Theme Notes
Series 263: Up
Up
This week in Play School we focus on the simple theme “up”.
The opposites “up” and “down” are first learnt by babies as they are picked up and cuddled
by care givers and put down to sleep. As they grow older, many things in young childrens’
world are “up”, simply because they are small and have to look up to speak to adults or to
reach objects they need. It is good to keep this in mind and to have their play things and
belongings easily accessible.
Throughout this series movement, games, songs and play experiences reinforce children’s
curiosity in the world around them, as well the simple direction of ‘Up’.
Monday
SONGS
Build It Up
Composer: Peter Charlton
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Big Adventure
Composers: Peter Dasent & Arthur Baysting
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
PRESENTERS
Abi Tucker – Karen Pang
Giraffes and Mice
Composer: Peter Mapleson & Robyn Mapleson
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
R.O.B.O.T.
Composers: Vanessa Johnston & Karina
Johnston
Publisher: Jingle Jam Pty. Ltd.
STORY
Clancy and Millie and the Very Fine House
Author: Libby Gleeson
Illustrator: Freya Blackwood
Publisher: Little Hare Books
Hickory Dickory Dock
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
FILM
Hanging Out the Washing
(Play School, ABC)
ANIMATION
Hat Animation
(Play School, ABC)
IDEAS FOR LATER
Use tiny boxes to make furniture for a box
doll’s house.
Help hang out the washing.
Enjoy building with wooden blocks. If you
don’t have wooden blocks, make some
blocks from tissue boxes.
Sing a Song Of Sixpence
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
Wet Washing
Composer: Liz Olsen
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Friends All Together
Composers: Peter Dasent & Sophie Emtage
Publisher: Origin/Control
Page 1 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 263: Up
MAKE AND DO
Building with Boxes
How to Make a Box Street
You will need:
A variety of boxes, large and small
You will need:
A variety of boxes, large and small
Masking tape
Coloured paper
Paste
Coloured markers, crayons or pencils
Paint
Build the boxes up to make anything you wish!
Try building a tower, a rocket, a Hickory Dickory
Dock clock and a robot. You could also build a
giraffe, a dinosaur, a building or a mountain.
Use lots of different types of boxes to make a
box street. Build apartment buildings, shops,
offices and houses.
Be creative with the way you arrange your
boxes - some buildings can be taller than
others. You might like to use boxes to create
chimneys for your houses.
Make signs to put on your box shops using
coloured paper, markers, crayons and pencils.
Decorate your buildings using coloured paper
and paint. For example, you might like to stick
squares of coloured paper onto a tall
apartment box for windows.
Page 2 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 263: Up
Tuesday
SONGS
London Bridge
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ ABC Music Publishing
Bikeling
Composer: Jay Laga’aia
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
PRESENTERS
Justine Clarke – Alex Papps
Old Mother Hubbard
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
Riding in a Helicopter
Composer: Sean O’Boyle
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
TOLD STORY
Up, Up and Away
(A story told by the Play School team)
Everybody Do This
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
FILM
Spit Bridge
(Play School, ABC)
ANIMATION
Miss Polly had a Dolly
(Play School, ABC)
IDEAS FOR LATER
Make a scrapbook of things that go up into
the air, such as planes, rockets, balloons,
birds and kites.
Read a nursery rhyme book.
Page 3 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 263: Up
MAKE AND DO
How to Make a Cardboard Bridge
How to Make a Toy Helicopter
You will need:
A shallow water tray or trough
Two boxes of a similar size
A long strip of firm cardboard
Recycled polystyrene trays, small boxes
or recycled bottles for boats
Pegs or small bottles for people
Small boxes, such as matchstick boxes,
for cars and trains
Pipe cleaners
You will need:
A large cardboard box
Cardboard rolls
Cardboard
Masking tape
Pour some water into a shallow water tray or
trough.
A bridge can be made from one shore to the
other with a strip of firm cardboard and box
pylons.
Make some boats from polystyrene trays, boxes
or bottles. Passengers can be peg people or
bottle people.
Cut two small windows and a section for your
helicopter pilot from the large cardboard box.
Stick some cardboard strips to a cardboard roll
to create rotor blades. Stick to the top of your
helicopter.
Stick a short cardboard roll to a long
cardboard roll to create a rudder. Tape to the
back of your helicopter.
Use the helicopter and your toys to set up your
own ranger headquarters. Fly your helicopter
to rescue or help different animal toys that live
around your home.
Make some box cars to drive over the bridge.
A box train can be made by joining 3 or 4 small
boxes with pipe cleaners.
Page 4 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 263: Up
Wednesday
SONGS
Round and Round and Round
Composer: Colin Buchanan
Publisher: Rondor
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines
Composer: Ron Goodwin
Publisher: J .Albert & Sons Pty. Ltd.
PRESENTERS
Justine Clarke – Alex Papps
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
TOLD STORY
The Moon Market
(A story told by the Play School team)
FILM
Living in Space
(NASA footage)
Aiken Drum
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
So Long, Farewell
Composer: Richard Rodgers & Oscar
Hammerstein II
Publisher: Castle
Hey Diddle, Diddle
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
Big Adventure
Composers: Peter Dasent & Arthur Baysting
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
ANIMATION
Hey Diddle Diddle
(Play School, ABC)
IDEAS FOR LATER
Fold some paper aeroplanes.
Make a paper bag kite and take it out to
fly.
Paint a space picture.
Page 5 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 263: Up
MAKE AND DO
How to Make a Whirly Gig
How to Make Cosmic Crunchies
You will need:
Some cardboard pictures of flying
machines, for example a rocket, plane,
hot air balloon and helicopter
A plastic colander
Pieces of ribbon
Tape
Makes 15 cosmic crunchies.
Draw pictures of flying machines on a piece of
cardboard or find photos of flying machines in
old magazines and paste them to a piece of
cardboard. Cut out your flying machines.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
115g unsalted butter
115g sultanas
Handful Frozen berries
75g caster sugar
2 eggs
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Tie pieces of ribbon through the holes of a
plastic colander – one ribbon for each flying
machine.
Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl.
Tape your flying machine pictures to the
ribbons.
Add eggs, stirring together until you have stiff
dough.
Tie some more ribbon or string in the middle of
your colander to form a handle.
Stir in berries.
Twist the ribbon and colander around and
around. Let go and your whirly gig will spin.
Watch as your flying machines whirl through
the air!
Rub in butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Place walnut-sized mounds of the mixture on a
greased baking tray, leaving space for
spreading between each one.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack.
Page 6 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 263: Up
Thursday
SONGS
Were Going Up
Composer: Ron Gamack
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
I’m a Pirate
Composer: Sean O’Boyle
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
PRESENTERS
Essie Davis – Alex Papps
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
TOLD STORY
The Big Surprise
(A story told by the Play School team)
FILM
Aerial Skiing
(ABC Archival Footage)
Ten Little Indians
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
Where Did You Get that Hat?
Composer: James Rolmaz
Publisher: Albert & Son Pty. Ltd./EMI Music
Hey There, What Do You Wear?
Composer: Helen Martin
Let’s Go Fly a Kite
Composers: Richard M. Sherman & Robert B.
Sherman
Publisher: Walt Disney Music
IDEAS FOR LATER
Fly a kite in your local park.
Visit a carnival and go on the Ferris wheel.
Make a sliding slope from pillows for your
toys to ski on!
Page 7 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 263: Up
MAKE AND DO
How to Make Growing Boxes
You will need:
Two boxes – one that is slightly smaller and fits inside the other. You should be able to
slide the large box up, over the smaller box, to give the impression your box is growing
Coloured crayons, pencils or textas
Slide the two boxes apart – so your growing box is at its tallest!
Draw a flower with a short stem on the larger box. On the smaller box, draw a long stem with
some leaves. When you slide the larger box up, the flower starts growing!
Try drawing a clown’s hat that gets bigger or a giraffe’s neck that grows.
Page 8 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 263: Up
Friday
SONGS
See How I’m Jumping
Composer: Roberta Whitehead
Publisher: Allans Music
Mr Funny Feet
Composers: M. Graham & J. McKinlay
Publisher: ES Wigg & Son Ltd.
PRESENTERS
Karen Pang – Alex Papps
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
STORY
Baby Wombat’s Week
Author: Jackie French
Illustrator: Bruce Whatley
Publisher: Harper Collins
FILM
Pelican Montage
(ABC Archival Footage)
Making Things
Composers: Scott Aplin & Phil Barton
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Swim Like a Kid
Composer: Julie Blanchard
Publisher: MCA/Gilbey
The Wombat Wobble
Composer: Val Donlon
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing c/o Mushroom
Music
Wiggerly Woo
Composers: Don Spencer & Moira Cochrane
ANIMATION
Jump & Jiggle
(Play School, ABC)
IDEAS FOR LATER
Use egg cartons to make insects such as
caterpillars, butterflies and spiders.
Dress up and play “Kings and Queens”.
See how high you can jump!
Page 9 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 263: Up
MAKE AND DO
How to Make a Mother Turtle & Baby Turtles
You will need:
Small plastic pudding bowls with lids
Green cardboard
A marker
Sticky tape
Plastic eggs
Plastic bottle lids, such as milk bottle lids
Small polystyrene balls
Green paint
Green pipe cleaners
Mother Turtle
Cut a turtle head with a neck from a piece of green cardboard. Draw on a face with a
marker.
Cut four paper turtle legs from green cardboard.
Stick the head and legs to the lid of a small plastic pudding bowl. The bowl is the shell of the
turtle and will hold the baby turtles.
Baby Turtles
Paint some small polystyrene balls green and set aside to dry.
Draw a face on each polystyrene ball with a marker.
Stick the polystyrene turtle head to a plastic bottle lid.
Cut some green pipe cleaners in half. Stick two pipe cleaners to the bottom of the bottle lid
to make four turtle legs.
Put each turtle into a plastic egg. Put the eggs in your mother turtle’s shell.
Page 10 of 10