Autumn Theme: Fingerplays, Songs and Action Rhymes

Using scarves with songs/chants encourages gross motor
skills, rhythm awareness, and the important aspects of
brain development that occur when crossing the mid-line.

There are countless studies to show the benefits of music to early childhood development. Music and rhyme are powerful learning tools for "students" of all ages. Think back to the little tricks you may have used when studying for tests in which memorization was required, or songs that you still remember from childhood. With little ones, music can be a wonderful way to enhance language skills. Early literacy skills are attained as even very young children gain a sense of rhythm and rhyme. And any time we include a variety of learning tools in an activity--as in the gross motor/fine motor skills of dance and finger-plays along with the rhythms, melodies and vocabulary of songs and chants--you increase overall development and comprehension. My own son has just reached the age of beginning to repeat back songs on his own. He sings in, um, one pitch and one volume--off key and loud! But he has gained so much vocabulary, awareness of rhyming sounds and a of other concepts to boot. For these reasons and more, we use a lot of fingerplays, songs and action rhymes in our learning together.

Using props and movement in daily davening (prayers)

There are a variety of popular nursery rhymes and children's songs that we know from our own childhoods and perhaps you already sing and play with your children using these. There are also a wealth of newer ones available in books as well as online. And never discount your own poetic and lyrical abilities when it comes to making up your own songs and rhymes. I learned to spell my name as a little girl with a song my own mother made up the tune from the Mickey Mouse Club! My son has his favorite songs and rhymes that we sing year round and even do our daily davening (prayers) to music. We also incorporate new songs and rhymes to new play themes, often using familiar tunes. Including props like laminated paper, foam, felt or fabric cut-outs, puppets can add a fun element of play. We also use instruments (even homemade ones) like shakers, bells and drums to play along and tap out rhythms. Adding scarves to your movement and dance can also be a great way to bring larger motor skills into the picture.
Here are some of the Autumn-themed fingerplays, action rhymes and songs we have been enjoying:
(Where possible I have incuded a link site to the title, although many of these have been posted and shared in so many places, it's hard to credit an original composer)

Fall Leaves Falling
t.t.t.o. "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"
This is a great one for moving from a high-energy activity to a quieter/calmer time.

Fall leaves falling all around
(Reach up & wave hands slowly)
Fall leaves red and fall leaves brown
Fall leaves on my head and toes
(Touch head, touch toes)
Reach for a leaf
(Reach up with one hand)
And down it goes!
(Bring hand down and point to the ground)
Fall leaves falling all around
(Slowly bring arms down and crouch/sit down)

Clear pencil pouches like this one make a great storage option for small
props and collections of songs and rhymes, which I record on index cards
and attach with a metal ring. It makes accessing it on the go easy as well as
longer term storage.

Fall leaves falling to the ground

Leaves Are Falling Down
t.t.t.o. "Farmer In the Dell"
We love to do this one while having a "pile" of leaves (either real, paper or fabric) "fall down" from the sky (an adult sprinkles them overhead). Throw in a toy rake for clean-up/dramatic play or let your little leaf catcher pick them up when the song is done. You can even count them together at the end! The last verse can be used with motions and is a great tickle rhyme for lap babies especially.

The leaves are falling down (x2)
Fall is here and winter's near
The leaves are falling down

The leaves are falling down (x2)
Some are red and some are brown
The leaves are falling down

The leaves are falling down (x2)
They tickle your nose and touch your toes!
The leaves are falling down

The Leaves on the Trees
t.t.t.o. "The Wheels on the Bus" (We like to sing this one in the car and you can easily add your own verses!)

The leaves on the trees turn orange and red, orange and red, orange and red
The leaves on the trees turn orange and red
All through the town

The leaves of the trees come tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down
The leaves of the trees come tumbling down
All through the town

The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish,
Swish, swish, swish
The leaves on the ground go swish swish swish
All through the town!

Ten Little Leaves
t.t.t.o. "Ten Little Indians" Add in some laminated leaves, artificial leaves or foam/paper cutouts for hands-on fun and counting

One litttle, two little, three little leaves
Four little, five little, six little leaves
Seven little, eight little, nine little leaves
Ten leaves blow away! Whoosh!

Leaves, Leaves, Falling Down
t.t.t.o. "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
Add in your own props/visuals using paper or foam in the associated colors and/or shapes

Leaves, leaves, falling down
(wiggle fingers downward)
Falling to the ground
Red, yellow, orange and brown
Triangle, oval and round

Four Fall Leaves
t.t.t.o. "This Old Man"
This one is a great one to use with movement or with props

Four fall leaves up in the tree
Two for you and two for me
The wind will blow, watch them fall to the ground
One, two, three and four fall down

Five Little Pumpkins
(chant)
This one can be done with paper/foam/felt props or even real mini-pumpkins or gourds. Fingers make a great prop as well that you're guaranteed to have wherever you are! You could even make a finger puppet to use along with it by affixing 5 pumpkin stickers or felt cutouts to a glove.

Five little pumpkins in a country store
One rolled away, then there were four
Four little pumpkins growing near a tree
One rolled away, then there were three
Three little pumpkins sitting next to you
One rolled away, then there were two
Two little pumpkins outside in the sun
One rolled away, then there was one
One little pumpkin feeling all alone
He rolled away and now there are none!

Look at my Ten Fall Leaves
t.t.t.o. "Did You Ever See a Lassie?"
This is another great counting-backward one and is a wonderful one to use with props or fingers for a visual. We use 10 as our starting number, but you can choose fewer!

Look at my [10] fall leaves, [10] fall leaves, [10] fall leaves
Look at my [10] falls leaves
Ooops! One blew away!
Look at my [9] fall leaves...etc...

Happy Singing, Chanting, Dancing and Playing!