The new old-school activity these days? Finger songs. From itsy bitsy spider to A B Cs to Skinamarinky dink—finger songs are excellent because you can chant them at home, sing them in the car, whisper while waiting at the doctor's office. The perfect no-gear activity for little fingers. And what age is appropriate for finger songs...well, dear son is 1 and he loves them and I am lots and lots of 1s and I love them too.
Itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout
(index finger and thumb on both hands touching—moving up)
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
(jazz hands making rain go down)
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
(make a circle with your hands)
And the itsy bitsy spider went up the wall again.
(index finger and thumb on both hands touching and moving up again)
Simply youtube "Skinamarinky dink" by Sharon, Lois and Bram for finger actions to that great song (also check out "Peanut, Peanut Butter, Jelly").
Another favourite is "The More We Get Togther" by Raffi using American Sign Language (we do this one a lot because it helps learn the sign "more" which is a great 1st word to learn).
Need more finger action songs?
A B C (knocking hands together—teaches beats)
Head and Shoulders
This Little Piggie
Round And Round The Garden
I totally sang these songs when I was a kid...and they haven't gone out of style yet!
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