Celebrate the New Year in Style with the Small Ones

Father Time
by
Edmund Dulac, 1906

Last year I offered a lapsit program to celebrate the New Year. Listed below are the fingerplays, songs and story stretchers I used in the program. These are found all over the Internet without attribution so please to feel free to use them in your work.

I hope you will find something to use with your little ones.  If you do, please let me know how much fun you had!



FINGERPLAYS/ACTION RHYMES

January

January's a very cold month,
Shiver, shiver, shiver, (Hug yourself and pretend to shiver.)
Button up and cover your ears, (Pretend to button coat: cover ears with your hands.)
Or quiver, quiver, quiver. (Shake all over)

Five Little Snowmen (Tune: Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed)

Five little snowmen riding on a sled,
One fell off and bumped his head,
Frosty called the doctor and the doctor said,
No more snowmen riding on that sled!

Count down from four to one…

No more snowmen riding on the sled

Mother but them all to bed!

SONG

Cheer the Year (Tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Cheer, cheer, cheer the year,
A new one's just begun.
Celebrate with all your friends,
Let's go have some fun!
Clap, clap, clap your hands,
A brand-new year is here.
Learning, laughing, singing, clapping,
Through another year.

STORY STRETCHERS

The People on the Bus (Tune: The Wheels on the Bus)

Oh, the people on the bus wear party hats,
Party hats, party hats. (Children place hands together in a point over their heads)
Oh, the people on the bus wear party hats,
All through the town.

Oh, the people on the bus are blowing horns,
Blowing horns, blowing horns. (Children place fist over their mouth)
Oh the people on the bus are blowing horns,

All through the town.

Oh, the people on the bus say, “Happy New Year”,
“Happy New Year”, “Happy New Year”.
Oh, the people on the bus say, “Happy New Year”,
All through the town.

A New Year Has Begun (Tune: If You're Happy and You Know It)

A new year has begun -- clap your hands! {clap} {clap}
A new year has begun -- clap your hands! {clap} {clap}
A new year has begun; a new year has begun.
A new year has begun -- clap your hands! {clap} {clap}

A new year has begun -- stomp your feet! {stomp} {stomp}
A new year has begun -- stomp your feet! {stomp} {stomp}

A new year has begun; a new year has begun.
A new year has begun -- stomp your feet! {stomp} {stomp}

A new year has begun -- give a shout! HURRAH!
A new year has begun -- give a shout! HURRAH!
A new year has begun; a new year has begun.
A new year has begun -- give a shout! HURRAH!
A new year has begun -- give a shout!

  
For additional New Year’s Day resources visit Preschool Express. http://www.preschoolexpress.com/music_station05/music_station_jan05.shtml 

SONGS

New Year’s Day (To the tune of Jingle Bells)

New Year’s Day, New Year’s Day,
Comes but once a year.

On New Year’s Eve we celebrate,
And ring it in with cheer!

New Year’s Day, New Year’s Day
Comes but once a year.

On New Year’s Eve we celebrate
And ring it in with cheer!

Ring the Bells (Give each child a bell.)

Ring ring ring the bells,
Ring them loud and clear.
Let’s tell everyone around
That the New Year is here!

BOOKS

We Are Teachers - A lovely list of children’s books to celebrate the New Year.
https://www.weareteachers.com/new-years-eve-books/

CRAFTS

Care.com - 16 New Year’s crafts for kids to help get the party started
https://www.care.com/c/new-years-crafts-for-kids/

Redtedart.com - Several cute, easy and inexpensive crafts for the small ones.

https://www.redtedart.com/new-years-eve-crafts/

SOMETHING EXTRA

Enchanted Learning – Say Happy New Year in many languages.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/calendar/newyear.shtml

Fun Family Time for New Year’s Eve
https://moremomma.com/kids-new-years-eve-party/

Karen Chace 2013 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.