Finger and hand play A1

A blackbird with a yellow bill

A caterpillar crawled

A chubby little snowman

A crocodile swam in the water

A farmyard goodnight

A hedgehog is very prickly

A little child’s walk

A little fish was swimming

A little garden seed

A little green frog

A speckled green frog

A mouse lives in a little hole

A smile is like the sunshine

A tiny tiny mouse

A true story / The adventures of a Turkish flea

Last updated: 5/8/2023 9:54 AM

These songs are nursery rhymes and other traditional songs compiled,

illustrated and with music arranged by Dany Rosevear.

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To listen to music from these songs click on 🔊

To watch the author sing a song click on the title at:

You are free to copy, distribute, display and perform these works under the following conditions:

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· you may not use this work for commercial purposes

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· any of these can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder

Your fair use and other rights are no way affected by the above.

A blackbird with a yellow bill 🔊

One of my favourite birds for its song especially as part of the dawn chorus.

Music by Dany Rosevear.

1. Open and close thumb and forefinger of left hand. 2. Place hand on right arm. 3. Move hand to right. 4. Shake finger and put sleeping hands to the side of the head.

A blackbird with a yellow bill

Hopped upon my window sill.

He cocked his little head

And said,

"Aren't you ashamed

You sleepy head!

Aren't you ashamed

You sleepy head?"

A caterpillar crawled 🔊

A Springtime finger play while learning about metamorphosis and change.

1. Creep fingers up one arm. 2. Place one hand over opposite fist. 3. Twirl finger round. 4. Put hands to cheek. 5. Put hand to mouth. 5. Open hands near eyes, draw sun in a circle. 6. . Spread fingers, hook thumbs then flap hands to fly away .

A caterpillar crawled to the top of a tree,

“I think I’ll take a nap,” says he.

So under a leaf he began to creep

To spin his cocoon, then he fell asleep.

All winter long he slept in his bed,

‘Til spring came along one day and said,

“Wake up, wake up, little sleepyhead,

Wake up, it’s time to get out of bed!”

So, he opened his eyes that sunshiny day,

Wow! He was a butterfly, and flew away!

A chubby little snowman O

Finger play for a snowy day!

1. Hold arms in a circle to make a fat tummy 2. With the left hand make a fist with the thumb sticking out 3. Make a bunny with bent fingers of the right hand, make it hop

4. Turn palms upward and shrug in disbelief 5. Rub tummy 6. Hand to eyes and look around 7. Make the bunny hand hop towards the snowman hand 8. Bunny eats the carrot with two small bites and then one big bite.

A chubby little snowman, had a carrot nose.

Along came a bunny, and what do you suppose?

That hungry little bunny, looking for his lunch;

Ate that snowman's carrot nose

Nibble, nibble, CRUNCH!

A crocodile swam in the water O

Be patient and there may well be an answer to your problems!

1. Make swimming motions 2. Arms open like a crocodile’s mouth. 3. Place on hand on top of the other with thumbs out and turning. 4. Move hands up and down. 5. Arms close. 6. Put hands to cheek. 7. Arms open. 8. Place hands as in 3 and wiggle away.

A crocodile swam in the water,

His mouth was open wide,

A fish swam along in the water,

And he swam right inside.

The crocodile's jaws shut tight,

The fish slept inside all night,

The crocodile yawned in the morning light...

And the fish swam away out of sight!

A farmyard goodnight

A dear night time hand play.

Point to each finger on one hand and then the other as each animal is named. On the last couplet entwine fingers and then place hands to cheek.

In the farmyard at the end of the day,

All the animals politely say,

"Thank you for my food today."

The cow says, "Moo!"

The pigeons, "Coo!"

The sheep says, “Baa!”

The lamb says, “Maa!”

The hen “Cluck, cluck, cluck!”

“Quack!” says the duck.

The dog, “Bow-wow!”

The cat, “Meow!”

The horse, “Neigh!”

The pig grunts,”Oink!”

Then the barn is locked up tight,

And the farmer says, “Goodnight!”

A hedgehog is very prickly O

Add new verses and actions such as: A spider is very tickly, A baby is very cuddly, A frog is very jumpy.

Sing this to the tune of ‘One finger and thumb keep moving’; words gby Sue Nichols.

1. Interlace hands with fingers up. 2. Place one hand on top of the other, make thumbs’ swim’. 3. Open and close palms of hand. 4. Open and close thumb and forefinger. 5. Move arm like a snake. 6. Wiggle finger.

A hedgehog is very prickly,

It couldn’t be anything else!

A fish is very slippery,

It couldn’t be anything else!

A crocodile’s very snappy,

It couldn’t be anything else!

A crab is very nippy,

It couldn’t be anything else!

A snake is very hissy,

It couldn’t be anything else!

A worm is very wiggly,

It couldn’t be anything else!

A little child’s walk 🔊

Or ‘A little boy’s walk” A hand play from Emilie Poulssen’s ‘Finger-play for nursery and kindergarten’ published 1889, with beautifully illustrated with hand movements.

Find instructions at: https://archive.org/details/fingerplaysfornu00poulrich .

A little child went walking,

One lovely summer day,

S/he saw a little rabbit

That quickly hopped away;

S/he saw a shining river

Go winding in and out,

And little fishes in it,

Were swimming all about.

And slowly slowly turning,

The great wheel of the mill

And then the tall church steeple,

The little church so still;

The bridge above the water,

And when s/he stopped to rest,

S/he saw among the bushes

A wee ground sparrow’s nest.

And as s/he watched the birdies

Above the tree tops fly,

S/he saw the clouds a-sailing

Across the sunny sky.

S/he saw the insects playing;

The flowers that summer brings;

S/he said, “I’ll go tell mamma!

I’ve seen so many things!”

A little fish was swimming 🔊

This hand play requires a little dexterity! The emphasis is on comparative size.

From ‘Sing a song One’ published 1978 by ILEA. Dany Rosevear added the music.

1. One finger of left hand, fore finger and thumb of right hand. Right hand swallows left and then swims on. 2. Fore finger and thumb of right hand, fore finger, middle finger and thumb of left hand. Left hand swallows left and then swims on. 3. Huge

A little fish was swimming,

When another came along.

He swallowed up that little fish,

And carried swimming on.

That other fish was swimming,

When a big fish came along.

He swallowed up that other fish,

And carried swimming on.

That big fish was swimming,

When a huge fish came along.

He swallowed up that big fish,

And carried swimming on.

That huge fish was swimming,

When a whale came along.

He swallowed up that huge fish,

And carried swimming on.

A little garden seed 🔊

A garden hand play from the delightful ‘Pat-a-cake and Beyond’ collection: http://foreverychild.ca/pdf/pat-a-cake.pdf .

Music by Dany Rosevear.

1. Close right hand. 2. Place fist on left hand. 3. Make sun with arms circled around head. 4. Fingers wiggle. 5. Wiggle fingers downwards then back and forth. 6. Open closed hand. 7. Move hand with fingers together upwards then spread fingers.

A little garden seed,

Is lying in its bed;

A warm yellow sun

Is shining overhead.

Down came the raindrops,

Dancing to and fro;

The little seed awakens,

And then it starts to grow!

A little green frog

This hand play game can also be used as a baby bouncing game.

1. Use hand for the leaf and forefinger of the other hand for the frog 2. Place on hand on top of the other with thumbs out and turning to make fish swim 3. Clap hands for the splash and throw out hands for the splash 4. Hop as before.

A little green frog in a pond am I;

Hoppity, hoppity, hop.

I sit on a little leaf, high and dry

And watch all the fishes as they swim by -

Splash! How I make the water fly!

Hoppity, hoppity, hop.

A mouse lives in a little hole O

Keep mouse safe from the cat.

1. Wiggle thumb and pop it in closed fist 2. Cover fist with other hand 3.&4. Lower voice and put finger to mouth 5. Thumb pops out 6. Thumb ‘creeps’ in palm of hand, beckon 7. Thumb ‘creeps’ in palm of hand, indicate cat’s whiskers 8. Throw out hand, look puzzled 9. Cover ‘mouse’ in fist.

A mouse lives in a little hole,

Lives softly in a little hole.

When all is quiet as quiet can be,

Out pops he!

Creep, little mouse, come along to me,

Creep, little mouse, I’ve got cake for tea.

Puss, Puss, Puss, Puss, where is the little mouse?

Safe, safe, safe, safe in his little house!

A smile is like the sunshine 🔊

A simple song of good cheer written by Anna Johnson, 1892-1979 with music by Grietje Terburg Rowley, born 1927. It is published in the ‘Children’s songbook’ part of a comprehensive Mormon’s music library: https://www.lds.org/music/text/childrens-songbook/a-smile-is-like-the-sunshine?lang=eng&_r=1

1. Draw smile and a circle. 2. Wiggle fingers. 3. Point to eyes an make fore fingers twinkle. 4. Frown, make a shooing movement with hands, smile.

A smile is like the sunshine;

It brightens up the day.

It gives the eye a twinkle

And chases frowns away.

A tiny tiny worm 🔊

For the very young. From the classic collection ‘This little Puffin’.

Music by Dany Rosevear.

1. Wriggle right index finger along the floor. 2. Put finger to lips. 3. Make a hole with left thumb and index finger. 4. Wiggle finger into hole. 5. Put finger to lips.

A tiny, tiny worm

Wriggled along the ground

It wriggled along like this

Without a sound.

It came to a tiny hole,

A tiny hole in the ground,

It wiggled right inside,

Without a sound.

A true story / The adventures of a Turkish flea 🔊

I loved adventures when I was young and International work camps gave me the opportunity to travel to Poland, Finland, Turkey and other countries where we met young folk from around the world and immersed ourselves in voluntary work of one kind or another. My guitar invariably travelled with me. My return from Turkey to teacher training college prompted this song decades later, fortunately I didn’t also bring back the bed bugs that infested one sleeping stopover in Turkey!

Dramatize the story of the flea using fingers and hands (see video).

Once I went to Istanbul, where a little flea,

Hopped into my rucksack and hitched a ride with me.

When that rucksack was unpacked it jumped into my sink.

And do you know where it went next?

Well, this is what I think;

Down the plughole, down the drain,

Down the river, off to Spain,

Where it met a great, big whale

And rode upon its tail.

Crossed the oceans far and wide,

Then it hopped ashore and cried,

“Dear Whale this is quite wonderful,

I’m now back home in Istanbul!”

SPOKEN:

Are you laughing, do you wink?

It is quite true the flea swirled down the sink;

But if you want the whole truth, plain and pure,

Only the flea knows, that’s for sure!

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