Theme Notes
Series 154: Mini Beasts
Mini Beasts
Many young children enjoy discovering small animals and insects. They come across these “mini beasts” in their daily routines, especially when playing outdoors.
This week in Play School we explore many “mini beasts” familiar to children, such as insects and birds, through songs, stories, craft activities and “through the windows”. Each day we open the Bug Box Calendar to find a different craft insect hiding inside.
We are also visited by some live insects! On Monday, we meet a stick insect, a cricket, a giant burrowing cockroach, a snail, a slug and some caterpillars and slaters. On Friday we watch some silkworms, munching on mulberry leaves.
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Series 154: Mini Beasts
Monday SONGS
Fuzzy Wuzzy Caterpillar Composer: Roberta McLaughlin & Lucille Wood
How Does a Caterpillar Go? Composer: M.C. Dainton Publisher: Paxton Music Ltd.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Composer: Traditional
Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
PRESENTERS Big Bass Drum Jay Laga’aia – Leah Vandenberg Composer: Traditional PIANIST Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing Peter Dasent
STORY Little Dancer Author: Paul Rogers Illustrator: Emma Rogers Publisher: Orchard Books
FILMS Karaoke Kids (Play School, ABC)
POEM Here is a Box Author: Elizabeth Matterson
IDEAS FOR LATER Make a paper chain caterpillar! To make a paper chain, cut coloured paper into strips, about 2cm by 10cm each. Form a loop with the first strip and tape to secure. Thread the second strip through the first loop, then form another loop and tape to secure. Continue until your paper chain is the desired length. Twist two coloured pipe cleaners together for antennae and tape them on one end of the paper chain. Draw on two eyes and a smiling mouth with a marker. Move and dance to different kinds of music! Try dancing with scarves, bells, and shakers.
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Series 154: Mini Beasts
MAKE AND DO
How to Make Baby Bird
You will need: Orange pipe cleaners Safety scissors Gumnuts Small sticker dots Feathers
Cut a short length of orange pipe cleaner. Twist the pipe cleaner into a small circle, then fold the circle in half to make a beak.
Poke the beak into a gumnut.
Stick two sticker dot eyes to the gumnut.
Tape on two feathers for wings.
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Series 154: Mini Beasts
Tuesday SONGS
Down in the Meadow Composer: Traditional Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing
My Dog Bill Composers: Henrietta Clark & Warren Carr Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Ugly Bug Ball
Composer: Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. PRESENTERS Sherman Jay Laga’aia – Leah Vandenberg Publisher: Wonderland Music Co. Inc (BMI)
Little Peter Rabbit PIANIST Peter Dasent Composer: Traditional Publisher: Origin/ABC Music Publishing TOLD STORY The Wriggly Bug Ball I’m a Little Rocket (I’m a Little Teapot) (A story told by the Play School team) Composer: George H. Sanders & Clarence Z. Kelley FILM Publisher: Kelman Music Publishing Face Painting (Play School, ABC)
ANIMATION My Dog Bill (Play School, ABC)
POEM Here is a Box Author: Elizabeth Matterson
IDEAS FOR LATER Take photos of things you see and do in the day and night. Develop or print the photos and sort them into two groups. Use the photos to make a day collage and a night collage, or paste the photos into two separate scrapbooks to make a day book and a night book.
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Series 154: Mini Beasts
Wednesday SONGS
Splish! Splash! Splosh! Composers: Peter & Robyn Mapleson Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Walking in the Bush Composer: Tony Strutton Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain
Composer: Traditional PRESENTERS Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Leah Vandenberg - Teo Gebert Zoom
PIANIST Composers: Peter Charlton & Paul Reade Brian Castles-Onion Drip Drop
STORY Composers: Peter & Robyn Mapleson Baby Bilby, Where Do You Sleep? Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
Author & Illustrator: Narelle Oliver Incy Wincy Spider Publisher: Lothian Books Composer: Traditional FILM Publisher: ABC Music Publishing Bugs Montage (Play School, ABC) Moon, Moon Composer: Lucy Sprague-Mitchell ANIMATION (Gerfolktune) Incy Wincy Spider Publisher: Allans Music (Aust) Ltd. (Play School, ABC) The Dino Stomp POEM Composers: Judith Simpson & Max Lambert Here is a Box Publisher: ABC Music Publishing Author: Elizabeth Matterson Go Back Jack IDEAS FOR LATER Composer: Lorraine Charters Make an egg-carton spider with eight pipe Ladybug cleaner legs. Attach a piece of elastic to the top so you can wiggle your spider Composers: Wilhelmina Seegmiller & Otto about! Sing “Incy, Wincy Spider” and climb Miessner your spider up your arm, the “water spout”. Publisher: Silver Burdett Co.
Beetles in the Basin Composer: Traditional Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
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Series 154: Mini Beasts
MAKE AND DO
How to Make a Water Colour Drawing
You will need: Water colour pencils Paper Paintbrush Water
Draw a picture using water colour pencils.
To turn your picture into a painting, dip a paintbrush in some water and gently brush over your drawing.
We drew a summer picture with green grass, a tall tree, a hot sun, a butterfly and patty pan flowers.
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Series 154: Mini Beasts
Thursday SONGS
Here is the Beehive Composers: P. Zajan & M Miller
Wriggly Worm Composers: Brian Castles-Onion & Leah Vandenberg
Today I Saw a Little Worm Composer: Spike Milligan
Incy Wincy Spider PRESENTERS Leah Vandenberg – Teo Gebert Composer: Traditional Publisher: ABC Music Publishing PIANIST Brian Castles-Onion Wiggerly Woo Composers: Don Spencer & Moira Cochrane STORY Publisher: Mushroom Music/Australian Snug as a Bug Children’s Music Foundation Author: Michael Elsohn Ross Morning Town Ride Illustrator: Sylvia Long Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC USA Composer: Malvina Reynolds Publisher: Associated Music FILM Patchwork Quilts Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear (Play School, ABC) Composer: Traditional Publisher: ABC Music Publishing ANIMATION Warm Kitty, Soft Kitty Warm Kitty, Soft Kitty (Play School, ABC) Composer: Traditional Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
POEM Here is a Box Five in the Bed Author: Elizabeth Matterson Composer: Traditional Publisher: ABC Music Publishing IDEAS FOR LATER Make a cosy bed for your pet cat or dog to sleep in. If you don’t have a pet, make a cosy bed for a favourite toy. Make an “Egg in the Basket”. Press a biscuit cutter into a piece of bread to make a hole. Put the bread on a lined baking tray. Crack an egg into a small bowl or cup. Carefully pour the egg into the hole. Cook in a moderate oven until the egg is cooked to your liking.
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Series 154: Mini Beasts
MAKE AND DO
How to Make a Beehive, a Queen Bee and her Worker Bees
You will need: 2 joined egg carton cells (for the body Black A3 cardboard of the Queen Bee) An orange crayon Black and yellow pipe cleaners A square of bubble wrap Black marker Yellow paint Orange cellophane A paintbrush or paint roller Tape
Beehive Draw the outline of a beehive on a sheet of A3 black cardboard using an orange crayon.
Use a paintbrush or paint roller to cover the bubbly side of a square of bubble wrap in yellow paint. Press the bubble wrap onto the black cardboard to make a honeycomb print. Fill your beehive with honeycomb.
Queen Bee Ask an adult to poke two small holes in the front of one of the egg carton cells. Thread a pipe cleaner through the holes for antennae.
Draw on two eyes and lots of black stripes.
Twist a rectangle of orange cellophane in the middle to form two wings. Tape the wings in the middle of the two egg carton cells.
Worker Bee Hold one black and one yellow pipe cleaner together and twist them around your finger to form a spiral. Stop twisting about halfway along, so you have two straight lengths of pipe cleaner at the end of the spiral. Twist the straight black length into antennae and the straight yellow length into wings. Make lots of worker bees and tape them to your beehive.
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Series 154: Mini Beasts
Friday SONGS
Frere Jacques Composer: Traditional French Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
La Cucaracha Composer: Traditional Mexican Publisher: ABC Music Publishing
The Ants Go Marching
Composer: Traditional PRESENTERS Publisher: ABC Music Publishing Teo Gebert – Justine Clarke Spotting Away PIANIST Composer: Felicity Barclay Brian Castles-Onion
TOLD STORY The Perfect Picnic Spot (A story told by the Play School team)
FILM Silk Screening (Play School, ABC)
POEM Here is a Box Author: Elizabeth Matterson
IDEAS FOR LATER Prepare some picnic food and have a picnic lunch in your backyard or at the park. Collect some silk worms and watch as they spin silk.
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Series 154: Mini Beasts
MAKE AND DO
How to Make a Silk Print
You will need: Wooden blocks String Craft glue Fabric paints A piece of silk, or any material you like Plastic plates or recycled plastic containers
Coat one face of the block in craft glue. Arrange a length of string on the craft glue and set aside to dry. You might like to arrange the string in a spiral or wavy pattern. You could also cover the whole block in craft glue and wrap a length of string around the block to make a stripy pattern.
Lay the material out flat on your workspace.
Pour different coloured paints onto plastic plates or into recycled plastic containers.
Dip the wooden block stamps into paint – a different colour for each stamp – and press them onto a piece of material to leave a print. Cover the material in lots of colourful prints. Set aside to dry.
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