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All Aboard!

Book: Clickety Clack by Robert Spence, Amy Spence, and Margaret Spangler

Assign children the part of "Clickety clack, clickety clack" when you read the book. Children can simply say the recurring line or clap the beat or rhythm or play it on sticks or other small instruments.

Recording: This Train from American Railroad Classics. Artist: Craig Duncan. Download it here.

Create a “riding the train story” and add beat movements.

Oh no! A Caboose is loose!

Children make a line and follow the “engine” while singing the song Little Red Caboose. At the end of the song, the caboose separates from the train and becomes the engine. Repeat the game until all children have had a turn to be the engine.

Captain Go Sidetrack Your Train

What train noises can you make?

Tell Me a Story

Three Bears With a Beat

Allow children to participate by patting the beat and saying the sounds associated with each character: papa bear (Grr! Grr!); mama bear (Ahh! Ahh!); wee bear (Hmph! - cross arms).

Sing Me a Story

Book: The Crabfish by John Feierabend

Singing Game: Hello Mr. Crab!

Place pictures of a crab on the floor. Children stand next to a crab and sing the song. At the end of the song, children walk to another crab and sing the song again. Repeat many times.

Animal Time

Book: Over in the Grasslands by Anna Wilson and Allison Bartlett (A great singing and counting book. Children will automatically join in about half way through the 1st "singing" of this book.)

Book: Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen and Kevin Waldron (Use for vocal exploration. Have the children follow the trail of the fly with their voices.)

Sound Effects

Book: Inside a House That is Haunted by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Designate sound effects (or assign instruments) for all the characters

Hand - knock on floor

Spider - blrlrlrlrlrlrlr (make hand drop to the floor)

Ghost  - shout “Boo!”

Cat - high-pitched “mew”

Bats - rub palms together to sound like wings

Owl - high-pitched “Who-Who's there?”

Mummy - low droning mmwammm, mmwammm

Skeleton - make tongue clicks while rattling your bones

Monster - hands make a stomping motion on legs

A Moving Story

Book: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Recording: Forgotten Dreams by Leroy Anderson. Download here.

The Snowy Day can be read while the recording is playing.

After reading the book, children can pantomime the story while the listening to the recording.