For the past couple of weeks, we've been up to monkey business at Circle Time! We've read books about monkeys, and sung songs and rhymes about them as well. Some favorite monkey-themed books include: Five Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed, written and illustrated by Eileen Christelow; Caps for Sale, retold and illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina; Two Little Monkeys, written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Jill Barton; and Monkey and Me, written and illustrated by Emily Gravett.
We've also had fun learning some monkey-themed songs and rhymes. Here are a few favorites:
10 Little Monkeys Climbing in a Tree
1 little, 2 little, 3 little monkeys,
4 little, 5 little, 6 little monkeys,
7 little, 8 little, 9 little monkeys
10 little monkeys climbing in the tree!
Five Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed
Five little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
“No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”
(Continue on, counting down the monkeys (i.e. 4,3, 2,1)
Monkey See, Monkey Do
I clap my hands (clap, clap, clap), monkeys do too (clap, clap, clap)
Monkey see (clap, clap, clap), Monkey do (clap, clap, clap)
I stomp my feet…
I wave my arms….
I jump up and down….
I turn around….
I sing a song….
I hop on one foot….
I give a yawn....