Tag: songs

Fall, Rhymes and Poems

Autumn /Fall Rhymes and Songs for Preschoolers

Jennifer

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

Fall

Fall Leaf Song for Preschoolers

Jennifer

Sing and dance along to “If You’re Happy and You Know It” Fall edition! Get ready to catch leaves, crunch leaves, and sweep up leaves in this fun fall leaf song. There are four verses to the song that will get your preschooler into the fall / autumn spirit!

Verse 1:

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

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)

More Fall Fun!

Fall I Spy Challenge — count how many of each fall picture you spy.

5 Little Leaves Poem

Five Little Leaves Rhyme — Autumn inspired finger rhyme for preschoolers.

Coffee Filter Leaves Craft — make gorgeous fall leaves with coffee filters, markers, and a spray bottle!

Handprint Pumpkin — memorialize your little one’s handprint with this cute handprint pumpkin.

Leaf Stick Puppet — a simple, nature inspired fall craft. Go on a a leaf hunt and bring home your favorites to turn into stick puppets!

Animals

Preschool Penguin Theme

Jennifer

Penguins are so cute! Preschoolers are fascinated with these awesome birds so I rounded up books, crafts, a song, and some free worksheets so you can add a penguin theme to your preschool activities!

Preschool Penguin Theme

Everything You Need for Creating a Penguin Theme:

Books

Penguins — 10 books about these adorable birds! My son loves penguins and we have read so many penguin books together. We’ve gathered up a list of our favorites to share with you!

Crafts

–Basic Shapes Penguin: print off the free template, color your pieces, and glue them together to form a penguin!

–Toilet Paper Roll Penguin: turn an empty toilet paper roll into a cute penguin with paint, construction paper, and googly eyes. My son really liked this craft and we have a couple cute little toilet paper roll penguins around our house now!

–Egg Carton Penguins: turn an egg carton into a bunch of roly-poly penguins!

Online

-Watch the Monterey Bay Aquarium penguins on their live Penguin Cam! https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams/penguin-cam

-Learn about the Gentoo Penguin from this short video by Nat Geo Kids: https://youtu.be/xnu5htZpruE

Song

"Did You Ever See a Penguins?" song

To get the second and third verse and list of the actions, check out my post: https://imaginationsrunningwild.com/2022/11/27/penguin-action-rhyme/

Worksheets

–Penguin Counting: count how many pictures are in each box and then circle the number.

-Fill in the missing letters in this penguin alphabet worksheet: PENGUIN ALPHABET MAZE

–P is Penguin: trace the letters in the word PENGUIN and color the picture.

Animals, Rhymes and Poems

Penguin Action Rhyme

Jennifer

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

Firefighter Stories and Activities

Jennifer

Here are some firefighter stories and activities to enjoy with your preschooler 🙂

Preschool Firefighter Stories and Activities
Firefighter stories and activities

October is fire safety month. This is a great time to talk to your child about the dangers of hot stoves, matches, lighters, fire pits, and what to do if there is a fire. Practice STOP, DROP, and ROLL and make sure to check your home’s smoke alarms to ensure that they are working properly. Check out your library for book ideas on teaching your child about fire safety.

Firefighter Stories

Two of my son’s favorite firefighter stories are Frank Dormer’s Firefighter Duckies and Norman Bridwell’s Clifford the Firehouse Dog.

Firefighter Duckies

Firefighter Duckies is absolutely hilarious!!! You and your child will laugh-out-loud all through this book as the poor firefighter duckies rescue whales in trees and put out a burning chef’s hat. Every disaster is super silly. Nevertheless, through it all, “they are brave, they are strong, they are….firefighter duckies!” If you think you are up to laughing this much, then check out Firefighter Duckies from your library.

Clifford the Firehouse Dog

My son loves Clifford stories and the tv show on PBS, so combining Clifford with firefighters was a total win for him! In Clifford the Firehouse Dog, Clifford uses his extreme height to help firefighters rescue people from a tall building and he grabs a water tower and doses the fire with it. I’m always hesitant about firefighter stories that show actual burning buildings because I don’t want to freak kids out, but my son did not find this the least bit frightening. My library had firefighters come and read to kids and this is one that they read to the preschoolers. Hopefully your library carries this Clifford adventure.

Since we love Jonathan London’s Froggy series, we decided to give Firefighter Hippo a chance. Here Comes Firefighter Hippo is a cute story about a little hippo who pretends to be a firefighter. My son loves to pretend to be a firefighter, so this book really resonated with him. Little Hippo sets off on an adventure in his pedal-powered firetruck, running into some difficulties along the way. Bright illustrations add to the enjoyment of this story.

Otis and the Kittens

Otis the Tractor is a favorite in our house! We were excited to find a firefighter Otis story at our library 🙂 In Otis and the Kittens, by Loren Long, Otis the Tractor sees smoke coming form the barn and an upset mama cat. Otis saves the kittens and brings them to mama. Mama cat is still upset; Otis thinks there must be a missing kitten. Otis bravely goes to help. Suddenly, the floor collapses and Otis is trapped. Now he needs help too. Not to fear, Otis’ friends rescue him and the kitten. This story provides a great jumping off point to talk about what to do in a fire, showing the danger of being trapped in a burning building.

FIREFIGHTER ACTIVITIES:

Firetruck Craft

Make a firetruck craft from some basic shapes. Your preschooler will be so excited to see the firetruck take shape as they glue everything together!

Supplies needed are:

-construction paper in red, yellow, white, black, & green

-pencil

-ruler

-scissors

-glue

How to Make:

-Draw the shapes to make a firetruck. Ask your preschooler to name the shapes (circle, square, rectangle, etc.)

-Preschoolers can cut out the basic shapes. Since the ladder is intricate, an adult should cut it out.

-Once everything is cut out, glue them onto a separate piece of paper in the shape of a firetruck!

Wheels on the Firetruck Song

We sang our own version of Wheels on the Bus and called it Wheels on the Firetruck. For our firetruck lyrics we sang:

Wheels on the firetruck go round and round. . .

Lights on the firetruck go flash, flash, flash. . .

Ladders on the firetruck go up and down. . .

Hoses on the firetruck go spray, spray, spray. . .

The siren on the firetruck goes whee-eee-o, whee-ee-o, whee-ee-o, the siren on the truck goes whee-ee-o all through the town.

I Spy — Firefighter

Firefighter I Spy: practice counting and writing numbers with this fun Firefighter-themed I Spy activity. Count how many of each picture you see and write the number in the box next to the picture.

Firefighter-I-SpyDownload

I hope you enjoyed these firefighter stories and activities! Check your library for these books and other other firefighter stories : ) To help support this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program. Through this program, I get a small percentage of the sales made through my links. Thanks for you support and happy reading!