This is a new one for me; in fact, I’ve not actually used it in storytime yet. I just made it this week! It was suggested by a speech/language pathologist at a conference I attended, and I thought it sounded like a fun one. It’s a cumulative story, and can be sung as an echo song.
What a pretty tree! The prettiest tree you ever did see!
There was a tree…
A pretty little tree…
The prettiest tree…
That you ever did see…
Oh, the tree was in a hole and the hole was in the ground,
And the green grass grew all around, all around, the green grass grew all around.
The verses continue, adding a branch on the tree, a nest in the branch, an egg in the nest, a bird in the egg, a wing on the bird, a feather on the wing, and finally, a bug on the feather.
The final product:
Hole, tree, branch, nest, egg, bird, wing, feather, bug.
And here are the various “extra parts” that go on the tree, shown by themselves:
There are some versions that include the hole, a root, a twig, a leaf, and other various and sundry parts, but I chose to simplify a bit so it wouldn’t be too long and give the kids too much to remember.
You can hear Nancy Stewart sing the full song here – she also has some suggestions for how to use the song with various age groups.
Here’s another version (with video), and here’s the Scout’s version, with 13 verses!
Can’t wait to try this out with my kiddos.
Visit Storytime Katie later today for the full Flannel Friday round-up!
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