SONG -THREE LITTLE WITCHES - SONG

THREE LITTLE WITCHES (Sing to Three Little Indians and use fingers for numbers)

One little, Two little, Three little witches,
Flying on their broom sticks, flying over ditches,
Sliding down the moonbeams without any hitches,
Hay Ho Halloween Time.

HERE COMES PETER COTTONTAIL

HERE COMES PETER COTTONTAIL
Hoppin´ down the bunny trail,
Hippity hoppity,
Easter´s on its way

Bringin´ ev´ry girl and boy
A basketful of Easter joy
Things to make your Easter
Bright and gay

He´s got jelly beans for Tommy
Colored eggs for sister Sue
There´s an orchid for your mommy
And an Easter bonnet too. Oh!

Here´ comes Peter Cottontail
Hoppin´ down the bunny trail
Hippity hoppity
Happy Easter Day

Look at him hop and listen to him say,
"Try to do the things you should"
Maybe if you´re extra good
He´ll roll lots of Easter eggs your way

You´ll wake up on Easter morning
And you´ll know that he was there
When you find those choc´late bunnies
That he´s hiding ev´rywhere, Oh!

Here´ comes Peter Cottontail
Hoppin´ down the bunny trail
Hippity hoppity
Happy Easter Day.

FATHERS DAY POEM/FOOTPRINTS

FATHERS DAY POEM/FOOTPRINTS
Walk a little slower, Daddy,
Said a little child so small.
I´m following in your footsteps,
And I don´t want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they´re hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.

Someday when I´m all grown up,
You´re what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who´ll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you.

SUGAR CONE CHRISTMAS TREES

Sugar Cones,
Chocolate chips,
white chocolate chips or candy melts,
Assorted candies for decorating,
Fruit Loop cereal,
MM´s, red Licorice Strings, etc.
Waxed Paper (to work on)

Be sure a parent or guardian helps with this project.
Melt chocolate or candy melts in a shallow bowl in the microwave. Do not burn. Stir well until smooth.
Roll a Sugar Ice-cream Cone in the chocolate to cover. Turn upside down on wax paper and press the decorations into the chocolate to decorate your tree. Allow the chocolate to harden. Store in a cool location. Super gifts for the kids to exchange with friends.

EIGHT LITTLE REINDEER ACTION PLAY

EIGHT LITTLE REINDEER

Eight little reindeer pulling Santa´s sled One fell down and bumped him head
The elves called Santa, and Santa said, "Can seven little reindeer pull my sled?"

Continue counting down - seven little reindeer, six little reindeer, five,
four, three, and two ... THEN

One little reindeer pulling Santa´s sled He fell down and bumped his head
The elves called Santa, and Santa said, "Call Rudolph!"

PINE CONE ORNAMENTS

Pine cones are a natural tree ornament and take very little effort to "decorate" for your Christmas tree. First tie a ribbon or string around the pine cone, the way you do this will determine how the pinecone hangs (from one end or the other, or from the center so the cone lies sideways). They can be decorated with glitter glue or paint, or glue on some ribbon, beads or sequins. Letting the kids use their imagination will make the cones even more special in years to come.

CRAFT -CINNAMON DOUGH DECORATIONS

Make Christmas tree decorations with a wonderful aroma of cinnamon and apples.

4 parts cinnamon
3 parts applesauce
1 part white glue
To make cinnamon dough, mix ingredients together in a bowl. Give each child a small amount of the dough. Have them flatten the dough on a floured surface. Let the children use their favorite cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the dough. Give each child a straw and have him make a hole in the top of each shape so it can be hung. Add ribbons or yarn for hanging after the shapes have dried for at least 48 hours

VALENTINE HEART ACTIVITY

For this activity you will need scraps of fabric or paper with different textures. (ie: fake fur, velvet, corduroy, fuzzy wallpaper, sandpaper, etc.), construction paper, scissors, glue,and yarn.

Cut different size heart shapes form the different textures. Cut a few pieces of construction paper in half and glue the hearts on the paper. If desired, draw funny faces on the hearts with a permanent marker

Tie the pages together to make a book. Now you have a Valentine book for the baby to feel as you look at each page and describe what he is touching.

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS PAPER CHAIN

Children have counted the days until Christmas arrived for years and years. You don´t need a fancy store bought countdown calendar, just make up this simple, yet effective craft.
Construction paper (red and green)
1 glue stick (not so messy)
scissors
Use your scissors to cut out 12 strips of red and 13 strips of green construction paper. The dimensions are flexible but I find 1 inch by 8 inches a good size. After that make 1 of the strips into a chain link (circle) and glue together with your glue stick. Repeat making each strip into a circle and connecting through the last circle making a chain. Alternate colors of paper until you have 25 chains. Now you have your very own countdown to Christmas. Starting December 1st pull off 1 chain & do this for the next 24 days and when there is only 1 chain left you´ll know that it´s Christmas! We always made these chains and draped them over the children´s headboards. They ripped off one link each night before going to sleep.
POEM TO PUT ON CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN CHAIN
1.
How many days till Christmas?
It´s mighty hard to tell
Take off a link every night
When the Sandman cast his spell
And Christmas Eve will be here
By the time you reach the bell.
The children take the chains home and are told to take off one link
every night to count down the days until Christmas.
2.
December first until Christmas
Is the longest time of the year.
It seems as though old Santa
Never will appear.
How many days until Christmas?
It´s mighty hard to count.
So this little chain on links
Will tell you the exact amount.

TAG FOR A HOMEMADE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT

HANG THIS ON YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE,
This is a good little poem to attach to a Christmas craft with the child´s hand, feet or finger prints. Be sure to date these items!

Hang this on your Christmas tree,
To remember how I used to be.
To remind you of me now and then,
And bring fond memories back again.

PETER COTTONTAIL SONG

Author Unknown
Here comes Peter Cottontail
Hopping down the bunny trail
Hippidy, Hoppity,
Easter´s on its way!!!

SANTA PRINTS

If your children are looking for evidence that Santa actually came try out this little trick:
Dip a man´s boot in baking soda and make a few imprints across the carpet in your room. This works best with dark carpet. When the children arrive they will see the "snow" prints leading to the tree!


This can be done for the Easter bunny, too. Just cut out a sponge to the shape of a rabbit´s footprint. After making tracks have the children follow the tracks to their hidden treats!

EASY BATIK EASTER EGGS

Batik is an Indonesian method of hand-printing cloth by brushing melted wax on to the parts that are not to be dyed. The traditional method of making Batik eggs also uses melted wax alternating dipping the eggs in colored dyes and adding designs by painting on melted wax. This method uses masking tape to produce very interesting results.

Cut out designs from masking tape and stick them onto your egg. Dip the eggs into dye. When they are dry remove the masking tape. You can repeat the process by sticking on new cutouts and re-dipping the egg. You can overlap some of the colors for variety. Be sure to start with the lightest dye and work your way to the darker ones. If you want to keep an area a particular color, cover it with masking tape.

You can use a white crayon (actually any color you want) or hard paraffin wax to draw on designs which will resist the dye.

HANGING CHRISTMAS TREES

Make Christmas tree cut outs out of green construction paper. Your kids can glue on "Fruit Loops" colored rice or pasta to decorate it.

ARBOR DAY - POEM

Written By: Kate Louise Brown

The sunbeams are twinkling;
The air, soft and free,
Is telling a message
To you and to me.
Come out! Come out!
We´re planting a tree;
Come out! Come out!
Let´s all plant a tree.

Though now it is slender,
No taller than I,
It soon will be growing
Straight up to the sky.
A tree! A tree!
That reaches so high;
A tree! A tree!
That touches the sky.

EGG SAFETY

Eggs have been used to celebrate spring festivals for centuries. Symbolic Easter rabbits and colored eggs came to America with German settlers, and egg hunts have been beloved by children ever since. Easter egg hunts can be fun and safe for all if a few simple guidelines are followed:

Inspect eggs before purchasing them, making sure that they are not dirty or cracked. Dangerous bacteria may enter a cracked egg.
Store eggs in their original carton on a refrigerator shelf until ready for preparation. Keep eggs away from foods with strong odors (such as fish). Be sure that they do not freeze.
For best results with hard-cooked eggs, buy eggs 1 week in advance and refrigerate them. Eggs can be "too fresh" to peel easily.

Eggs have been used to celebrate spring festivals for centuries. Symbolic Easter rabbits and colored eggs came to America with German settlers, and egg hunts have been beloved by children ever since. Easter egg hunts can be fun and safe for all if a few simple guidelines are followed:

Inspect eggs before purchasing them, making sure that they are not dirty or cracked.
Dangerous bacteria may enter a cracked egg.

Store eggs in their original carton on a refrigerator shelf until ready for preparation.
Keep eggs away from foods with strong odors (such as fish). Be sure that they do not freeze.

For best results with hard-cooked eggs, buy eggs 1 week in advance and refrigerate them. Eggs can be "too fresh" to peel easily.

Follow these directions for perfect hard-cooked eggs:

Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan; add enough tap water to cover at least 1 inch above eggs.

Cover and quickly bring just to boiling. Turn off heat, and if needed, prevent further boiling by removing pan from the burner.

Let covered eggs stand in the hot water for 15 to 17 minutes for Large eggs. Adjust time up or down by about 3 minutes for each size larger or smaller.

Immediately run cold water over eggs or place them in ice water until completely cooled.

Dry and refrigerate, or decorate eggs immediately. Do not decorate cracked eggs.
Refrigerate them and use as ingredients in holiday recipes. Do not hide eggs where they may come into contact with pets, wild animals, birds, reptiles, insects, or lawn chemicals. Gather eggs as soon as possible after they are hidden. Do not allow them to remain hidden overnight.

After the hunt: Inspect eggs; discard cracked eggs. Any uneaten eggs can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Eggs gathered at public hunts should not be eaten if they are out of refrigeration for more than 2 hours.

Table decorations: Eggs used for table decoration should not be eaten.

Take care from the time of selection, and eggs can help make your holiday safe and fun.

SONG -THE GOBLIN IN THE DARK SONG

THE GOBLIN IN THE DARK
(To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell)

The goblin in the dark,
The goblin in the dark,
Hi-Ho on Halloween
The goblin in the dark,

Verse 2- The goblin takes a ghost,
Verse 3- The ghost takes a witch,
Verse 4- The witch takes a cat,
Verse 5- The cat takes a bat,

They all tiptoe home,
They all tiptoe home,
Hi-ho on Halloween,
They all tiptoe home.

PILGRIM, PILGRIM WHERE´S YOUR HAT? (GAME)

Have the children stand in a circle. Choose one child to be the pilgrim and stand in the middle Blindfold this child. Let the other children in the circle pass the hat to each other saying:
Pilgrim, pilgrim where´s your hat?
We´ve passed it around the circle
Now you try to get it back.
The children stop passing the hat when the poem is completed. The child who has the hat at this point hides it behind his back. The pilgrims tries to guess who has the hat.