Theme Notes
Series 240: Horses
Horses
This week in Play School we explore the
appearance of different types of horses, their
living environments and how they help us.
Young children are always fascinated by the
size, sound and movements of horses and
enjoy trying to imitate them. The inclusion of
simple horse dress-ups and craft hobby horses
will extend interest and enjoyment in this
week’s programs. Many favourite horse songs
and rhymes will also provide movement and
language opportunities for our young viewers.
Monday
SONGS
Riding With My Pony
Composer: Felicity Barclay
When I Was an Itty Bitty Baby
Composer: Gary King
Publisher: Shenanigans
Come Take a Ride on My Merry-Go-Round
Composer: Lucille Wood
Publisher: Alfred Music
PRESENTERS
Rhys Muldoon - Karen Pang
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
STORY
Chatterbox
Author: Margaret Wild
Illustrator: Deborah Niland
Publisher: Penguin
Everybody’s Got a Body
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
IDEAS FOR LATER
Make your own baby book! Paste some of
your baby photos into a special book. Write
down what you liked to do when you were
a baby.
Set up a race course in your backyard and
have a hobby horse race with a friend.
FILM
Montage of Horses
(Play School, ABC)
ANIMATION
Jump and Jiggle
(Play School, ABC)
Page 1 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 240: Horses
MAKE AND DO
How to Make a Chatterbox
How to Make a Hobby Horse
You will need:
A small cardboard box with a lid that
can open and close like a mouth, such
as a small cereal box
Aluminium foil
Wool, feathers or crepe paper for hair
Two strips of coloured paper
approximately 1cm wide and 20cm
long
Tape
Paste
Bits and pieces to make a face e.g. old
milk lids, buttons, etc
You will need:
Brown paper bag
Old newspaper
Cardboard roll (1.5m long)
Paper
Safety scissors
Patty pans
Crayon or marker
Coloured paper
Tape
Cover your box with aluminium foil.
Take two long strips of coloured paper and
place ends at right angles to each other. Tape
ends together. Fold each strip over the other
until you reach the end to create a spring.
Make another spring. Tape both springs to the
bottom of your Chatterbox for legs.
Paste some wool, feathers or crepe paper onto
the top of your Chatterbox for hair.
Paste on some bits and pieces for eyes and a
nose.
Stuff the brown paper bag with newspaper
and tape it to the end of the cardboard roll for
a head.
Cut two horsey ears from a piece of paper and
tape to your horse’s head. Tape on two patty
pan eyes and draw on a mouth with a crayon
or marker.
Place a few pieces of coloured paper together
and fold in half lengthways. Make lots of cuts
along the length of the folded paper, starting
at the unfolded edge and cutting all the way
up to, but not touching, the fold. You should be
left with a paper mane for your horse. Tape it
on to your horse’s head.
The hobby horse is now ready for a gallop or a
race!
Page 2 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 240: Horses
Tuesday
SONGS
I Just Love Bananas
Composer: Peter Combe
Publisher: Control
To Market, To Market
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
I Have a Little Garden
Composer: June Epstein
PRESENTERS
Brooke Satchwell – Alex Papps
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
STORY
One Leaf Rides in the Wind
Author: Celeste Davidson Mannis
Illustrator: Susan Kathleen Hartung
Publisher: Penguin Books
FILM
Topiary Gardens
(Play School, ABC)
Hey Diddle Diddle
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
Ride a Cock Horse
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
Motor Bike Song
Composer: John Waters
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
IDEAS FOR LATER
Plant some strawberries or tiny tomatoes in
a pot and watch them grow over time.
Take a trip to a seafood shop or the fish
markets and look at all the different types
of seafood on display.
Page 3 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 240: Horses
MAKE AND DO
How to Make a Miniature Japanese Garden
You will need:
Cardboard
Safety scissors
Paddle pop sticks
Paste
Tape
Aluminium foil
Blue and orange cellophane Black &
orange pipe cleaners
Orange & pink crepe paper
A small tea tray
Sand (approx 1 cup)
Polished pebbles
Bridge
Make a bridge using cardboard, paddle pop sticks, paste and tape.
Pond
Mould a piece of aluminium foil into a round, pond shape. Cut out a circle of blue
cellophane and place in the middle.
Koi
Scrunch orange crepe paper into small balls. Cover each ball with a piece of orange
cellophane, securing with an orange pipe cleaner so the ends flare out like a tail.
Blossom Tree
Twist black pipe cleaners together to form a trunk and branches. Leave the ends splayed at
the bottom and secure them to a small circle of cardboard so your tree stands up. Tear and
scrunch pink crepe paper to make blossoms and tape to your tree.
Assemble Your Garden
To assemble your Japanese garden, pour about a cup of sand into a small tea tray and
spread out evenly.
Place pond in the centre of the tray and fill with koi. Place the bridge over the top of pond
and blossom trees on either side of the garden.
Place a few polished pebbles in the sand for decoration.
You might like to make two children from salt and pepper shakers or short cardboard rolls to
play in your garden.
Page 4 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 240: Horses
Wednesday
SONGS
I Can Run As Fast As You
Composer: Peter Combe
Publisher: Control
Bendable and Stretchable
Composer: Felicity Barclay
Horsey, Horsey
Composers: Box, Cox, Butler and Roberts
Publisher: Sun Music
PRESENTERS
Sofya Gollan – Justine Clarke - Rhys Muldoon
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
TOLD STORY
Come on Kangaroo
(A story told by the Play School team)
FILM
Pony Club
(Play School, ABC)
Two Little Apples
Composers: P. Zajan & M. Miller
Publisher: EMI Music
Walking in the Bush
Composer: Tony Strutton
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Down at the Station
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
IDEAS FOR LATER
Take a ride on a merry-go-round horse.
Horses like to eat oats. Make some oat
cookies or some porridge!
Make fresh lemonade from lemons, water
and sugar.
Page 5 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 240: Horses
MAKE AND DO
How to Make Apple and Pear Placemats
How to Make Apple Snow
You will need:
Recycled plastic takeaway containers
or plates
Red & green paint
Two kitchen sponges
Safety scissors
Coloured paper
Clear contact or a laminator
You will need:
Pour red and green paint into separate plastic
containers or plates.
Gradually fold in sugar.
1 egg white
1 tablespoon of castor sugar
Electric mixer
Apple puree
Whisk egg white until soft peaks form.
Fold in apple puree.
Use scissors to cut one sponge into the shape
of an apple and the other into the shape of a
pear.
Store in fridge until ready to serve.
Dip the pear sponge in green paint and make
a few pear prints on a piece of coloured
paper. Paint red stalks on your pear prints.
Dip the apple sponge into red paint and add
some apple prints. Paint green stalks on your
apples.
Once dry, cover painting in clear contact or
use a laminator to turn it into a placemat.
Page 6 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 240: Horses
Thursday
SONGS
I’m a Little Teapot
Composers: George H. Sanders & Clarence Z.
Kelley
Publisher: Kelman Music Publishing
Shane and Josh
Composers: Gary & Carol Crees
Publisher: Control
PRESENTERS
Andrew McFarlane – Justine Clarke
Have You Seen Spaghetti
Composers: Don Spencer & Moira Cochrane
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
Bonjour Mes Amis
Composer: Traditional French
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
STORY
Cat and Fish
Author: Joan Grant
Illustrator: Neil Curtis
Publisher: Lothian Children’s Books
FILM
Noodle Fair
(Play School, ABC)
IDEAS FOR LATER
Go for a horse or pony ride at your local
fair.
Make some chicken noodle soup.
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
Composers: Paul Vance & Lee Pockriss
Bananas in Pyjamas
Composer: Carey Blyton
Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Chicken Dance
Composers: Werner Thomas & Terry Rendall
Publisher: Eura-Vox Music
Page 7 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 240: Horses
MAKE AND DO
How to Make Cardboard Horses
You will need:
Cardboard
Coloured textas, pencils or crayons
Pegs
Wool
Tape
Cut out a horse body from cardboard.
Colour and decorate the horse’s body. What kind of horse do you want to make? You could
make a black or brown, piebald or golden palomino horse.
Clip pegs onto the horse’s body for legs.
Tape on some wool for a mane and a tail.
How many different horses can you make?
Page 8 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 240: Horses
Friday
SONGS
Animal Ride
Composer: Tony Strutton
Publisher: Control
Watermelon
Composers: Peter Dasent & Arthur Baysting
Publisher: Origin/Control
PRESENTERS
Andrew McFarlane - Justine Clarke
My Little Pony
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
PIANIST
Peter Dasent
Possum Up a Tree
Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
TOLD STORY
Pablo’s Branch
(A story told by the Play School team)
Hip Hip Hooray (Yippee-Yi-Yay)
Composers: Peter Dasent & Sophie Emtage
Publisher: Origin/ Control
FILM
Sydney Harbour Bridge
(Play School, ABC)
IDEAS FOR LATER
Make some collage designs using coloured
paper, craft materials and other bits and
pieces.
Go to a country fair or school fete. Do
some drawings of what you see.
Make some strawberry jam to give to a
friend.
Page 9 of 10
Theme Notes
Series 240: Horses
MAKE AND DO
How to Make a Country Collage
What you need:
Large sheet of plain paper
Coloured paper (green, blue, yellow, white)
Paste
Crayon or marker
Tear green paper into large hills and fields and paste onto a large sheet of plain paper. This
will be the background of your country collage.
Tear a circle of blue paper and paste onto your green fields for a pond.
Tear some ducks from yellow paper and paste them in the pond. Draw on some wings,
beaks and eyes with a crayon or marker.
Tear some sheep from white paper and paste them around the pond. Draw on some legs
and faces.
You can add anything you like to your country collage by tearing, pasting and adding
details to coloured paper. You might like to add a farmer, trees and a cow!
Page 10 of 10