Bring fun into your classroom with rhymes and fingerplays!
“Way Up High in the Apple Tree” is one of my all time old favorite finger plays. I have been using it since I started out as a preschool teacher over 20 years ago. If you don’t know this simple rhyme, let me share it with you…
Way up high in the apple tree,
Five red apples smiled at me.
I shook that tree as hard as I could,
Dooowwwwwwwn came an apple….
Mmmm, it was good!
Repeat the rhyme until all the apples are off of the tree!
Use Movement to Act out the Rhyme
I like letting the children say this rhyme first by just using our hands. We act out the rhyme by shaking our tree and making our hands go down to the ground as each apple falls down.
Use Repetition
Then we repeat the rhyme using the flannel board. Each child takes a turn removing an apple from the tree.
Add Expression
Be sure to use lots of expression when sharing fingerplays and rhymes with your students. We only have one sad little apple left on that tree…
Extension Activities
During center time, I leave the felt pieces and the flannel board out where children can give this a try on their own…
Why we Love Fingerplays
Using the flannel board with your fingerplays is a great way to teach rhymes in preschool and build a child’s memory of those rhymes. Do you have a favorite apple rhyme you like to use too? Perhaps you can teach me a new one to add to my list!
Links to grow on..
See how you can make your own flannel board here.
See a fun book to read with your apple tree rhyme here.
Available on Amazon
