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The Hippo Song

Well, a decision has finally been made! You see, decisions like this never come easy for me... I needed to pick a song that I don't mind hearing over and over and over again. I needed to find a song that had a wonderful opportunity for toddlers to learn more about something (anything!). And I wanted something that has endless possibilities for crafts and activities, games and exploration.

I really thought of doing Old MacDonald... I probably will do that one next, as the decision was a hard one. But, for now I just can't resist The Hippo Song! I love this song and used to teach it to my Sunday schoolers every week. I hope the books come out as cute as the books for "If I were" did! I'm excited!!

The Hippo Song

In the beginning, God made the sea
{spread your hands out to make a wavy sea in front of you}
And the forest filled with trees
{bring your arms up and out at the shoulders, hands pointed down, to make a tree}
He made the mountains up so high
{Bring your arms above your head and make a mountain pointed over you head}
And on the top he placed the sky
{Leave one hand pointed up and use the other to make a motion over the mountain for the sky}

God's fingerprints are everywhere
Just to show how much He cares
But in between He had loads of fun
He made a hippo who weighs a ton.
{Drop voice to a low deep voice} {Make your hands out like a fat hippo and hunch down}

Hip-hip-hip-hippopotamus
{Jump up and down as a "Hippo", with a low voice still}
Hip-hip-hooray God made us
{Raise your hands in praise and jump for joy, use a normal voice for this line}
Hip-hip-hip-hippopotamus
{Jump up and down as a "Hippo", with a low voice}
Hip-hip-hooray God made us
{Raise your hands in praise and jump for joy, use a normal voice for this line}

Mary Rice Hopkins

One month later

Wow, I can't believe it's been about a month since my last blog post. A lot has been going on that has taken my attention away from blogging. In the beginning of March, the whole gang came down with a virus. It was really sad - we actually had no business for two days because of it! My own two kiddos were treated for pneumonia, another kiddo was treated for a respiratory/bacterial infection, and another got the "it's just a virus" jingle that the doctors like to dish out. The germies during the week, and by the weekend, everybody was better which was good because it allowed me to sanitize every surface, toy, blanket, pillow, and clothing item in the house. In the end, it was nice because the whole house was shiny and clean, but I would have much rather had my spring cleaning fest happen for reasons other than having sick kiddos in the house!

Anyway, since the toys were all quarantined to buckets of bleach solution, I took the opportunity to rearrange the playroom a bit. I'm very happy with how things are set up now. We have focused centers in the room, which is great since all these kiddos are about the same age and are beginning to learn more through parallel and cooperative play. Now, the playroom is divided into four main learning centers: dramatic play (includes kitchen toys, dress up clothes, play telephones, etc.), blocks (large red "brick" blocks, mega lego blocks, and farm animals and little people), manipulatives (for focusing on development of small motor skills... toys like shape sorters, puzzles, and potato head), and art (the kids now have access to crayons and paper... eventually I'll get brave enough to expand that center!). On top of all that, there's a nice cozy area now, where children can relax with pillows and books, stuffed animals and babydolls.

The playroom is an on-going project, and has been since day one. It has come a very long way - and I know that it's far from completed. It will always grow as we grow and change as we change.

In other exciting news, we have a surprise in the works. It's more of a surprise for me and the kiddos - but as a regular reader of this blog, you might get to be dazzled as well. I can't wait to reveal what it is! It will be a few weeks, though - so you are welcome to wonder about it for a while. :)

As always, thanks for reading and thanks for you comments on the last post. I was super proud of how the finished project turned out, and got very flattering compliments from the parents after the projects were sent home. We've picked our next song - one that is fun for toddlers, and silly enough to keep it fun for me! I'll announce that by the end of next week.

Lots to look forward to! Until next time....