July 10 was Cow Appreciation Day, so we had a lot of fun celebrating cows at this week’s Outdoor Musical Storytime. Here’s what we did:

Books:

A Birthday for Cow by Jan Thomas

Pig and Mouse are busy making a birthday cake for cow, but Duck keeps trying to get them to include a turnip in the recipe. The surprise ending got lots of laughs! I love Jan Thomas’ funny, short, colorful picture books, which are usually perfect for younger kids.

Peek-a-Moo! by Marie Torres Cimarusti

This simple, lift-the-flap book was a big hit! Each page features a different animal playing peek-a-boo. The kids loved calling out the names of the animals and their sounds.

Cowlick by Christin Ditchfield; illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw

Funny, rhyming story about a mischievous cow who sneaks into a house to leave sleeping children with an untameable cowlick.

Songs & Rhymes:

Ten Candles on a Birthday Cake

We did this fingerplay as a follow-up to A Birthday for Cow. After we did the rhyme with ten candles, I asked if there were any one year-olds in the group, and we did it again with one candle, then two, then three, then four, etc. I usually make a joke about how I don’t have enough fingers to do my age, which gets laughs from the grown-ups.

Ten candles on a birthday cake (hold up ten fingers)
All lit up for me (point to yourself)
I make a wish and blow them out.
Watch and you will see! (blow on fingers and quickly close hands into fists)

This is the Way I Blow My Balloon

This is the way I blow my balloon: (mime holding a balloon in both hands)

Blow! (blow air out while spreading your hands apart)

Blow! (blow air out while spreading hands even wider)

Blow! (blow air out while spreading your hands as wide apart as you can)

This is the way I POP my balloon. Oh! Oh! No! (clap hands together)

Wiggle Till the Cows Come Home by Susan Salidor

This was my first time singing this song, but it was a big hit, and is definitely one I will use again.

Here’s a link to the video by Susan Salidor:

[C] I’m gonna’ jump, twist, and clap my hands.
[G7] I’m gonna’ jump, twist, and clap my hands.
I’m gonna’ jump, twist, and clap my hands.
And wiggle till the cows come [C] home.

CHORUS
‘Cause when the [F] cows come home,
We say, “Moo, Moo, Moo!”
And when the [C] cows come home,
We go, “Doodle-i-doo.”
And when the [F] cows come home,
It’s time to cele[G7]brate,
Moo! Moo! Moo! Moo!

I’m gonna’ jump, twist, and stomp my feet…

CHORUS

I’m gonna’ jump, twist, and turn around once…

CHORUS

[C] I’m gonna’ jump, twist, and clap my hands.
[G7] I’m gonna’ jump, twist, and stomp my feet.
I’m gonna’ jump, twist, and turn around once.
And wiggle till the cows come [C] home.

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

We sang one while holding up the Old MacDonald Monkey Mitt, adding a new animal for each verse:

C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,

E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!

And on that farm he [F] had a [C] cow,

E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!

With an moo-moo here, and an moo-moo there,

Here a moo, there a moo,

Everywhere a moo-moo.

[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,

E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!

Cows in the Kitchen

Cute, versatile animal song to the tune of Skip to My Lou. We did it as our instrument play-along at the end. I asked the kids for suggestions of animals and rooms in a house for the other verses. We had a pig in the pantry, a duck in the bathtub, and a dog in the dining room.

Here’s a link to a version by The Tiny Boppers:

[C] Cows in the kitchen,
Moo, Moo, Moo!
[G7] Cows in the kitchen,
Moo, Moo, Moo!
[C] Cows in the kitchen,
Moo, Moo, Moo!
[G7] What shall we do, Tom [C] Farmer?

Stay & Play: Dot Marker Cows

This was a really simple activity. I just printed out cow templates from FreeStencilGallery.com ahead of time. Then, for the Stay & Play, I put out the printed templates, along with Dot Markers, glue sticks, and googly eyes. Most of the kids used the dot markers to cover their cows with multi-colored spots (although many gave them more than two eyes), but I liked this Mark Rothko-esque cow design that one girl made by using the dot markers to color in the whole cow.

Do you have any favorite cow books, songs, or activities? Please share them in the comments below.