Summer
Music, Rhymes and Fingerplays
It is Summer
(Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It")
It is summer and it's time to take a swim.
(move arms as if swimming)
It is summer and it's time to take a swim.
It is summer that's the season,
We don't need a better reason.
It is summer and it's time to take a swim!
Continue with:
Time to ride our bikes (move feet as if pedaling a bike)
Time to play some catch (pretend to throw a ball)
Time to go for walks (walk on the spot)
Down By the Bay
Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow,
Back to my home, I dare not go.
For if I do, my mother will say,
"Did you ever see a bear, combing his hair?"
Down by the bay.
Continue with other animals and rhyming words
(ex: dog sitting on a log; cat wearing a hat; etc)
Mosquito (by Shirley Downey)
The waves at the beach go up and down,
Up and down, up and down. (move up and down)
The waves at the beach go up and down, all day long.
I’m a great big fat mosquito (gesture “big”)
And I’m coming after you. (point at child)
I think your blood is yummy, (rub belly)
It tastes like candy goo.
I really, really like you
And I just don’t understand, (shrug shoulders)
Why when I come to meet you
You swat me with your hand! (swat—clap hands)
Continue with:
Going Camping
Waves at the Beach
(Tune: "Wheels on the Bus")
The lobsters at the beach go snap, snap, snap
The clams at the beach will open and shut
The jelly fish go wibble, wobble, wibble
Here is the Beehive
Here is the beehive. (hold up fist)
Where are the bees? (shrug shoulders)
Hidden away where nobody sees. (hide fist)
Watch and you’ll see them come out of the hive,
One, two, three, four, five. (fingers up one at a time)
Bzzzzzzzz…! (wave fingers)
Beautiful Rainbow
One day the sun was shining bright,
(hold up hand like blocking sunlight)
Some clouds came along; it became black as night.
(hold up other hand for the clouds)
Then the rain began to sprinkle onto the ground
(wiggle fingers for the rain coming down)
And soon it was raining all over the town.
But when the clouds had passed on by,
(move both hands to one side)
A big beautiful rainbow stretched across the sky.
(make a rainbow arc with your hands)
(Tune: “I'm a Little Teapot”)
I am going camping, (point thumbs to chest)
Time to pack (point to wrist)
My tent, my bedroll, (make tent with hands)
And a snack. (pretend to eat)
I'll sit by the campfire, (warm hands over fire)
Its glow so bright. (wiggle fingers to resemble fire)
Then snooze in my tent (hands to head for pillow)
'Til the morning light! (gesture sun over head)
5 Hungry Ants
(march until you get to line “uh oh”)
5 Hungry Ants, marching in a line.
They came upon a picnic, where they could dine.
They marched into the salad,
They marched into the cake,
They marched into the pepper,
Uh-Oh! That was a mistake! (gesture “uh oh”)
AAAAACCCCCHHHHHHHOOOOOOOO!!
Crafts to Try
Bubble Snakes



1.
2.
3.
4.
500ml pop bottle
Sock
Duct tape or rubber band



Dish soap and water
Shallow pan or dish
Food colouring (optional)
Cut off the bottom of the water bottle.
Slide the sock over the bottom of the bottle. Use tape or a rubber band to secure.
Pour some dish soap into a shallow dish with a little bit of water and gently mix.
Dip the bubble blower into the solution and gently blow. You can also add a few drops of food coloring
onto the sock end to make a rainbow bubble snake. Remind your kids to blow air out not suck air in!
Inside a Bubble



Small kiddie pool (must be clean)
2 gallons of bubble solution (homemade is best—see below for recipe)
Hula hoop
Set up an empty kiddie pool on a flat grassy surface. Add bubble solution to the pool until
there is enough to just cover the bottom. Place a hula hoop in the center of the pool and
have your child stand or sit inside the ring (be careful it’s very slippery). Raise the hoop
up around them (this works best if the air is still and the weather is not too humid).
Super Bubbles



1 1/2—2 gallons of distilled water
1 bottle of original Dawn dish soap (blue)
1 bottle of glycerin or 2 cups of corn syrup
Fill the bottom of the pool with enough distilled water to cover the hula hoop (approx. 2 gallons). Add 1 bottle
of dish soap. Add 1 bottle of glycerin or 2 cups of corn syrup and stir gently (do not make foam).
Books to Try
There was an Old Lade Who Swallowed a Shell by
Lucille Colandro
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
The Night Before Summer Vacation by Natasha Wing
Summer by Alice Low
Franklin Plays the Game by Paulette Bourgeois
Just Camping Out by Mercer Mayer
Little Critter’s: The Picnic by Mercer Mayer
Froggy Learns to Swim by Jonathan London
Let’s Go Swimming With Mr. Sillypants by M.K Brown
Other Resources
Websites: Websites with ideas for colouring, crafts, rhymes and finger-plays, pages for parents:
www.everythingpreschool.com
www.dltk-kids.com
http://stepbystepcc.com/themes.html
www.preschooleducation.com
www.artistshelpingchildren.org/craftsbytheme.html
www.preschoolexpress.com
http://prekinders.com/theme
www.familycorner.com
www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts
www.preschoolkids.net/themes.htm