Blue Sky
Sparklin' Day is Mrs. McPuppet’s first recording and a perennial
favorite. From the whimsical ode to the “Baby Hippo”, a popular
request, to her operatic celebration of “Lasagna”, this album has
been a staple of her public and school performances for the past
decade.
The tasty homage to the “Home Dairy Bakery” along
with "The Little Red Hen" and "The Mitten", traditional stories set
to music, are among the other wonderful songs found on this debut
album. Accompanied by a rich assortment of instruments, "McMahon's
melodic voice rings out clear as a bell and bright as a starlit sky.
She writes songs
we would sing
to our own children, if only we could." (The Ithaca Journal)
Activities
Blue Sky Sparklin' Day
This song is like a painting; the cows standing
in the tall green grass, the sky painted blue with a cloud or two,
the sunshine coming up fast. With all these images it is made for a
mural. Get a long piece of paper and take your time over the week
drawing and coloring the pictures. White shelf paper or a roll of
brown wrapping paper will do.
Add your own arm motions to the
chorus.
 Little Red Hen
This classic folktale tells the story of
responsibility , one of the themes of Character Education.
For school, learn the chorus:” When someone needs help, then it's
your turn.”
It works well and is fun to act out with the
puppets. Click here for directions. Use a chair as a stage- rest
the puppets on the seat and bring them to life using the area above
the back of the chair for the action.
 The Cow
The loveable cow, a good subject to talk about
nutrition and all the wonderful foods made from milk.
Wishing Well
This peaceful, quiet song is about imagination,
“ I wish the clouds were made of whip cream
floating in a blue sky stream, I'd climb on top and drift in the
breeze, have a taste when ever I pleased. “ It would be a good
starter for creative writing: "what do you wish you could be?"
 Baby Hippo:
This song has a great beat to jump to, good to get the wiggles out.
Jump during the chorus, stay still for the verses.
Imagine Baby Hippo is coming to your
house. Describe the visit. What does Baby Hippo see and like? What
games would you teach him, what places would you show him.? What
books would you read to him?
Make the Baby Hippo Puppet- bring it to life
with the song. Click here to
see instructions from our Spring 2009 Newsletter.
Lasagna:
With a chorus that nobody can resist, this song
is pure fun to sing along to. The theme is A family get together and a good jumping off
point for talking about community in a school, in a neighborhood,
in a family etc.
Scooby Dooby:
In this fun dancing song, listen to the chorus and follow the
movements. The verses talk about animals getting ready for Spring-
Mrs. Robin, Mr. Squirrel, Fuzzy Bear. Make a list of what other
animals are doing to get ready for Spring- the frogs, bees,
butterflies.
 Home Dairy
Bakery:
Ithaca had the quintessential bakery, with all
the beautiful baked goods smiling out at you from the front window.
This song would be fun to illustrate.
My Puppy Dog:
This is a loving song about our family dog Taffy. It is a quiet
sing-a-long and a good starter for talking about pets. For a
descriptive writing piece, describe and draw your pet.
 Love Grows:
a song about life, learn the sign language
 The Mitten:
A new version of the classic Russian folktale. Have fun making
the fox puppet. . Click here
for the puppet pattern.
Great for acting out in the classroom, each
animal has a chance to move around looking for the mitten (
designate an area ) then for the chorus , that group of animals
joins hands and does a circle dance , circle around one way then
back and then sits back down. If you would like patterns for the
rest of the characters, please drop me an
email.
|
