Fall, Rhymes and Poems

Autumn /Fall Rhymes and Songs for Preschoolers

Here are some cute autumn-themed finger and action rhymes for preschoolers. Get ready for falling autumn leaves, pumpkins, and flying bats! Includes fun rhymes to get those fingers wiggling with “Five Little Leaves” and “Five Little Pumpkins” and action rhymes to help with coordination.

Rhymes

FIVE LITTLE LEAVES (Finger Rhyme)

Five little leaves falling from a tree. (hold up 5 fingers)

The first one says, “You can’t catch me!” (wiggle thumb)

The second one says, “There’s a chill in the air!” (wiggle pointer finger)

The third one says, “But we don’t care!” (wiggle middle finger)

The fourth one says “Hello” to the ground. (wiggle ring finger)

The fifth one says, “We make a crunching sound!” (wiggle pinky)

Whoosh goes the wind, blowing all around. (wave hand around)

And the five little leaves land safe and sound. (hand open flat, palm facing up)

(c) Imaginations Running Wild

Five Little Leaves Poem

FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS (Finger Rhyme)

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate. (hold up 5 fingers)
The first one said “Oh my it’s getting late.” (wiggle thumb)
The second one said “There are witches in the air!” (wiggle pointer finger)
The third one said “But we don’t care!” (wiggle middle finger)
The fourth one said “Let’s run and run and run!” (wiggle ring finger)
The fifth one said “I’m ready for some fun.” (wiggle pinky)
Ooooooooooooo went the wind and out went the light (wave hand around)
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight. (roll hands in fist over fist motion)

PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN

Pumpkin, pumpkin
Sat on a wall
(hold one arm straight in front of you to be the wall then place a fist on top of wall)
Pumpkin, pumpkin
tip and fall

(rock fist back and forth and fall off “wall”)

Pumpkin, pumpkin

roll down the street

(hand over hand rolling motion)

Pumpkin, pumpkin

don’t squish my feet!

(throw arms up in the air, and shout)

PUMPKIN CHANT (clap your hands in time with the chant)

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin bread

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin head

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin pie

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin eye

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin stew

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin BOO!

(c) Jane Willis Johnston

Pumpkin Chant lyrics

SONGS

-BATS ARE FLYING-

(tune of Are You Sleeping?)

Bats are flying, bats are flying
In the sky, in the sky
A-swooping and a-soaring
A-swooping and a-soaring
Way up high, way up high

(c) Imaginations Running Wild

-If You Are You Know It Fall Leaves Edition-

Verse 1:

If you’re happy and you know it, catch the leaves. (clap hands)

If you’re happy and you know it, catch the leaves. (clap hands)

If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it. (point to smile)

If you’re happy and you know it, catch the leaves. (clap hands)

Verse 2:

If you’re happy and you know it, crunch the leaves. (stomp feet)

If you’re happy and you know it, crunch the leaves. (stomp feet)

If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it. (point to smile)

If you’re happy and you know it, crunch the leaves. (stomp feet)

Verse 3:

If you’re happy and you know it, sweep the leaves. (make sweeping motion)

If you’re happy and you know it, sweep the leaves. (make sweeping motion)

If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it. (point to smile)

If you’re happy and you know it, sweep the leaves. (make sweeping motion)

Verse 4:

If you’re happy and you know it, do all 3. (clap, stomp, sweep)

If you’re happy and you know it, do all 3. (clap, stomp, sweep)

If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it. (point to smile)

If you’re happy and you know it, do all 3. (clap, stomp, sweep)

If You're Happy and You Know It Fall Leaf Song Lyrics
Fall Leaf Song

Rhymes and Poems

St. Patrick’s Day Rhymes and Poems

Here are three St. Patrick’s Day / leprechaun rhymes and poems for preschoolers! Includes a limerick, an action rhyme, and a fingerplay rhyme for lots of fun!

Un-Lucky

There once was a leprechaun named Lucky.

His favorite toy was his yellow stuffed ducky.

A storm rained hard,

making mud in the yard.

And when he dropped his toy, it got yucky.

muddy duck

Leprechaun, Leprechaun (action rhyme)

Leprechaun, leprechaun turn around.

Leprechaun, leprechaun touch the ground.

Leprechaun, leprechaun dance a reel.

Leprechaun, leprechaun laugh and squeal.

Leprechaun, leprechaun pick a clover.

Leprechaun, leprechaun bend on over.

Leprechaun, leprechaun reach up high.

Leprechaun, leprechaun wave goodbye.

lepreachuan

5 Little Shamrocks (Finger Rhyme)

Five little shamrocks growing happily. (hold up hand)

The first one said, “Three leaves have we. ” (wiggle thumb)

The second one said, “They are the color green.” (wiggle pointer finger)

The third one said, “They’re the prettiest I’ve ever seen!” (wiggle middle finger)

The fourth one said, “And they’re heart shaped too.” (wiggle ring finger)

The fifth one said, “This rhyme is through.” (wiggle pinky)

5 Shamrocks

I hope you enjoyed my St. Patrick’s Day Rhymes and Poems! Check out my rhymes page for more fun action rhymes, fingerplays, and poems for preschoolers: https://imaginationsrunningwild.com/finger-rhymes-and-other-poems/

Rhymes and Poems

Five Little Robots Rhyme

My son has been learning nursery rhymes and he is really enjoying these cute little poems. He loves robots and these older Mother Goose rhymes just don’t have any robots in them. I made up this Five Little Robots rhyme for him so he could have a special robot poem to memorize. Turn this into a finger play by moving one finger per robot when they get to say their line. For more action rhymes, finger plays, and poems, check out my collection: https://imaginationsrunningwild.com/finger-rhymes-and-other-poems/.

FIVE LITTLE ROBOTS

Five little robots looking at their gears.

The first one said, “Let’s give three cheers.”

The second one said, “Beep, beep, beep.”

The third one said, “Meep, meep, meep.”

The fourth one said, “Bong, bong, bong.”

The fifth one said, “Let’s get moving along!”

(c) Imaginations Running Wild

Five Little Robots Rhyme
Rhymes and Poems, Winter

“Frozen” Finger Family Rhyme

Here’s a fun twist on the Finger Family song–instead of saying “daddy finger,” “mommy finger,” etc., call your fingers one of the main characters from the movie “Frozen!” Go through the rhyme together once to practice it, then see how fast you can you do it 🙂 Find more fun rhymes: https://imaginationsrunningwild.com/finger-rhymes-and-other-poems/

Frozen Finger Family Rhyme:

Elsa finger, Elsa finger, where are you?

“Here I am, here I am. How do you do?” (wiggle thumb)

Anna finger, Anna finger, where are you?

“Here I am, here I am. How do you do?” (wiggle pointer finger)

Kristoff finger, Kristoff finger, where are you?

“Here I am, here I am. How do you do?” (wiggle middle finger)

Sven finger, Sven finger, where are you?

“Here I am, here I am. How do you do?” (wiggle ring finger)

Olaf finger, Olaf finger, where are you?

“Here I am, here I am. How do you do?” (wiggle pinky finger)

Love Frozen?

If you have a Frozen fan at home and are looking for more Frozen-themed fun then check out these activities:

Frozen-Inspired Windsock: create a sparkly snowflake windsock inspired by the movie Frozen!

Snowflake Wand: decorate a sparkly snowflake wand and use it to sprinkle winter magic all around!

Make your own fake snow by combing shaving cream and baking soda! This science experiment is “snow” much fun to make. Your preschooler will love playing with their fake snow.

Snowflake Number Coloring (#1-10): find all of the snowflakes with the same number and color them with their matching color. Use your dot pens or color them in with crayons (2 pages).

Winter Fizz science experiment with baking soda, glitter, and vinegar!

Animals, Rhymes and Poems

Penguin Action Rhyme

Give this cute “Did you Ever See a Penguin?” action rhyme a try to get your preschooler up and moving! This rhyme is perfect for learning letter P, preschool penguin theme, and adding into your cold weather/winter themes. This penguin action rhyme is to the tune of “Did You Ever See a Lassie?” and has 3 verses, but you can pick and choose to do just the first one or all three. Pair this rhyme with some Penguin Stories!

Did You Ever See a Penguin?

(action = waddle)

Did you ever see a penguin? A penguin? A penguin?

Did you ever see a penguin, waddle this way and that?

Waddle this way and that way.

Waddle this way and that way.

Did you ever see a penguin, waddle this way and that?

(action = slide)

Did you ever see a penguin? A penguin? A penguin?

Did you ever see a penguin, slide this way and that?

Slide this way and that way.

Slide this way and that way.

Did you ever see a penguin, slide this way and that?

(action = swim)

Did you ever see a penguin? A penguin? A penguin?

Did you ever see a penguin, swim this way and that?

Swim this way and that way.

Swim this way and that way.

Did you ever see a penguin, swim this way and that?

(c) Imaginations Running Wild

Check out my Rhymes Page for more fun finger and action rhymes, as well as other cute little poems for preschoolers!

Fall, Rhymes and Poems

“Five Little Leaves” Finger Rhyme

Finger rhymes are lots of fun for little kids! They get to be active participants as they move their fingers to act out the rhyme. According to Reading Rockets, rhymes are important for young children because they help develop an ear for our language. Both rhyme and rhythm help kids hear the sounds and syllables in words, which helps kids learn to read! Check out my RHYMES page for more fun action and finger rhymes, as well as other cute poems.

I love the Five Little Pumpkins finger rhyme and wanted more finger rhymes to do in the fall so I made up one about leaves. I think it turned out pretty fun 🙂 Get your fingers ready to act out Five Little Leaves with me! I also changed the lyrics of If You’re Happy and You Know and made a fall edition version by adding fall activities–catch falling leaves, stomp on the leaves, and sweep the leaves!

Five Little Leaves Finger Rhyme

FIVE LITTLE LEAVES

Five little leaves falling from a tree. (hold up 5 fingers)

The first one says, “You can’t catch me!” (wiggle thumb)

The second one says, “There’s a chill in the air!” (wiggle pointer finger)

The third one says, “But we don’t care!” (wiggle middle finger)

The fourth one says “Hello” to the ground. (wiggle ring finger)

The fifth one says, “We make a crunching sound!” (wiggle pinky)

Whoosh goes the wind, blowing all around. (wave hand around)

And the five little leaves land safe and sound. (hand open flat, palm facing up)

(c) Imaginations Running Wild