Colors of Spring 

       CD Promotion

 

Spring Inspires Imagination! 

 

Capture the colors and sounds of spring with this special offer... For every children's CD you order during the month of April, receive a box of scented markers FREE!  

To take advantage of this special offer.  Visit our shop online: www.toucheedi.com.

                                                      
Offer expires April 30, 2013.
 

Add Music to your Bat Unit

Brown Bat

Stir up some excitement by adding a bit of music to your bat lessons!

Below is the lyrics to our song, "The Little Brown Bat".  The song is a great way to kick-start a unit on the only nocturnal mammal, and it can also be used as a way for students to learn lots of interesting "batty facts"--like how important bats are to our environment!

To get started:

• Provide students with a graphic organizer or a blank piece of paper.  
• Have them write 3-5 facts they hear in the song... (such as: 1. Bats are the only flying mammal.  2. Bats are nocturnal.  3. Bats navigate with echolocation. 4.  The Little Brown Bat is one type of bat. 5. Bats are good for the environment.)  
• Have students include a drawing with their facts.
• Encourage students to label their bat drawings.  

Lyrics:

The Little Brown Bat:

Way back up in the woods

Where the sun never goes

Lives the only flying mammal that we all know

He sleeps all day

Leads a nocturnal life

And uses echolocation

Instead of his sight

Then he goes “eeeeeeeeeeee”

Another bug done gone

Chorus:

This little brown bat is one you’ve probably seen

Over a thousand different species from here to the Caribbean

They’re expert fliers

The acrobats of the sky

Their ecological efficiency is one you can’t deny

Now wait a minute children, there’s a reputation to correct

Bats aren’t mean and evil and they deserve a little respect

They eat the mosquitoes, the gnats and pesky flies

There’s much more to a bat than really meets the eye

Yeah, in their roosts

Is where they like to hang

It’s been the same old story since the bats began

Repeat Chorus and second verse

Be sure to check out our website: www.toucheedi.com for free Bat Printables and Activity Ideas.

There is a TREE

Children shouting "Boo" at the end of There is a Tree song.  The kids & their parents had a blast!

With fall just around the corner and a beautiful tree outside the window, we are thinking about one of our favorite movement songs for kids.  Click here to download a printable PDF. 


Song Activity Ideas for the CLASSROOM:  
Interactive Writing, Morning Movement Gross Motor Skill Development--Touche' Yoga, Reading, Literacy Center: Have students copy the song lyrics, illustrate & read aloud to a partner

 

There is a Tree 

Taken from Spiders, Bats, and Wolves...Oh my! 

(Children Standing)

There is a tree

At the bottom of my yard

It has big branches

That look like arms

(Children: Stretch out Arms)

(Children: Wiggle Stretched out Arms)

It has big bushy leaves,

(Children: bring arms up over your head and into a circle)

and stands real tall.

(Children: Stand on tip toes)

When it gets cold,

the leaves start to fall.

(Children: Flutter hands down—all the way to the floor)

Sing Softer

There is a squirrel

That lives in the tree

(Children: Put arms in an animal position and start to stand)

I always see him spying on me

(Children: Put hand above eye and look around)

So I fill my hand with a pile of food

(Children: Put hand out)

And when he gets close

(Whisper) I shout

(Yell) “BOO”

~Mr. Arachnid's Great Idea~ Part I unedited~

Mr. Arachnid is a friendly, but misunderstood spider who lives in the crook of an old oak tree just outside of NEW YORK CITY.  He was very happy there.  Every day was the same as the day before and the day before that, and the…well, you see what I mean.  The web shakes, you wake up, and you eat a bug.  Ah, yes… life was good for our misunderstood friend.  But, this was all about to change.

Mr. Arachnid woke up one morning to a very loud noise.  His web shook like it never had before, but there was nothing trapped inside.  What is going on, he wondered?

Suddenly another loud crash!!  His web shook even more than the first time.  “What is happening here?”  Mr. Arachnid shouted!  Another CRASH, another THUD, then BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZzzz…and a cRAsH, BaNG, THuD.  “OH MY!  The trees!  The trees are falling down—one by one!  Down, down, down!”  

Mr. Arachnid worried: What if the tree my web is in falls down, too?  Whatever will I do?  Oh, whatever will I do?  I will have no home.  I will have no food!  I will have no place to sleep!  What shall I do?

Then, a strange...but, wonderful thing happened.  Mr. Arachnid had a great idea—a greater than great idea…a SUPER, STUPENDOUS, COLOSSAL, BIGGER than BIG idea.  What if, he thought, I leave this place and travel the world.  Maybe, I’ll meet new friends, and together we can stop this madness.

Our hairy little friend didn’t know for sure how he was going to go about leaving the old oak tree, but he knew he had to try.  “Who can help me?”  Mr. Arachnid wondered.  “Maybe my friend Little Brown will have an idea.” 

Only one tree over, there lived a very unlikely friend of Mr. Arachnid’s—Little Brown—the Little Brown Bat, who just so happened to be on his way over to see if Mr. Arachnid knew what all the noise was that was shaking his roost and keeping him awake.  After all, he was up all night eating bugs, and he needed to get to sleep…And, who could sleep with all this noise?

 “Good morning, Mr. Arachnid.”  “Little Brown!  Little Brown!  Come look and see…the trees…the trees are falling down.  What is happening?” While watching the trees fall, first one, then another, Mr. Arachnid told his friend all about the idea he had.  Little Brown said, “I’ll help, too!”  “Let’s make a plan.  Who do we know who can help us?” 

The words no sooner left Little Brown’s mouth when, “OWWWWW, owwww” from out of the brush, around the bottom of the old oak tree, sprang yet another friend of Mr. Arachnid and Little Brown’s.  It was Edowrd T. Gray Wolf. 

“Edword! Edword!  Come and see!  See  what is happening!”  The three unlikely friends sat and watched as one tree fell, then another, and yet another.  Down.  Down.  Down.  As they watched, Mr. Arachnid and Little Brown filled Edword in on their plans.  Edword shouted, “OWWWWW!  I’m in!” 

Even though the unlikely three had no idea what to do next, they knew they were going to do something.

Owl Talk

A Barn Owl

This blog post is inspired by both Owl Talk (our factual song about owls) and my own somewhat freaky fascination with owl pellets.  

Extraordinary adaptations of vision (similar to the night vision of a cat), hearing (acute enough to pick up a mouse's footstep under the snow), and silent flight, make owls an especially interesting topic for classroom study.

A few summers ago, while doing research for our song, Ted and I spent some time observing and learning about Barn Owls.  A Barn Owl (as shown in the photo to the left) has a scream-like call and often nests in abandoned buildings, church towers, and barns.  

During our time with the owls, we learned how their dish-shaped faces help them to pin-point the direction from which a sound is coming.  We also learned a bit about the legends and myths that surround the owl.  We've all heard of the saying, "Wise old owl, " which comes from the owl's large round eyes that make it look so wise.  Apparently, in addition to looking wise, its mysterious nocturnal habits caused even the ancient Athenians to regard the owl as an astonishing creature.  They chose the owl as a companion for their patron, Athena, the goddess of wisdom. 

From reading stories about owls and their powers to actually observing these amazing creatures, one of my favorite experiences was dissecting an owl pellet and labeling what I found inside.  From this hands-on activity, I learned that owls usually swallow their prey whole, sometimes eating creatures almost as large as themselves.  They digest the edible parts, and the rest—bones, fur, and teeth is compressed by the owl's stomach into a pellet, which the owl then regurgitates.

Although Ted was not quite as excited about dissecting owl barf, I know that most kids are!  This is why I was completely thrilled when I found the Kid Wings website which invites kids (and adults like me) to virtually dissect owl pellets.  How exciting!! The latest version of this site makes pulling apart and sorting the pellet simple, educational, and fun. Interactive instructional pieces along with teacher resources make this site a terrific addition to any lesson on animal adaptations and owls.


Snowy Owls

Snowy Owls: Photo taken at Zoo America in Hershey, PA

According to National Geographic, "These magnificent owls sometimes remain year-round in their northern breeding grounds, but they are frequent migrants to Canada, the northern United States, Europe, and Asia."

 

Do you know of another good site,  book, or song with interesting information about owls? We'd love to hear from you!  Please, leave a comment below!