Song: One Elephant

Everybody loves an elephant song.

Materials

One el-e-phant went out to play,
All on a spider web one day.
He had such enormous fun,
He asked for another elephant to come.

Two elephants…etc., to ten, then:
They had such enormous fun,
They didn’t ask another elephant to come.

 

Procedures

1. Have children sing song while modeling the teacher who holds up appropriate number of fingers corresponding to the number of elephants in the song. Teacher can hold hands up and move them back and forth in a rocking motion in time with the rhythm of song.

2. After each number has been completed, the teacher asks, "What number comes NEXT after ____?" or "We have how many elephants? How many will we have if we add one more?" When enough children have responded, hold up the appropriate number of fingers and begin singing again.

3. Once children know the song, try dramatizing it. One child goes to the middle of the circle to act out the first elephant who calls another elephant from circle to join him at appropriate point in the song. Spider web breaks when overloaded with elephants!



Variation

Try:

One bunny rabbit went out to play,

All in a veg-e-table patch one day.

He had such enormous fun,

He asked for another bunny rabbit to come.



Then:

They had such enormous fun,

They didn’t ask another bunny rabbit to come.



A dramatization could be a farmer chasing rabbits back to outer circle when time to end the song.