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When I taught elementary students, my young choir loved singing “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain.” It wasn’t just the words. They loved the motions that went with each action. They also enjoyed the fact that these actions added onto each other. By the end of the song, they were saying and giving motions for: Toot TOOT, Hi Babe, whoa back, hack hack, yum yum, ZZZ-zzz, scratch scratch.

One story that includes repeated motion is Froggy Gets Dressed, written  by Jonathan London and illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz (Viking, 1992). This is the tale of a young frog who wakes during the winter, sees the snow, and wants to go outside to play.

Froggy puts on his socks, boots, hat, scarf, and mittens. There’s a cute sketch and a neat sound effect for each action. When he goes out into the snow, his mother calls: “FROGGY! Did you forget to put something on?” Get your readers to have fun with different expressions for her words, which are repeated throughout the story.

Froggy looks down. Each time, he cries, “Oops! I forgot to put on my _______.”

Have your listeners repeat Froggy’s words. They may also wish to make the sound effects as he flop flop flops back inside, takes off his clothes, puts on the missing piece, and then replaces everything else. This is also a great time to point at the word for each piece of clothing.

Once Froggy is back outside, his mother calls again. She uses the same words, but does she use the same expression? You and your readers may want to discuss this and have fun experimenting with different ways that she might sound.

Froggy undresses and adds clothes twice more before he’s so tired that he goes back to sleep. Your listeners will enjoy the look on both Froggy’s and his mother’s face as he does this. They’ll also chuckle over Froggy’s winter outfit.

A Crowded Ride in the Countryside by Frank B. Edwards, Mickey Edwards, and John Bianchi (Pokeweed Press, 1999) is a similar type of story. In this tale, a farmer and his dog pick up a number of different animals on their way to the fair.

The story is ideal for both young listeners and readers because the pictures are large, simple, and brightly coloured. In addition, the vocabulary is minimal.

“Farmer, farmer,/Going to the fair” is repeated for each animal. Since a picture of each animal is below the related word, beginning readers can easily identify the creature that the farmer is picking up and read the related word.

Listeners will chuckle at where the different animals decide to sit, and how the seating arrangements change as the ride progresses.

The riders include one chicken, two sheep, three pigs, and four cows. Although there are no numbers in the text, you can reinforce number words by having listeners tell you how many of each animal there are or counting the animals in the pictures.

Once everyone is on board, enjoy what happens when the truck comes to a steep hill. Chuckle at how the farmer and animals finally get to the fair. Ask: How would you like to arrive like that? Would you like getting the same welcome? Listen to your child’s replies. Doing so helps them develop thinking and vocabulary skills.

Our Sounds for Fun app also has the type of repetition that kids love. You can download it at https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/sounds-for-fun-s-b-m-t-h-c/id689313346

Helen Mason for Sounds for Fun

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