulp!Oh, no! It’s been eaten by a…

Humongous whale, humongous whale, spouting in the water,
Humongous whale, humongous whale,
Gulp! … Gulp! … Gulp! … BURP!
Pardon me!

Ouch!

This was a very adorable story that I will be sharing with the children at the center. So far, I've been struggling over my co-worker to do my circle time! Quite excited! haha.

What's it all about: Hedgehog just wants to fit into her nest after a long Winter's rest. Various items get stuck onto her back and her friends try to figure ways out to remove them, but then it gets worse...

Mushroom in the Rain

April. April calls for April Showers. One of the stories I always read around this time, is "Mushroom in the Rain".

Great introductory chant for the children: "Rain drops, Rain drops, where do they fall? They fall on ______ but that's not all..." Have these wonderful little rain drops with such a happy cheer fall on to each child's head. Sometimes I put these rain drops on the end of a fishing rod to portray its delicacy as it falls on to their shoe.

Mushroom in the Rain
If you haven't read it, I suggest you do=)

Mushroom in the rain has always been a favorite since schooling. I must have remade the story three times until I felt it was suitable for my collection. To sum up this story shortly, I found this poem online that really represented story well. Now, if I can only rap this story with feelings: 

One of the parents from work walked straight up to me one morning and said, "Lena, I have something for you." As she grabbed a box from her bag, my face lit up and I absolutely fell in love with the box. There wasn't only one but TWO beautiful boxes. Unfortunately time was a constraint and I only managed to breeze through one box.Thank you to that wonderful parent for buying those lovely curtains and showering me with these wonderful recyclable containers, I have become sane again!

In a couple of hours, I dug through my home-life art supplies and made something itching to share for tomorrow!

Alice the Camel

Alice the Camel has five humps

Alice the Camel has five humps
Alice the Camel has five humps 

So, go Alice, go. 

Alice the Camel has four humps
Alice the Camel has four humps
Alice the Camel has four humps 

So, go Alice, go. 

Alice the Camel has three humps
Alice the Camel has three humps
Alice the Camel has three humps 

So, go Alice, go. 

Alice the Camel has two humps
Alice the Camel has two humps
Alice the Camel has two humps 

So, go Alice, go. 

Alice the Camel has one hump
Alice the Camel has one hump
Alice the Camel has one hump 

Now Alice is a horse

hello gator!

I'm really into puppets. Since St. Patrick's Day is coming up, I want to share my cute little alligator finger puppet used in my five little monkeys. This little hot glue gun project inspired me to do my shark puppet which was a massive hit. The children at my center really enjoys the anticipation of the sharped teeth creatures. Feel free to steal!

Zoom Zoom Zoom!

One of the first few songs I learned when I first enrolled in the ECE field.
Simple cut out and a finger puppet with a little bit of glitter to make this song a magical ride.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

We're going to the moon.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

We're going to the moon.

If you'd like to take a trip, climb aboard my rocket ship.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

We're going to the moon.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

We're going to the moon.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

BLAST OFF!!!

Elephants

Song:

One Elephant went out to play

upon a spider's web one day.

He had such enormous fun 

that he called for another elephant to come.

HEY ELEPHANT!

Two elephants... Three elephants... Four elephants... 

Then there's five elephants and that's the end

A story I would highly recommend is "Elmer" By David McKee. It's about a colorful elephant who disguises himself to look like the other elephants. What happens when this adorable elephant look like the other elephants? I guess you'll have to read it to find out! 

Guess what song this is?

I have been meaning to finish this song for a very long time. It was originally dedicated to my friend ED. I finally completed it last night and delivered it to her today. I procrastinated quite a bit. I wanted the animals to be cut out individually instead of drawn out because I am "specific" that way. Hahaha.

Anyways, the song is "Over in the Meadow". Enjoy! 

Donuts Donuts Donuts!

Down around the corner at the bakery shop

There were lots of doughnuts with frosting on top

Along came (Child's Name) with a dollar to spare, 

She/He chose the (Color of Frosting) one and ate it with care.

Apples

There are many different apple songs, but when I entered the field of ECE, this song stuck in my head like crazy. If you have any apple songs to share, please leave a comment=)

Farmer Brown has five red apples hanging on his tree, 

Farmer Brown has five red apples hanging on his tree, 

he picked one apple and he ate it hungrily

*nomnomnom*

Continue with Farmer Brown has four, three, two, one, no more red apples...

Ladybugs

Five Little Ladybugs

Five little ladybugs climbing up a door

One flew away and then there were four

Four little ladybugs sitting on a tree

One flew away and then there were three

Three little ladybugs landed on a shoe

One flew away and then there were two

Two little ladybugs looking for some fun

One flew away and then there was one

One little ladybug sitting in the sun

She flew away and then there were none!

Rainy weather today.

Only good weather for ducks.

Five Little Ducks.

yellow felt, black sharpe, yellow feathers

Today I went to see the people who saved my friend's life. I know I'm more of a felt story person. But, I had a lot of scraps from my felts and decided to make something small. This something small turned to almost-non-existent because I got carried away with my craft materials.

  Thank you savior for saving my best friend.

It's completely pouring in Vancouver. I'm reminiscing about the good times in the summer. My friends and I expressed our artistic talents in July 2011. Bottom left is mine.

GC, WH, TL <3

I was taking some time off of my tandem felt story making. I decided to use some of my scraps to form some lovely cards for two special people I've been meaning to see. The first one is dedicated to WH. She just had a graduation that I sadly had to miss on Thursday. 

The second card I made was for my friend TL. Her birthday was on Thursday too, but she had to work. It was quite the celebration. My friend GC and I went to celebrate with these girls at ThomasHaas. Which, I must admit, if you have never been there before, you have to go there!

ThomasHaas=)

BINGO! So simple yet catchy.

I designed it to keep it fun and interactive.

Simple song for circle time: Buzz Buzz Bumble Bee, Can you say your name for me?
Or "Hicklety, Picklety Bumble Bee, Can you say your name for me? ___, ___, that's a wonderful name"

I just finished a big meal after a busy day at work today. I normally try not to stuff myself at work, but at the end of the day, I really needed to reward myself. I ended up having Indian food. The spices were so good that I lost track of how much basmati rice I consumed. I can't help it. It was so delicious. I find myself sitting here on the couch tired with an aching back. I hope I'm not coming down with anything. I just feel so exhausted. Here is a little song to go with how I feel: "There was an Old Lady".

I made this felt story a couple of years ago when I was working with the toddlers. It didn't really matter what animals you made for this story, but whatever it is, the lady was going to eat it and the children supported her diet. Instead of making her "die" like all the other lyrics, I liked to change it to "CRY" otherwise I wouldn't sleep at night.

 Despite the countless versions of "The Little Old Lady", Pam Adam's version was my most favorite (The book on the right). I really like the colors and illustrations on die-cut pages that show what she swallows. As you can see, I somewhat followed the image of the old lady in my felt story.

(*Note: image on the right) There is one felt story out there that scares me the most. I had a co-worker of mine share it one time and one toddler completely freaked out. At first, I really liked the clarity and realistic image of the old lady; however, when I found out you can place things in her mouth, that was when my imagination fell loose. This felt story is very interactive and has quality. If I had this at my center, I would use it. I would try and get over the fact that this lady is just "pretend". I hope to eventually stop shivering from looking at this felt story. Thank you RR for introducing the story. I miss you!

Valentine's

Art in picture is done by me. Lena. Others are blurred.

Valentine's Day is coming near! I am very excited indeed! We finished making all the Valentine's Day pouches within two days! Very happy. Two hearts stapled together and then fold the front. The rounder the better because it really gives the heart some attitude=) With love and heart shapes in the air, I decided to re-use scrap paper to make heart shapes for these Valentine pouches. I thought about minimizing the store bought stuff and really try to use stuff we had. Pretty cute!

Today, I was making "ROSES ARE RED, VIOLETS ARE BLUE" Poems with the children. The most popular one was, "Roses are red, Violets are blue, my feet stink, so do yours too!" Quite the hilarious afternoon.

Does anybody know any good shark songs?
The only shark song I know is the "Baby Shark Song". I edited the song a little bit just to keep it preschool friendly. So it goes from "Baby shark, Mommy shark, Daddy shark, Grandma Shark, Grandpa Shark, Going Swimming, See a Shark, Swimming fast!" And that's all I do. It's a real simple song sung by children at camp and it really gets the children moving.

I made this puppet not too long ago, it's a finger puppet with a customized opened mouth. It all started one day when I was singing Five Little Monkeys swinging on the tree. One boy told me that it'd be cool if there were five alligators and a snappy shark who came to snap up the alligators. So... The next day, that's what I did. What can you really do with a shark? Except for that well-known Slippery Fish song.

I decided to read a story, called "Smiley Shark" By Ruth Galloway. It was a bit similar to that one story, "Big Al" By Andrew Clements Yoshi. Both stories are awesome by the way. It is about a heroic fish who ends up saving the day and makes friends.

Since Valentine's Day is coming up, our week is filled with the theme of feelings! So far today we talked about what makes us happy and sad. We will save one entire day all devoted to angry. There are so much books about anger, which really entices and relates children to that feeling. One good book I have to mention is "Cool Down and Work Through Anger". My friend HW read this with the children and I thought she did an awesome job. Be sure to act out the actions and let them try out the "cool downs". It really works! Well, at least I think I do=) Right now, I'm sitting at home watching the food network while I'm making these "Feelings Book". I should have stuck with the main three- happy, sad and angry, but instead of keeping it simple, I wanted to share it all since all the pictures are too cute! I'm thinking about having the children talk about what makes them feel happy, sad, excited, proud, etc. I'll be there to jot their words down. Thank you to RA for the resource!

Frogs

The Wide-Mouthed Frog has always been a favorite of mine. It's a hard cover copy. There is one word to describe it: Quality. The animals in the story really pop-up in 3D mode. And don't forget to use your silly voices for these delightful creatures. The children really get into it. Especially at the ending=)

And why not add the "Five Green and Speckled Frogs" song to go with it? I made these little guys a while back. Took me a while to get their fingers right. I would say it's more of the back-side view of the frogs. I added some glittered spots on it's back and there it is, some speckled-ness.

Jump frogs, Jump!

It was my last day of visit at the preschool. I made my beloved-it teachers some personalized Thank you cards. This was the first time I've ever made Thank you cards and I wanted to make them special. Each card has a cartoon felt cut-out of the teacher along with a memorable object I remember sharing with them. I learned a lot from these wonderful teachers. I am glad that I had this opportunity to learn and refreshen my roots. It's not often that you get to visit a center and leave with a heap-load of ideas.

Thank you wonderful teachers! I know I will be seeing you soon during the annual Inservice.

Inspired by Charlotte Diamond's "I am a Pizza"

Need I say more? It is the best song of all time. I use to sing it with the toddlers and they would love it. Nowadays, I sing it here and there to get my preschoolers going. It was our baking day today and we made pizza for snack. I had to bring this song out to celebrate such an occasion.

Chinese New Year

Gung Hay Fat Choi! This year I went through my stash of books and found my "Bringing in the New Year!" I fancy this book very much because it was the first Chinese New Year book I've ever owned.

Chinese New Year brings back memories. Mainly memories of trying to find the right story or props to better educate the children. I made a Chinese New Year felt piece that I incorporated into several activities. Story is still in the process=) but, here's to share! 

Holiday Baking

It has been quite a while since I updated my blogspot. I just have been so busy with my schedule. Currently enrolled in Langara College's Post Basic Program. I am doing my practicum at one of the most amazing site. I was working on several different activities that I will be sharing after this month blows over.


Meanwhile, I would like to share one of my over-due highlights. I have been working on my baking skills. Every winter holiday, I would bake shortbread. Not just any simple shortbread, MATCHA GREEN TEA SHORTBREAD! I decided to share my recipe me M. She and I decided to bake for a Kensington Community Center's Craft Fair 2011. I don't have an awesome picture to show for this amazing shortbread sale. It went out like hotcakes. A little blurry, but this would have to do:


As for the snowflake sugar cookies. M and I took a lot of time flooding them with icing. The sugar cookies recipe was a special one with a hint of orange zest. I felt in love with them immediately. I even shared some for my children at the daycare. I shared the shortbread recipe to the teachers that month. We ended up making a batch of shortbread for the Family Holiday Potluck. Quite the hit I must say.