The wind has started picking up a bit more this week which is getting me even more into an autumnal mood! It’s fun to wake up and feel a little crisp, even if it gets warm again by the afternoon. Like I said in my last post, we’re just tiptoeing into fall here, people.
I’m glad to be back sharing an activity for this week’s folk song, Shake Shake the Apple Tree. Have you downloaded the free song card?
I felt a little stuck this week trying to think of an activity until it came to me–lacing cards! My kids have really been loving stitching work lately. My son is working on the backstitch stitch and is creating this sweet little train embroidery piece he wants to turn into a pillow, and my 2.5 year old is starting to get into lacing and it’s fun for us to have our little handiwork time together.
Lacing is a great foundational skill for young kids for all kinds of reasons, like hand eye coordination, fine motor skill development, pincher grasp, order, finger strength (important for pencil holding later on!), and one of the best benefits of all: concentration! It always amazes me how absorbed my kids get when they are deeply interested in their work.
I drew the three objects of the verses for the lacing cards so that the child can recognize the subjects of the song as they work and sing. My 2.5 year old started pretending to give me the apple card as we were singing the line “One for you, one for me” so I may need to whip up a play set for this song as well. Maybe I can get that up by tomorrow? Play is such a great way to get purposeful repetitions of the song in, and it is another deeply engaging and fulfilling task for children.
I always love when I make my little set up to take the picture for my post and my kids are sitting on the sidelines chomping at the bit to get to play with it–it makes me feel like I’ve created a winner! They were so eager to start working on this and got started right away. We were singing as we laced and it was a special, cozy little moment.
This would be a great activity for a center in the classroom, presented alongside the song card. It could also be a great activity to send home as a way for the children to share the song with their families. Like I said, I may share a play set for this song tomorrow based off my daughter’s interest in playing out the song, and I think this song would lend itself well to that. Check back then!
Download the free lacing cards here
Happy Singing!
-Lauren