Preschool Classic Song: The Hokey Pokey

The Hokey Pokey is an action song for young children that has been popular since the 1950s with some questionable beginnings. The copyrighted song, since 1950, is held by Larry La Prese (1940-1996) . Today, the song is known around the world, and is a staple for preschool, daycare, school and home settings with young children. The following article provides some alternative ways to sing the Hokey Pokey to correlate with the theme of the classroom, or for instance a birthday party.

 

The Hokey Pokey Lyrics

First, the description and lyrics of the classic song should be provided before discussing alternative ways to sing it. The participating singers of the Hokey Pokey will stand in a circle and act out the words with their body parts:

You put your right hand in
You put your right hand out,
You put your right hand in, and you shake it all about,
You do the hokey pokey, and you turn yourself around
That what it's all about!

The song continues with different body parts that the teacher or leader can choose. In addition, the children can provide ideas. Some fun and different ones are your bottom, your teeth, your hair and of course, your whole self.

Hokey Pokey for Animal Themes

Depending on the theme, the Hokey Pokey can be sung with an animal in mind. For instance, at Easter, the children can pretend they are bunnies. Thus, the lyrics would follow with the different parts of the animal, such as:


You put your long ears in, you put your long ears out
You put your long ears in, and you hop all about
You do the Bunny Pokey and you hop yourself around
That's what it's all about!


This idea can be extended to include any animal. If a preschool has a lesson plan on bees, then the Hokey Pokey can have the following lyrics:


You put your antennae in, you put your antennae out
You put your antennae in, and you buzz all about
You do the honeybee pokey, and you buzz yourself around
That's what it's all about!

Hokey Pokey for Birthday Parties or Themes

Often birthday party themes follow television or movie characters. One alternative way to sing hokey pokey is to make character sticks, for instance print off pictures of Dora the Explorer to equal the amount of children participating at the birthday party or make dinosaurs. Tape or glue the picture onto a large popsicle stick then give one to each child. In a circle, sing the following lyrics and allow the children to have their dino move to the lyrics:


You put your dino up, you put your dino down
You put your dino up, and you shake it all around
You do the Dino Pokey, and you turn yourself around
Two stomps on the ground!

You put your dino to your head, you put your dino to your toe
You put your dino to your head, And you wobble to and fro
You do the Dino Pokey and you turn yourself around
Two stomps on the ground!



The characters can simply be used to sing and act the regular lyrics to Hokey Pokey as well.

 

The Hokey Pokey at Halloween

Another way to sing the Hokey Pokey is to sing about costumes that are being worn, such as a Halloween theme Party. Some ideas are:

• mask
• cape
• wand
• wig
• costume
• crown

 

The Hokey Pokey and Musical Instruments

With a group of young children, musical instruments can become a loud event. One idea to help monitor the playing is to sing this version of the hokey pokey and whoever has the matching instrument to the lyrics being sung by the teacher will stand up and play.


You play your bell up high
You play your bell down low
You play your bell up high
And now very slow
You do the Music Pokey
And you turn yourself around
That's what it's all about!

The Hokey Pokey for Learning Concepts

Finally, the hokey pokey can be sung to help toddlers and preschool children learn concepts, such as colors and shapes by placing stickers on children's shoes, hands, knees and so on.

 

Do You Have Any Other Ideas?

The Hokey Pokey is a children's action song that is enjoyed by all ages and can easily be altered to include a variety of themes. Feel free to add any other ideas for extending this classic song.

Ideas and Tips for Painting Activities with Young Children

Young children love paint and there are so many different ways they can explore the process of painting. The traditional way, of course, is to use a paintbrush, but it does not have to stop or begin there. Aside from using their own fingers and hands, this article is filled with various other ways for young children to experience painting and provides inexpensive alternatives to finding the material needed.

Painting Preparation

Before the painting begins, an area needs to be chosen where some mess can occur. If an easel is not being used, then a table should be covered with a tablecloth or newspapers. For toddlers, try using a highchair selected for art activities. Washable liquid tempera paint, found in most craft stores or big outlets, such as Staples, works best for painting with young children. Trays for holding the paint should be chosen and a cheap solution for this is to use clean Styrofoam grocery trays.


Prepare more than one piece of paper per child for quick replacing


Prepare more than one piece of paper per child for quick replacing and set up the clean up area before painting occurs. Children can wear smocks or a bigger sized old shirt worn backwards to keep paint off of their clothes. When all the set up is done, then painting catastrophes with the young children involved are less likely to occur.

Painting with Sponge Stamps

Sponges dipped into paint leave a fun bubbly texture on paper. Young children can use sponges in the store bought sizes, usually rectangle, or the sponges can be cut up into other shapes. It is a good idea to demonstrate to preschool and toddler ages how to stamp the paper with the sponge to produce the shape. One idea is to tell the children to kiss the paper or to jump like a frog. Many children will still want to create their own art pieces and experience the painting with their own process, which is just fine. This style of painting does not require a lot of paint in the tray. The sponge will absorb the paint quickly, but can be used many times over producing paint work on the paper.

Stamp Painting

Cookie Cutters, Kitchen Utensils, Wooden Blocks, Spools....


Other suggestions for stamp painting are cookie cutters, old kitchen utensils, such as potato masher or spatula, wooden blocks, and old thread spools. Next time you are walking through a dollar store, look at the items and imagine if it will make a fun shape or design with paint and whether it can be easily gripped by preschool or toddler hands. The key is to think outside the box and try out other items to create a fun process for young children experiencing paint.

Painting with Miniature Rollers

Miniature rollers can be found in paint stores or dollar shops and is a great way for young children to paint. This rolling style works well with stencils taped onto the paper. After the entire page has been covered in paint, and the paper is dry, the stencil can be lifted off to reveal the shape or design. Stencils can be made with thick paper or thin cardboard paper, such as a cereal box. Another suggestion for a stencil is to use a paper doily taped on paper which creates a snowflake style design.

Painting with Marbles

This painting activity requires a large tray that will hold paint while the marble rolls back and forth. The paper is taped to the bottom of the tray and a few tablespoons of paint placed in the middle. Then a large marble or even a golf ball, can be moved around the paper by the young children who are grasping both sides of the tray. Another version of this is to use a shoe box and have the young children shake the box back and forth which is a wonderful activity for outside.

Painting with Cars or Trucks

Boys will love this painting adventure. Find old toy cars and trucks with wheels that have tread marks on them. Place a large piece of paper on a flat surface with some paint deposits. Then the young children can drive their vehicles all throughout the paint leaving tire marks. This painting activity is very suitable for toddlers.

 

Painting with Balloons

Balloons that are not blown all the way have a nice handle on the end, are bright and appealing. Young children find delight in simply being allowed to place balloons in paint. This painting activity works well on a flat surface with the paint sitting in aluminum foil pie tins.

Potato and Apple Paint Art

Potatoes and apples can be used for painting as well. If the apple is cut sideways, it will display a star in the middle. Potatoes cut in half can then have a design carved into it with a paring knife. If choosing food to use for painting, it is important to explain to the young children that it is an exception to the rule that food is for eating.



The Focus Should be on the Fun Process and not the Product



There are so many ways for young children to create art work using paint and this article is a start. Many preschool and craft websites offer ideas. Regardless of what is chosen, the focus should be on the fun process and not the product. With that emphasize, the creativity in children can freely flow.