Autumn has
arrived here in Chicago – it’s in the 50’s and I had to get up in the night and
add a blanket! A chilly hello from Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup to those of you in the Southwest where it’s in the high
90’s and hotter, and everyone in between! Perhaps it’s time to
break out the apple songs – and you know that when that happens, the pumpkins
and falling leaves can’t be far behind! Today
I give you one of each!
THE APPLE TREE
You’ll find this song on my “HUM: Highly Usable Music!” recording or you can give it a listen on my website’s Song of the Month page for
September 2004.
I use a flannelboard
visual – a leafy tree I painted on flannel and felt apples for each child to
stick on the tree before we start to sing.
For instructions on how to make an inexpensive flannelboard go to my May2014 blog.
The only “tricky” part to this song is
putting 2 smiling apples onto the board without the children seeing you do
it. I wait until all the apples are
passed out and sneak my 2 apples (smiling faces down) onto the treetop as the
last few children are putting their apples on the tree. Haven’t been caught in 15 years! You can do it, too!
Tell the children, “Sometimes, in the Autumn, the apples get so happy
that they start to smile! Yes,
SMILE! Do you think WE have any smiling
apples?” Then we turn several over to
see if any smile – of course, I finally pick one that I added. They are amazed!
“Is it high or low on the tree? It’s high, so point way up high!”
Lyrics:
Way up high in the apple tree
One little apple smiled at me
I shook that tree as hard as I could –
Down came the apple – mmm it sure looked good!
MOVEMENTS:
Line 1: Point way up high!
Line 2: Put pointer fingers at each side of your smiling mouth!
LIne 3: Clasp hands together in front of body and shake like crazy!
Line 4: Drop one hand from overhead to floor
Repeat again – with the other apple. Then count how many apples are UNDER the tree
– two! Sing:
Two little apples under the tree
One for you, and one for me!
Two little apples, crunch, crunch, crunch!
Two little apples – let’s eat them for our lunch, YUM!
Then you might do any of the wonderful
apple activities in Deb Chitwood’s jam-packed blog of Montessori-Inspired AppleActivities – posted just yesterday on PreKandKSharing!
MOTHER NATURE!
 |
| BIG LEAVES |
This chant will tickle the funny-bone of
your children – even if they’ve never heard of Mother Nature. They just love the sneeze part!
Keep a nice steady rhythm for first two lines
– we tap the beat on our legs, moving hands to the floor for “crinkled on the ground.” Throw hands high and make big swirls of
falling leaves. For the final line turn
your hands palms-up questioningly – and end with a big sneeze into your
elbow!
Check out even more instructions on my October 2011 SOTM page.
No tune – just speak it clearly
and dramatically. It’ll be on my new cd,
“Polka Dots!” Watch for a November
release date!
Red leaves, yellow leaves, orange leaves, brown
Big leaves, little leaves, crinkled on the ground
Everywhere are falling leaves –
Mother Nature, did you sneeze? AH-CHOO!
You can also do this one with a flannelboard tree and felt leaves for visuals!
A VERY FINE DAY! By Carole Stephens c.2014
This new song celebrates both apples and pumpkins. We put one hand to our forehead for the “looking”
verse, then go walking around the room for the “come on down…” verse. Then pantomime the action, reaching up high,
then bending low to pick apples, or reaching low to snip a stem and put a heavy
pumpkin in a wagon. It’s such fun!
The tune? Only for
PreKandKSharing followers, you get a sneak preview of this song on my new “Polka
Dots” recording (scheduled for November 2014 release) for FREE!
 |
| Reach up high! |
Where, oh where do apples grow?
Where, oh where do apples grow?
Where, oh where do apples grow?
Way down yonder on the apple trees.
Come on down to the apple orchard! (3x)
It’s a very fine day!
Reach up high then put it in a basket! (3x)
It’s a very fine day!
Where, oh where do pumpkins grow? (3x)
Way down yonder on the pumpkin vines!
Come on down to the pumpkin patch! (3x)
 |
| Come on down! |
It’s a very fine day!
Snip the stem and put it in a wagon! (3x)
It’s a very fine day!
It’s a very fine day for being outside
A very fine day to take a ride
To a pumpkin patch or an orchard wide
It’s just a very fine day!
OK – you are now armed and ready for autumn songs. Need more?
Check out the Song of the Month Archive on my Macaroni Soup
website.
Or check my posts on this blog:
September 2012 – Season Sings! Leaves, Bats, Pumpkins!
October 2012 – Making BOO Fun!
I would love to know some of YOUR favorite songs for Fall/Autumn! Come on - SHARE!
NAEYC 2014 ALERT: I will be presenting a workshop at the NAEYC conference in Dallas in November AND sharing a booth with 2 incredibly talented children's music educators: Ellen Allard and Music With Mar's Maryann Harman! Check out our FB page: Musicians at NAEYC!
Yours for an Autumn Song!
"Miss Carole" Stephens
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