Minibeasts Level: Early Grades - Skills & games

Two Little Dicky Birds

A traditional rhyme, with actions. You could either sing it or chant it.

• Two little dicky birds sitting on a wall
• One named Peter, one named Paul
• Fly away Peter, fly away Paul
• Come back Peter, come back Paul

Humming Bee (pitch)

Use a toy, furry bee or bee puppet for this game. The children sit on the carpet while you hold the bee and make it fly in a straight line, from your right to left as you face the children. Everyone hums on a steady pitch note (not going higher or lower).

Next make the bee fly up – everyone hum higher (in pitch, not volume), and then down – everyone hum lower in pitch.

Hum the bee path (pitch, timbre & graphic scores)

You'll need to have a large picture ready of the bee going on a journey (you could use the pdf download for this). Explain the story first, pointing to the line, making the sounds yourself and inviting the children to join in. As the line goes up, the hum goes higher in pitch. When the bee sees the honey everyone says 'Yum Yum'. The hum goes lower then it rains and everyone makes a rain sound by drumming with fingers on chairs or on the floor. The bee sets off again, and the pitch goes higher. At the end the bee enters the hive and falls asleep 'Zzzzzz'. It's good to repeat with the children, as they become more confident with making the sounds.

Ladybird

This is a good rhyme for the children to chant rhythmically as they practise clapping in time, playing a drum in time, or walking in time. Remember that many children need to be shown how to walk in time, so let them copy you. They need lots of practice!

• Ladybird, ladybird fly away home
• Your house is on fire, your children are gone!
• All except one and her name is Anne
• And she hid under the frying pan!