Opposite songs for preschoolers

12 Great Songs You Should Teach Your Preschool Child

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One of the best activities to do with your children every day is to sing songs. Children love singing and they learn a lot through music and songs.

Teach your kids these fun songs for preschoolers and toddlers.

Here are just some of the educational benefits of singing nursery rhymes and songs:

• Develops gross motor skills (action rhymes)
• Develops fine motor skills (finger rhymes)
• Teaches language and increases vocabulary
• Builds auditory perceptual skills (by learning rhythm, rhyme and sounds)
• Develops mathematical skills (counting rhymes)

These 12 songs are all-time favourites and a must for your preschoolers. Some are action songs that you can do the movements to, some are fun fingerplays and some will teach your little ones about numbers.

P.S. At the end of the post, download your FREE set of printable games and activities.

These 12 songs are all-time favourites and a must for your preschoolers. They are also great songs for toddlers.

Some are action songs that you can do the movements to, some are fun fingerplays and some will teach your little ones about numbers.

ACTION RHYMES:

If you’re happy and you know it
Clap your hands
If you’re happy and you know it
Clap your hands
If you’re happy and you know it
And you really want to show it
If you’re happy and you know it
Clap your hands

Repeat with:

If you’re happy and you know it stomp your feet, shout ‘hurray’, pat your cheeks, do all four.

Listen to the tune on YouTube

The wheels on the bus go round and round,
(roll forearms over one another in front of the body)
Round and round;
Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
All day long.

The lights on the bus go blink, blink, blink,
(open and shut hands)
Blink, blink, blink;
Blink, blink, blink.
The lights on the bus go blink, blink, blink
All day long.

The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish,
(make arms like windscreen wipers)
Swish, swish, swish;
Swish, swish, swish.
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish,
All day long.

Make up other actions e.g. the moms go chatter, the horn goes toot, etc.

Listen to the tune on YouTube

Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes,
And eyes, and ears, and mouth and nose
Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes.

Listen to the tune on YouTube

Here we go round the mulberry bush
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush
Here we go round the mulberry bush
So early in the morning.

This is the way we wash our face
Wash our face, wash our face
This is the way we wash our face
So early in the morning.

Repeat with:

This is the way we take our bath, wear our clothes, drink our milk, march to school.

Listen to the tune on YouTube

Click here for more action songs.

NUMBER SONGS:

Five green bottles hanging on the wall
Five green bottles hanging on the wall
And if one green bottle should accidentally fall
There’ll be four green bottles hanging on the wall

Repeat with four, three, two, one and no green bottles.

Listen to the tune on YouTube

Five little ducks went swimming one day
(hold up five fingers)
Over the hills and far away
(hold arm across body and tuck fingers behind shoulder on the opposite side of the body)
Mother duck said, “Quack, quack, quack, quack”
(use other hand to make a mother duck beak and open and close hand to quack)
But only four little ducks came back
(bring first hand back to the front with four fingers showing

Continue until no little ducks came back, then;

Old Mother Duck went out one day,
Over the hills and far away,
Mother Duck said “Quack, quack, quack, quack”
And all of those five little ducks came back.

Listen to the tune on YouTube

Here are more fun animal songs for preschoolers.

Five little speckled frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious bugs.
YUM! YUM!
One jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool,
Then there were four speckled frogs!
GLUB! GLUB!

Four little speckled frogs…

Three little speckled frogs…

Repeat verses until there is one speckled frog left:

One little speckled frog
Sat on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious bugs.
YUM! YUM!
He jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool,
Then there were no speckled frogs!

Listen to the tune on YouTube

The ants go marching one by one
(hold up one finger)
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching one by one,
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching one by one,
The little one stops to suck his thumb
(pretend to suck thumb)
And they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain.

2
The little one stops to tie his shoe
(pretend to tie shoe)
3
The little one stops to climb a tree
(pretend to climb a tree)
4
The little one stops to shut the door
(pretend to shut a door)
5
The little one stops to take a dive
(pretend to dive)
6
The little one stops to pick up sticks
(pretend to pick up sticks)
7
The little one stops to pray to heaven
(pretend to pray)
8
The little one stops to shut the gate
(pretend to shut a gate)
9
The little one stops to check the time
(pretend to check wristwatch)
10
The little one stops to shout “THE END!!”
(shout out loud)

Listen to the tune on YouTube

Click here for more counting rhymes.

FINGER PLAYS:

9. Two Little Dickey Birds

Two little dickey birds sitting on a wall,
(both index fingers in air, move both of them)
One named Peter, One named Paul
(wiggle one index finger, then the other)
Fly away Peter,
(draw the hand with “the Peter finger” behind your back and hide it)
Fly away Paul
(draw the other hand – “the Paul finger’s hand” – behind your back and hide it)
Come back Peter,
(reverse the last action with “the Peter finger” hand)
Come back Paul.
(reverse the last action with “the Paul finger” hand)

Listen to the tune on YouTube

Tommy Thumb,
(hands in air and lift thumbs)
Tommy Thumb,
Where are you?
Here I am,
(wriggle thumb)
Here I am,
(wriggle other thumb)
How do you do?

Repeat verse with Peter Pointer (index finger), Toby Tall (middle finger), Ruby Ring (ring finger), Baby Small (little finger), and Fingers All.

Listen to the tune on YouTube

(Start with hands behind back)
Where is Thumbkin? Where is Thumbkin?
Here I am.
(bring right hand to front, with thumb up)
Here I am.
(bring left hand to front, with thumb up)
How are you this morning?
Very well, I thank you.
(Wiggle thumbs as if they’re ‘talking’ together)
Run away.
(hide right hand behind back)
Run away.
(hide left hand behind back)

(Repeat rhyme with each finger: Pointer, Tall Man, Ring Man, and Pinkie)

Listen to the tune on YouTube

I have ten fingers
(hold up both hands, fingers spread)
And they all belong to me
(point to self)
I can make them do things
Would you like to see?
I can shut them up tight
(make fists)
I can open them wide
(open hands)
I can put them together
(place palms together)
I can make them all hide
(put hands behind back)
I can make them jump high
(hands over head)
I can make them jump low
(touch floor)
I can fold them up quietly
(fold hands in lap)
And hold them just so.

Listen to the tune on YouTube

I hope you enjoyed these songs for preschoolers. Need more songs? Here is a big collection of classic preschool songs.

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Opposites at Storytime - Jbrary

by Dana HorrocksNovember 19, 2014February 16, 2015

Nov
19
2014

Ever since we learned the song This is Big, Big, Big from Mel I have been on an opposites kick. Factor in the hungry bunch of toddlers I program for on a weekly basis and let’s just say I’ve developed quite a list. Side note: those toddlers can turn on a dime if they don’t get their fill of the opposites. If you know of what I speak read on, in, down and up!

To get us started I’ve chosen two Hello and Goodbye song combos which feature our friends The Opposites.

Bread and Butter Storytime Welcome and Goodbye Chant

Up, Down, Turn Around: Storytime Hello and Goodbye Song

This is such a lovely little song that requires lots of movement so toddlers (and kinesthetic learners!) can be matching actions to the opposites they are singing about.

Two Little Blackbirds

This rhyme wins for most adaptable, as you might be able to tell from the nine verses above. Despite the fact that I’ve made a baby cry with a particularly LOUD blackbird this is a great rhyme to talk about the shining role repetition plays in children’s early literacy development.

Roly Poly

This is an every-week-come-heck-or-high-water type song if only for the satisfaction on the little faces which illustrate my week when they get the hang of this one.

Open Shut Them

Open Shut Them is my public service announcement to toddlers about how difficult it is to sing when their hands (or other extremities) are in their mouths. I am not ashamed to admit I demonstrate this fact. I then follow up with “if your hands are feeling a little busy today, you can tuck ’em right under your bum but if they’re going to have a good storytime put them in your lap and let’s read our first story. ” Opposites and life advice, we’re a one stop shop!

This is Big, Big, Big

This is the gem which inspired the post- such a simple yet pleasing song! This really helped me grasp the power of opposites, they function like rhymes by signaling what can be expected next and thus build confidence for young storytimers.

Rain is Falling Down

You can truly never start too young with those opposites and I love to sing this is one from Babytimes up to Preschool Storytime. While it is strictly speaking a weather song, the sun and rain opposites lend themselves to some lovely opposing hand actions and can be quite calming after all that quiet and LOUD business.

Grand Old Duke of York

This has come back into my repertoire lately as a great marching song or lap-bounce at Babytime and what better way to experience opposites than by being marched up into the air!

Cool Cat

The name of this song captures it perfectly as it allows you to sing about some, well more sophisticated opposites in a cool jazzy way. This would work well all the way up to school age kids especially if you’re learning names for the first time.

Winter Bonus Track: Once There was a Snowman

You can dust this one off come December and use it clear through til March! This is a great song to get the wiggles out for toddlers and could lead to some great discussions or stories for older kids.

Well there you have it folks, a whole bunch of opposite songs to add to or refresh your collection! Our Opposites Storytime playlist is awaiting your perusal and as per usual please let us know your favourite opposite songs to share.

Gorky. "At the Bottom" • Episode transcript • Arzamas

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Contents of the first lecture from the course “Russian Literature of the 20th Century. Season 5”

The play “At the bottom” ends very spectacularly. The roommates—there is no longer Luka, no Ash, Anna has died, Kostylev has been killed—sing a song. This song plays throughout the play:

The sun rises and sets,
And my prison is dark.
Days and nights sentries
Guard my window.

Guard as you wish,
I won't run away anyway.
I want to be free -
I cannot break the chain.

This time they don't manage to sing the song until the end of the second verse. The door swings open, in the door is the Baron, who shouts: “Come here! In the wasteland... there... The actor... hung himself!" And then Satin pronounces the last line of the play: "Eh ... ruined the song ... stupid cancer."

Who ruined the song? At first glance, everything is obvious: the song was ruined by the Baron. But it often happens that the first meaning pulls the second, and the second turns out to be deeper, more important and more reliable than the first.

What does "can or can't break the chain" mean? I may or may not start life anew, get out of this basement, out of this rooming house. Recall that the entire fourth act of the Actor - and not only the Actor, but also Nastya - say: "I will leave" ("He will leave," says the Actor).

And next to the song, a poem sounds as another ideological pole of the play. This poem by Beranger "Mad Men" is remembered by the Actor when he manages to abstain, not to drink. He says with surprise: “Here they are, two five-kopeck pieces. I shovel the street, but I don’t drink.”

Gentlemen! If the truth is holy
The world cannot find the road -
Honor to the madman who will inspire
Mankind has a golden dream!

If tomorrow the land of our way
I forgot to illuminate our sun -
Tomorrow the whole world would be illuminated
The thought of some madman!

It is on these contrasts - light and darkness, prison and freedom - that the play "At the Bottom" exists.

There is controversy about whether Luca is lying when he tells the Actor about a city where there is a hospital where drunkards are treated. The actor is filled with hope that he can recover and return to the stage, and Luka tells him: "I'll name the city for you, but for now you refrain, don't drink. " For a while, the Actor really manages not to drink. Why doesn't Luke name the cities? You can find, especially in popular textbooks, such a statement: "Luke lies to the Actor, and there were no hospitals." In fact, there were hospitals, and there was even a special magazine published by the Temperance Society - there was a very broad campaign to combat alcoholism. I think Luke does not name cities and hospitals, not because they do not exist, but because a person must free himself.

In the fourth act there is a very important moment when the Tatar prays, the Actor gets down from the bunk and says: "Prince, pray for me." To which the Tatar replies: “Pray yourself…” What does this mean? Rudeness, inhumanity, selfishness, insensitivity of the roommates? No. One simply has to believe.

As Satin, who has already been fermented by the ideas of Luke, says, a person pays for everything himself - for faith, for unbelief. A person must free himself - he does not need a guide. And then the Actor recalls this poem by Beranger. And here these two truths collide, which Gorky always collided with. The first is the truth of a real fact, the truth of the obvious:

“What kind of truth do you need, Vaska? Bubnov asks Vaska Ash. "You know the truth about yourself, and everyone knows it about you."

What does this mean? This means that Vaska is a thief, Nastya is a prostitute, Baron is a pimp, Satin is a card cheat. Here it is, the truth of this inhuman, undoubtedly real, but obviously not the only world.

Gorky says that there is another truth. There is the truth of human striving, the truth of the human ideal. And she is stronger, she is more important. In the fourth act, the Actor constantly feels that he needs to break the chain, he needs to leave. Another thing is that he can only leave the way he left, only by committing suicide.

There is a curious intersection between the plot of the fourth act "At the Bottom" and the parable of the righteous land that Luke tells earlier: how one man asked the exiled engineer to show on the map where the righteous land is located. And he laid out his cards and said: "There is no righteous land anywhere." "How not?" And man lived and held on only because he believed in this righteous land, hoped for it. "You bastard, not a scientist!" - and in his teeth. And then he went and hanged himself.

What is the truth? Because this righteous land does not exist? Yes, it's not on the map. But does this mean that it does not exist at all? It is very important.

This play, staged in December 1902 at the Art Theater, sounded revolutionary. Because the meaning was this: as long as a person lives in the basement, he will not be able to free himself, he will not be able to be a person. We need to destroy this basement. But until the last performances (and the play is still being staged) it cannot be reduced to one idea, to one thought, it cannot be unambiguously interpreted once and for all.

Gorky was puzzled by how Ivan Moskvin played Luka. And Moskvin did not play a crook. Here we are faced with a situation very characteristic of Gorky. Gorky did not like his plays very much, he did not consider himself a significant playwright, but he tried to comment on and interpret his own plays. In particular, after returning to the USSR, he interpreted the play "At the Bottom" as a play directed against comforting lies. But everything Gorky wanted to say, he said with the play itself. His interpretation is just one of the possible ones. How convincing it is, each time the theater, the reader, the actors and the literary historian decide in their own way.

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