Songs for outdoors
Collect rhymes and songs to sing with the children while they swing, bounce, climb and slide on outdoor equipment. The rhymes can easily be adaptations of songs that you sing at other times. And gather together some circle singing games to do regularly outside.
One nursery stores its repertoire of singing games on laminated cards and with the outdoor equipment as a reminder.
Here are ideas for swinging rhymes:
Swing, swing, swinging so gently
Swing, swing, swing to and fro
Swing, swing, swinging so gently,
Swing, swing, swing high and low.
Swing me over the water, swing me over the sea
Swing me over the garden wall and swing me home to tea
And for trampoline and bouncing rhymes:
Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby lie
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night
We're all going for a ride on a pony
Jig jog, Jig jog, Jiga jog jig!
Like many rhymes, this last rhyme is a traditional English rhyme with a theme that may have little relevance for children today. However, it is valuable for children to learn rhymes from a variety of cultures, and traditional rhymes can be brought up to date by changing the words, for example, 'push in a buggy', 'ride on a cycle/ tube train' etc.
Suppliers
* What will we play today? by Veronica Larkin and Louie Suthers (Brilliant Publications, 12.95) is a good source of games, rhymes and songs.
Available from Brilliant Publications, The Old School Yard, Leighton Road, Northall, Dunstable LU6 2HA, tel: 01525 222 844, e-mail: sales@brilliantpublications.co.uk