The Bunny Song

In this song, one child begins hopping around inside the Circle. After the first verse, this child picks another child to join him or her for the 2nd verse; these two pick two more for the 3rd verse; and so on, until everyone who wants to is up and hopping! The end has a little fanciful flourish, a "command" to "Jump up and touch the ceiling!" I often throw in a "Freeze!" and "Hop!"  near the end, too.

Lyrics

_______ was a bunny,
hopping down the road.
Hopping very quickly,
not carrying a load.
But s(he) started feeling lonesome
and wanting a Bunny Friend,
so he hopped up to ______'s door and said,
"Hop with me till the end!"

"Now there were two bunnies..."

etc until the last verse, which says, 
"Now there's lots of bunnies
all hopping down the road,
hopping very quickly,
not carrying a load.
"And nobody's feeling lonesome anymore,
cause they've gpt so many friends,

and those bunnies keep hopping down the road
and that's how...the...stooory 
ends!

One Fish

This song is pretty self-explanatory. The only thing I would add is, if you have a Circle with too many children for the song, and don't want anyone to be left out, you can have the fish couple have TWO (or more) babies, and also pick out more than one seahorse and crab, later. :-) 

Lyrics


Well, Lizzie was lonely and
did not know what to do.
Her friends were not home
and her TV show was through.

She thought, I need a new friend,
and then she made a wish,
and went right to the pet store
and bought herself a fish.

One fish,
she put it in a dish.
It swam around and swam around
she threw is a kiss.

But the fish was lonely too
and it needed someone new,
So Lizzie got another fish
and then there were two!

Two fish,
swimming in the dish.
Lizzie was so happy,
that she got her wish!

The fish looked hungry
so she sprinkled them some food.
They ate it up and smiled at her.
She knew it tasted good!

The two fish had a baby soon
and now there were three
swimming in the fishbowl
so happily.

Three fish,
swimming in a dish.
They needed an aquarium,
That was the next wish!

She bought one at the pet store
the very next day,
and also bought a crab
and a seahorse that day.

Now she had three fish,
a seahorse and a crab,
what was the next animal
she would grab?

Lizzie saw a whale
when she went to Monterey.
When she put it in her aquarium,
and all the water splashed out
and all the fishies swam away!

 

 

Dinosaur Egg Song

Again, pretty self-explanatory. Obviously, if you have a lot of children in your Circle, be ready for a pretty loud ROAR at the end! 

Lyrics

 

Some dinosaur eggs lay on the ground,
on the ground, on the ground,
Some dinosaur eggs lay on the ground,
in the middle of the forest.

Those dinosaur eggs went crack crack crack!
They started to hatch, they went crack crack crack!
Those dinosaur eggs went crack crack crack!
and some baby dinosaurs came out.


The baby dinosaurs started to crawl, started to crawl, started to crawl
The baby dinosaurs started to crawl
And they opened up their mouths and went “Squeak!”


But
-- they ate BIG DINNERS every day, every day, every day

They ate his BIG DINNERS every day,
and they grew and grew and grew.

They grew into some mighty T-Rexes, mighty T-Rexes, mighty T-Rexes.
They grew into some mighty T-Rexes
And they opened their mouths and ROARED!


The Hat without a Face

Yep, it's this one! You have to have a had with enough holes between the stitches that the children can see, although to an outsider it looks like they can't.
Needless to say, they love this!

Lyrics
(to come. There are some new verses on the recording. I'll transcribe them soon.) 

School Bus Driver Song

The "designated driver" goes around and picks people to get on the bus. Needless to say, everyone wants to be the driver.

Lyrics

She’s the school bus driver,
the school bus driver.
She stops at every house,
and picks up all the kids 
and drives them safely to school.

She stops at number one,
she stops at number one,
she stops at number one,
and ________ gets on the bus.

 

She stops at number two,
she stops at number two,
she stops at number two,
and ________ gets on the bus.


She stops at number three,
she stops at number three,
she stops at number three,
and ________ gets on the bus.

She stops at number four,
she stops at number four,
she stops at number four,
and ________ gets on the bus.

etc, for as long as the children seem to be
enjoying it and not getting restless.

All of the children
are now on board,
riding on the bus
and heading toward
the school they all go to,
and now the bus ride ends,

and all the kids get off
and walk in to school
with their friends.


("End by saying in a kind, "teacherly" voice,
Good Morning, children!
Welcome to the classroom! ")

Circus Song

I've done this song with some very small children, and I've had to SHOW the Bear-musician how to be sort of a "Bear-Charmer" (the Bear usually gets it ok); and get down on my hands and knees and show them how a lion walks, show the lion-tamer how to hold a big (invisible) Hula Hoop that the lions can pretend to jump through. The later verses are pretty easy, and it's amazing how clown-like children become, just through mannerisms!

Even most of the small children have really "gotten" everything. The Circle becomes the Circus Audience a couple times, and most of the children DO clap!
I've LOVED doing this song!

Lyrics

Well, I went to the circus and it was such fun!
It was the best time ever for everyone!
I went with my mom and  I went with my dad,
and we all had the best time that we’ve ever had!

First there was a bear and a guy with a horn.
The guy played his instrument and the bear began to turn.
He was dancing to the music, and he danced around and round.
And when he was done the circus tent filled with everybody's clapping sound!

Then came a lion tamer and three big lions.
I didn’t know if he could get 'em to do tricks, but he sure was tryin'.
He got those lions to jump through a hoop!
I clapped some more when I saw that merry lion troop!

Then came the clowns, and oh, they were so funny!
They walked in a very silly way,  and one hopped like a bunny!
I laughed until I had a belly ache
when one clown hit another one in the face with a cake!

Oboy, and there were horsies!
They galloped so fast!
I could hardly follow them
as they ran past!
I listened to them neighhhhh
and I listened to them prance
and I felt like going out and doing
my own horsie dance!

Then came the acrobats,
doing somersaults!
Some of them did cartwheels
and some big jumps and vaults!
When I grow up, I wanna be one too!
Then the circus ended and our family knew what to do.

We had to gallop to the car really quick,
so I played like a horsie! Yes I got to do that trick!
Mom and dad, they played like horsies too!
We had so much fun at the circus, next week
we’re going to the zoo!

 

The Bird Song (One Bird)

This song, perhaps obviously, came out of my own love of Nature. It's rooted in my memory of the first time I ever saw a great valley surrounded by, well, the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, when I was around ten. I try to encourage the children to really be there, to make this beauty they are imaging, real for them. 

Lyrics

 

 One bird takes off from her tree,

and flies all around the green valley.

She flies so fast and she flies so high,

She wants to see everything by and by.

She loves the view, such a beautiful view,
and she picks out a friend
to fly along with her
and see it, too. 

Two birds, then four birds, etc, etc.

 

The Lunchbox and the Hat

Requires the two small props mentioned in the title.
You can use different verbs in subsequent verses, depending on how the child is moving, or just arbitrarily: skipped, danced, spun, moseyed, etc.
It's funny how almost all preschoolers show something is heavy  by raising is high up in the air. 

Lyrics

Well, Norman (or anyone) picked up his lunchbox
and his old straw hat,
and he walked all over town.
But the lunchbox got heavy 
and the hat had a hole,
so he decided he would pass them around.
And he gave them to...
(more verses with different names) 

Cowboys, Cowgirls, and Coyotes

Coyotes are in the middle of the Circle. They're sleeping until the chorus. Then they howl. Then they go back to sleep until the next chorus. Stick horses can be used by the cowboys/girls, IF you have enough for 4 children to "ride" at a time. Otherwise, pantomime is fine.

Lyrics

Some cowboys and cowgirls rode alone in the desert,
all on their horsies were loping along.
The sun it was rising, the desert was lovely,
when some coyotes woke up and started singing this song:
Awoo, awoo, this is our home!
You don't belong here so go on and roam!
We are the denizens of this desert,
So go on, start riding away!
Then the cowboys and cowgirls, they said to their horsies,
Turn around,  horses, go back where we live.
Let's leave these coyotes here in their desert,
Their privacy is something that we can give.

repeat chorus.

 

IF AN ELEPHANT COULD JUMP

Total silliness. Children usually do literal actions, which...well, you'll see.

Lyrics

If an elephant could jump,
If an elephant could jump,
If an elephant could jump,
How would he do it?

And if a frog had a trunk
If a froggy had a trunk,
If a frog had a trunk,
How would he trumpet?
(Trumpet-and-hop, Trumpet-and-hop)

If an Ant could roar,
Well, if an Ant could roar,
If an And could roar,
What would it sound like?

And if a Fish could snore,
If a Fish could snore,
If a Fish could snore,
What would that be like?

If a Dinosaur could fit into a cup,
If a Dinosaur could fit into a cup,
If a Dinosaur could fit into a cup,
How would he do it?

 

Well, if a Dog could meow,
He’d sound like this:
If a Pig could sing “ABC”,
he’d sound like this:

If a Snake could jump rope
What would that be like?
And if a Lion had a shell
like a Turtle,
How would he go inside it,

If a Mouse was the size of a House, 
Could he get into his hole?

And what if a Ladybug
was a Man?
What if a Ladybug was
a Man?

If a Chicken gave milk.
If a Cow laid eggs—
Well, wouldn’t it all  be lots of fun! 

The Spinning Song

I'm not a prolific songwriter; it's taken many years to come up with these, and a few other, "keepers." This school year, 2019-20, I've only conceived a couple of new ones. One is a simple singing of familiar melodies, like "ABC"; but laughing, instead of singing words, the whole way through! 
The other one evolved out of children's requests, because, well, they love to spin! :-)

Lyrics

Spinning and spinning and spinning,
spinning and spinning around.
Spinning and spinning and spinning around,
and then
falling down on the ground!

Resting and resting and resting,
resting there down on the ground.
Resting because we've been spinning so hard,
now we're ready to get up and start
spinning around, again.

Spinning and spinning and spinning,
spinning and spinning some more.
Spinning and spinning and spinning around,
and then
falling down on the floor!

This time,
seeping and sleeping and sleeping,
sleeping and starting to snore.
Sleeping because we've been spinning so hard,
and then going back to our stickers.

(I don't go beyond two "spinning sessions". 
Ps: This song may evolve some more.) 

Links to Two Songs We Do, by Other Writers

Willoughby, Wallaby, Woo by Raffi
We do it a little differently. I just sing, "Willoughby, Wallaby, Winda (for example), an elephant jumped on _______ [children sound out the rhyme and shout, "Linda!"] Then, Linda jumps up and runs three "elephant circles"around the Circle, as I count circles, playing a banjo accompaniment. Then, I say, "And the elephant is flying through the gate! It's in the room, over Linda's head. And now...the elephant JUMPS ON LINDA, and she FALLS DOWN!" 
Children do these very dramatic, but always, somehow, safe, falls!
I try to impress on them that this "pretending" is something we call acting !

Fire Truck by Ivan Ulz
This one is very close to the way we do it. It's another popular song for us. Some fifteen years ago, a boy made his Dad bring me the CD, so that I could learn how to play and sing it for his class. It's remained popular all this time! 


This may be it for awhile, folks! We have a few more songs, but the ones in demand these days are all up here, I think! Thanks for visiting this site. Hope it's helped!