The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, You Must Try

One of our all time favorite classic read-aloud stories is There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly Illustrations by Simms Taback.  This version is so colorful and entertaining. Our kids enjoy watching the cut out circle that shows you what the old lady has eaten and a preview of what is to come on the next page.

Scholastic also has a great video with music to read along with and watch. They have more great activitiy ideas to go along with this book.

I found this great puppet in a teacher's store 12 years ago and decided to get it for my mother-in-law as a gift since she collected puppets that went with books. Large Puppet by Alma's Design

I always wanted my own once I had kids but could never afford it so I decided to make my own. Here is what I came up with, using the real puppet as an example (with no pattern). I found cute calico fabric, brownish grey yarn for hair, great cream lace for trim.  I made sure she has a large tummy to hold all the props. I found other little toys and made a felt cat to use for props for her to eat. The kids love to move her arms to help her eat.

Then, a few years after making the one in brown, I found the original at a yard sale for $3. She was missing her nose but I couldn't pass her up.

There are a variety of new versions written by Lucille Colando, illustrated by Jared D. Lee.

I adapted my props to go with this new book. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves (Perhaps she'll sneeze). She eats some leaves, a shirt, some pants, a pumpkin, a pole, some hay and rope. At the end she does sneeze and the kids all guessed that it would make a scarecrow. The rhyming and illustrations were great again. I borrowed our teacher's extra large version and sat the old lady on my lap while I gave each child a prop to take turns putting it in.  They asked to read it again as they love hands-on activities with books. (As do I.)

HALLOWEEN VERSION:

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat where she eats a bat, an owl, a cat, a ghost, a goblin, some bones, and a wizard.

THANKSGIVING VERSION:

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie, "a Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry." Written by Allison Jackson, illustrated by Judith Byron Schachner. More activities from MakingLearningFun.com

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed some Snow. She also swallows some coal, a scarf, a hat...what do you think it makes at the end?

Check out all the great Old Lady activities on Teaching Heart.

Which one do you like best? My $3 yard sale find or the one I made by hand because I couldn't afford the $40 store version?

Copy and paste these into word and resize to fit page. You could use a plastic zip bag or brown paper sack to put the old lady on the outside and let the kids put the animals inside during the story.

There are so many different versions. Try Marcia's Lesson Links Old Lady Who Swallowed a Hamburger

For younger kids I often change the words to "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly, perhaps she'll CRY." "She swallowed a Horse, she choked of course."

Hope you have fun reading this "Must have" book to your kids.

Linking to Today's Creative, Get Your Craft On
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My Backyard Eden, Make It Yours Day

Germ Detectives

When doing a co-op preschool at our house we started the year off with a lesson on germs.
You've got to watch out for young children who like to lick everything in sight, including their own runny noses.
I started by telling them that germs are little pieces of dirt that are invisible.  They get everywhere and like to try to sneak into your body to make you sick but you can do things to keep the germs away.
1. Sneeze and cough in your elbow or a tissue
2. Scrub your hands
3. Go to the doctor each fall for a check-up (and for a flu vaccine- but you don't need to tell them that)
4. Eat healthy (things that grow in a garden, fruits and vegatables)
5. Exercise - play sports move around
For this lesson we are going to focus on the first two.

SNEEZE on your KNEES
Teach kids that if there is not a tissue around they should try to cough in their elbow or on their knees - not on their hands.  I know one teacher who took a handful of glitter (or you could use larger confetti or cut up paper) and she pretended to sneeze on the class and released the glitter. She showed her class how tiny it was and how it got everywhere from just one sneeze. She reminded them that Germs are invisible and anytime you sneeze that many germs fly out so you should try to trap them in your elbow.

For our preschool we made paper sack puppets. I let the kids put band-aids on them to show they should cover up owies to not let germs get in.  Then I had them make their puppet sneeze and cough into the child's elbow for practice.  They had a blast doing this. Later, during snack time, one of the boys sneezed for real into their elbow and I praised him for remembering.

HAND WASHING- Germs are Invisible
We talked about germs again and how germs are invisible (hiding) dirt that can make you sick. Before the kids came I used a special lotion (that only shows up when using a black light) on a doll and applied it to certain "Hot Spots" around the house. During circle time I passed around the doll that was sick and they each held it and the girls gave it kisses to make it feel better. We played with instruments (including recorder flutes) for a few minutes. 
DETECTIVE TIPS:
I told them we were going to be detectives searching for germs. I asked if they could see any. "No." Then I told them to follow me to my detective lab (the bathroom) to search for hiding germs.  I used my special “detective light” (black light) to show them the sick baby and how it was covered in hidden germs (the special lotion lit up).

Then we checked their hands and saw germs all over. I showed them the light switch, sink faucet, toilet handle and seat, keyboard and mouse and the flute all had hiding germs. I told them we needed to clean up to get rid of the germs so we used Clorox wipes to clean everything then washed our hands. We used the black light again and saw that we missed a lot of germs so we cleaned everything again and I showed them how to make sure they got all the spots on their hands.

Teach them to sing the ABC's or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star -SLOWLY- while soaping and scrubbing their hands under water and drying hands well with a towel. 

Say BOO to the FLU: A program by Clorox has great germ fighting activities and a FREE printable Handwashing Chart

Here are some sites to get the hidden germs (invisible ink spray, lotion or powder) that will show up under a black light:
Glo Germ, Germ Juice, Glitter Bug (Brevis)
Click here for Black Light info or I've seen some sold at Home Depot, or if you want to brave the mall check out the Hot Topic store.

I read this easy to understand book to our class: Germs are Not for Sharing by Elizabeth Verdick and illustrated by Marieka Heinlen.

You could also try reading these Germ books:

If you plan to use them just once check your library for a copy (watch out for germ covered books ;).

If you are a teacher and plan to use this each year you may want to purchase a copy to reuse.

The Magic School Bus: Inside Ralphie, A Book about Germs by Joanna Cole and John Speirs.

Bill Nye the Science Guy's Great Big Book of Tiny Germs  would be great for older grade school to high school kids. "Germs, germs, everywhere! Did you know that: - Some germs are good for you, or even delicious? - There are more germs on Earth than all other living things combined? - Your body is constantly fighting germs, even when you aren't sick? Now you know! Find out how more about germs and how to stay healthy, with eleven cool experiments."

CIRCLE TIME SONG:
Wash, Wash, Wash Your Hands

Produced by Stamford, CT Public Schools- Springdale Elementary School – 10/01/08
(Sing to Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

1. Wash, Wash, Wash your hands
Several times a day
Soap and water always work
To Send the germs away
2. Dry, Dry, Dry your hands
Every time you wash
If you dry them every time
The germs you're sure to squash
3. Blow, Blow, Blow your nose
Then go wash your hands
Boogers running down your face
Really isn't grand
4. Cover, Cover, Cover your cough
Please use your arm
Keep the germs away from friends
So they can do no harm

Linked to Tip Junkie's Tip Me Tuesday
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10 Apples Up on Top, Dr. Seuss Link Collection

sA friend told me about the amazing blog, I Can Teach My Child!

Jenae created this fun activity to help her son explore the Dr. Seuss book 10 Apples Up On Top.

I love how this lets him have a hands-on manipulative to help him learn counting while he plays along with the book.

Click here to see how Jenae created this fun activity so you can make your own. 




Dr. Seuss Link Collection:

I love looking at other bloggers' Dr. Seuss themed posts. I decided to use the page tabs of my blog to start 3 Linky Lists of great Dr. Seuss themed blog posts. If you know any bloggers who have fun Dr. Seuss ideas, tell them to add their link here.

Take a look at the right column to see what lists I am collecting. I'd love to have the utlimate Dr. Seuss collection with quick thumbnail pics and a title for everyone to reference. Share your Dr. Seuss blog posts on ObSEUSSed and tell your friends.

Seuss Central - Link up Dr. Seuss book activities,lessons, games, printables, worksheets
Seuss Celebrations - Link up Dr. Seuss themed parties, baby showers, treats, cakes
Seuss Style - Link up Dr. Seuss decorated playrooms, classrooms, or a baby nursery