Scarf Ideas
Compiled from the Pubyac listserv
"My Kite" (This is on the "Piggyback Songs" CD) (Sung to the tune: "The Farmer in the Dell") My kite is up so high, (fly scarf up high) My kite is up so high, Oh my, just watch it fly, My kite is up so high.
My kite is falling down, (make scarf fall to ground)
My kite is falling down,
Oh no, it's down so low,
My kite is falling down.
The wind has caught my kite, (fly scarf quickly) The wind has caught my kite, What fun, I'm on the run, The wind has caught my kite.
Repeat first verse.
"Shoo Fly" (I use the "Wee Sing" version)
Shoo fly don't bother me, (swat at fly with scarf) Shoo fly don't bother me, Shoo fly don't bother me, For I belong to somebody.
I feel, I feel, I feel like a morning star. (twirl scarf around in any fashion)
I feel, I feel, I feel like a morning star.
- You can do this if you have enough scarves for everyone to have 2 each.*
"Two Little Blackbirds" (I like the version on "Finger Plays and Foot Plays for Fun and Learning" CD from Educational Activities, Inc.)
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill, (hold up a scarf in either hand ) One named Jack, ("fly" one scarf up and down) And the other named Jill, ("fly" other scarf up and down) Fly away Jack, (fly one scarf behind back) Fly away Jill, (fly other scarf behind back) Come back Jack, (fly one scarf to front) Come back Jill. (fly other scarf to front) Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill, (hold up a scarf in either hand ) One named Jack, (fly one scarf up and down) And the other named Jill, (fly other scarf up and down)
"Pop! Goes the Weasel" (I use the "Wee Sing" version)
All around the cobbler's bench, (twirl scarf around) The monkey chased the weasel, The monkey thought 'twas all in fun, POP! Goes the weasel. (throw scarf in air and let fall to ground)
Repeat.
"Ten in a Bed" (There is a fun version on the "Playtime Favorites" CD from Music for Little People. The sound effects have the kids laughing so much.)
There were ten in a bed And the little one said, "Roll over! Roll over!" (twirl scarf around) So they all rolled over (twirl scarf around) And one fell out (make scarf fall to floor) There were nine in a bed... Continue counting down to one. There was one in a bed, And the little one said, "Good night!"
I have recently started using scarves and I have two CDs that I have been using. Musical scarves & activities by Georgiana Stewart Second Line by Johnette Downing (This one is a little quieter, but the directions are very clear and I like it, but another librarian here does not.)
Scarves: tune of "Frere Jacques." Start with scarf over head & face. Do as actions indicate.
Where is baby? Where is baby? There s/he is. There s/he is. (Pull scarf off.) I'm so glad to see you. I'm so glad to see you. Peek-a-boo! Peek-a-boo! When we put the scarves back in the (labelled shoe box) box, we sing "Scarves Away" to the tune of "Jingle Bells"
Scarves away, scarves away. Put those scarves away...... etc.
I like to use scarf activities for a break between stories. Good luck! Johnette Downing's The Second Line Scarf Activity Songs: http://www.johnettedowning.com/music.html#second <http://wcpl-mail1/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.johnettedowning.com/music.html%23second>
This will NOT put you to sleep. Johnette Downing is a New Orleanian and one of my favorite children's musicians. She is fabulous. When I was a children's librarian with Harris County (TX), she performed at one of our children's services meetings. I immediately bought all of her recordings. Fabulous talent, lots of fun, and a very nice person. She is a fan of libraries and does a lot of performing at various Louisiana libraries for summer reading programs. She has received top awards for her recordings and performs nationally/internationally as well (and at the children's tent at the Jazz & Heritage Festival).
She is just fantastic and I wish more people knew about her.
http://www.johnettedowning.com <http://wcpl-mail1/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.johnettedowning.com>
You might try some of these: "Musical Scarves & Activities" Educational Record Center www.erckids.com
"The Second Line--Scarf Activity Songs" by Johnette Downing
"Moving with Mozart" by Georgiana Stewart which actually has a track called "I Have a Little Scarf" to the tune of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.
"Knees up Mother Brown" Song #9 on Raffi in Concert.
Wee Sing for Baby for dancing, swaying, and swishing to the music.
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, and Other Action Rhymes by Zita Newcome
Wind, oh wind, oh wind, I say, What are you blowing away today? Scarves, oh scarves, oh scarves, I say, I am blowing the scarves away.
Scarves: Speaking as a mother of a 21 month old, there are lots of wonderful scarf games out there. We first encountered them at Gymboree where they do a lot of different activities with playscarves. Starting at 6/7 months they do peekaboo games with them and my daughter still loves that game. As Julie suggested you can use them with music to enhance rhythm awareness or hand out different colored ones to help teach colors. They can also be used to pull toys, for (gentle) tug of war games, as flags, as mini-parachutes, and as dress up props (hats, capes, tails, you name it!). Totline's Toddler-Theme-A-Saurus includes some good songs to use with scarves. I also used them to do a song about autumn leaves falling down set to the tune of Ring Around the Rosie. When dancing with them, my daughter and I generally use music where there are tempo changes, using the scarves to emphasize the difference between the fast and the slow movements. The ones we have are from Gymboree and cost $8 for a pack of 3 colored scarves. I am sure there are less expensive ones somewhere but I don't know where.
Georgiana Liccione Stewart has a new CD called Musical Scarves and Activities. I purchased a copy for my branch but haven't listened to it yet! I am newly motivated to do so...
I haven't used them before, although I always wanted to get some to use with toddlers. A book that goes well with that is "Color Dance" by Ann Jonas, although the idea of color mixing presented in the book would go over the heads of most toddlers. This would be better suited to preschoolers. Acting out the book would be great if the scarves happen to be one color each. However, if the scarves are multicolored, you could still do a movement activity with preschoolers or toddlers. I think classical music would be great because it's so dramatic, but I don't have a suggestion for a particular musical work to use. Good luck.
I found a great selection at A.C.Moore for $1.00 each! Raffi's Baby Beluga is fun to do with the scarves- I call the scarves our whales and do just the things you mentioned. The scarves can be flowers that grow - or worms (as in Walter the Waltzing) ************************ If I had scarves, I would use them to music with toddlers, letting them wave them around-maybe copy what the leader does (wave overhead, wave down low, wave to the side, throw up in air and let it fall...and on and on..) or do sorting by colors (if you have a green scarf wave it high, if you have a green scarf wave it high, wave your scarf way up high, let's see those colors fly, if you have a green scarf wave it high! tune: happy and you know it-repeat for other colors) I have more ideas, I just don't want to pay 6 bucks a piece for scarfs that toddlers will eat/suck on etc.
Why not pick up a bunch of scarves at the local thrift shop or salvation army? There is no shortage of ladies who have been given "lovely" scarves for holidays etc. One good wash and at .25 cents each you don't care who sucks on them.
I am a children's librarian in rural Nova Scotia. We recently implemented a region wide program for babies and toddlers. We prepared "kits" for our branches and one of the items we made for each kit was a "rainbow box". Using scarves (or donated scraps of fabric) or even crepe paper streamers (any will do), we joined (glued) colours and then attached them to the inside of a kleenex box. Put them in the order of this rhyme/song: red and orange, green and blue shiney yellow, purple too all the colours that we know live up in a rainbow! Attach the purple end to the inside, bottom of the kleenex box. Stuff the rest in.You then pull the fabric out of the box as you sing. (Like a magician). Then stuff them back in and repeat. Toddlers love this, and they are learning their colours at the same time. Use different textured fabric for an added effect. This is fun, and inexpensive to make.Perhaps a local fabric shop will donate materials.
I use scarves in Babytime. We wave them about, we toss them up in the air (pretending we are juggling) and we play peek-a-boo with them. They love them. Any music that catches your fancy will do. I usually save the quick, high energy stuff for the bells and shakers. Something like 'You are my sunshine' is good.
I use this color song from a 3 CD Disney box set, and also sing, "Wave em up high...... Wave em down low..... Wave em really fast............ Wave em really slow......" and then I take scarves around and kind of veil the kids' heads (the scarves are really sheer and brightly covered and its fun to look through them) and they veil me or each other and run around or their moms veil them... They have a lot of fun!
Well, lots of juggling classes begin with juggling scarves! One daycare I visit use scarves like mats, the children pick one out, spread it on the floor, and then sit on their "spot". They also dance with them, and use them for dress up!
I've always wanted to do a storytime with Ann Jonas' book, "Color Dance." The children in it dance around with strips of colored cloth (scarves?)
Scarves are wonderful tools for teaching juggling.
At our library we tie all of our scarves together and use them to make a "Magic Storytime Circle" on the floor. We invite everyone into the circle at the beginning of storytime and then let the magic begin! Allison
I've got a dozen scarves and shawls, stored in a cute old suitcase, as part of our Children's Room toy cornucopia, out for play at all times. Amazing what the kids, of all ages, do with them. I wash 'em once a month or so, toss 'em when worn, and watch the creative fun.
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I recently incorporated scarves into our baby and toddler storytimes, and what I do with them so far is: Have the kids shake them near certain body parts ("OK, shake it by your ear...now shake it by your belly button, behind you, by your toes, etc.); we go up and down the body so they are getting some stretching and moving with it. We have just the blue ones wave, then the red ones, then the yellow ones, working on the different colors. We pretend they are different pieces of clothing (pretend it is a hat and put it on your head...now pretend it is a scarf to keep your neck warm...a shirt - we slip it up our arms, pants - slip it up the legs, socks or shoes - drape it over each foot). We move the scarves up and down and then side to side, alternating with really fast and really slow, then switch from one hand to the other hand (working on opposites). We pretend the scarves are something else like bubbles or leaves or snow and toss them in the air and let them fall to the ground. We play peek-a-boo through the colors.
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I have used the scarves with 2 year olds after telling The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I read the story, then we "ate" food (plastic play food) crawled through our cocoon (a kid's play tunnel) then used the scarves as wings and danced like butterflies to a Hap Palmer song (I think it was just called "the butterfly"). The kids loved it.
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I basically just hand the scarves out and then put on some music and have the kids do what I do. We make big circles, wave them in the air, march around the room, etc. It seems so basic, but they just love to move and listen to the music and wave the pretty scarves in the air. I did it just yesterday with my 2 year old group and they were squealing with delight. I think it could also be fun to have the children hold the outsides of the larger scarves and put the smaller ones on top and bounce them up and down like some people use parachutes
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Hi, we use scarves during our Babytime program and they just love them. We play music, of course, and they tickle with them, juggle (throw them up in the air), play peek-a-boo and wave them around. And they do invent some interesting moves of their own! I don't think it has to be any fancier than that to make it fun.
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This has nothing to do with scarves, but when I worked at a children's museum, scarves were used in juggling programs. Scarves, apparently, are easier than balls (or even kooshes) for beginners to learn on. Maybe you could organize a workshop...
Hi, This is a poem we use with our Mother Goose on the Loose Program for ages birth - 3. Wind Oh Wind
Wind oh wind oh wind I say, (wave scarves) What are you blowing away today? Scarves oh scarves oh scarves I say, I am blowing the scarves away. (throw scarves in the air)
We also play peek-a-boo using the scarves with them as well.
Here is the book that couldn't remember, and have used in storyhours :
http://www.amazon.com/Squiggle-Carole-Lexa-Schaefer/dp/0517885794/sr=1-16/qid=1160165098/ref=sr_1_16/002-2172765-2544052?ie=UTF8&s=books <http://wcpl-mail1/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.amazon.com/Squiggle-Carole-Lexa-Schaefer/dp/0517885794/sr=1-16/qid=1160165098/ref=sr_1_16/002-2172765-2544052?ie=UTF8%26s=books>
I just add my own words to simple tunes such as "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf." I sing, "come and dance around with me, etc." "Come and dance your scarf with me," Come and float, spins, .... You get the idea. You can sing instructions such as, "Now let's dance around the room (circle)."
>From the book The Encyclopedia of Infant and Toddler Activities edited by Kathy Charner ISBN 087659013X:
To the tune of Paw paw Patch: Cover faces with scarves.
Where, oh, where, oh, where is (child's name)? Where, oh, where, oh, where is (child's name)? Where, oh, where, oh, where is (child's name)? Boo! I see you! (pull scarves from face)
I would think this could be adapted to name body parts, colors, etc -- changing the last to Boo! There's my knee! etc.
Here's one that I use a lot with all ages...you can call me for the tune, if you'd like, or make your own: Do, do, do, do, do Shake, shake, shake Do, do, do, do, do Shake, shake, shake Do, do, do, do, do Shake, shake, shake Turn around, turn around, turn around, Aaaaand...stop! (I draw out the 'and' as we raise the scarves over our heads and give it a little shimmy, then bring my hand down sharply as I say 'stop!')
The obvious is to sing "Shake my sillies out" and shake the ribbons! There's a "5 wiggle worms song" that is really a hand movement song, but you could wiggle ribbons as the worms instead.
If you are interested, let me know and i'll look for the words. Also the Mailbox.com (Preschool) has lots of fun little rhymes you can print out. fun to search their website.
I had a Korean student in an ESL class who volunteered in the public schools to do an after school program on ribbon dancing. I don't know if you might have Korean students in your community, but this art is wonderful, and the American kids loved it. She used oriental music. You could do further research on ribbon dance to find possible cd's.
I stuff them into a bag the first time I use them with a group, and ask what they think could be in this bag. I invite them to feel it, and touch it-- and they never guess, because a lot of scarves fit into such a small space.
When they've guessed, I pull just one out by its corner and whip it into the air where it 'blooms' over them. An assistant or the teacher who is with them catches it while I whip out a few more and call their names to see if they can catch them, which they can do because they float down. They just love it.
Wiggle them, wiggle them, wiggle them so wiggle them high, wiggle them low wiggle to the left, wiggle to the right wiggle them, wiggle them til they're out of sight
repeat with roll them clap them etc.
Autumn winds begin to blow ( shake scarves and blow!) Colored leaves fall fast (obvious) and slow (obvious) Whirling, twirling all around (they spin and spin, and spin) Until they ALL FALL DOWN! (obviously, fall down)
Put your scarf on your head, on your head put your scarf on your head, on your head Put your scarf on your head, Put your scarf on your head Put your scarf on your head, on your head.
Continue on your nose, toes, ears, etc.
(older kids can throw in the air and catch it on the body part in the song)
In the past I have found that the marches are great for use with scarves.
Then I have found classical music works if it is something with the Wm Tell or the bumble bee. I am not really great with the official symphonies but the kids love to move their scarves with many of the classical tunes.
If you need specifics I will have to research the CD's and give you the titles of them. Let me know.