I love to sing this Moroccan nonsense song a capella at my storytimes. With preschoolers we increase the tempo with each repetition to make the hand gestures more challenging, help the kids build coordination, and keep them engaged. This week I’m planning to add the ukulele to keep the pace while we sing.
I have two other variations that I’ve learned from other children’s librarians in my city (thanks Els and Dana!). If you’d like to see the actions, the King County Library System has posted Douglas Fir and the lovely Jbrarians have filmed Orca Whale. Both variations are perfect for Pacific Northwest kids, but you can easily adapt to animals and plants local to your part of the world.
A Ram Sam Sam
C
A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam
G7 C
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
C
A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam
G7 C
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
C
A rafiq, a rafiq,
G7 C
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
C
A rafiq, a rafiq,
G7 C
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam
Orca Whale
C
An orca whale, an orca whale
G7 C
Little sea scallops and an orca whale
C
An orca whale, an orca whale
G7 C
Little sea scallops and an orca whale
C
Sea otter, sea otter
G7 C
Little sea scallops and an orca whale
C
Sea otter, sea otter
G7 C
Little sea scallops and an orca whale
Douglas Fir
C
A douglas fir, a douglas fir
G7 C
A tiny little mushroom and a douglas fir
C
A douglas fir, a douglas fir
G7 C
A tiny little mushroom and a douglas fir
C
A sword fern, a sword fern
G7 C
A tiny little mushroom and a douglas fir
C
A sword fern, a sword fern
G7 C
A tiny little mushroom and the douglas fir
Storytime Ukulele 
Oh, I love the two different versions. I’ll use both of them for sure.
I do two different variations. For both, I use laminated photos of the things I’m listing, and then try and wave the right picture in the air, which gets harder and harder the more quickly the kids sing:
A big mac truck, a big mac truck,
A teeny tiny mini and a big mac truck.
A big mac truck, a big mac truck,
A teeny tiny mini and a big mac truck.
A racing car, a racing car,
A teeny tiny mini and a big mac truck.
A racing car, a racing car,
A teeny tiny mini and a big mac truck.
A kangaroo, a kangaroo,
A frilly necked lizard and a kangaroo.
A kangaroo, a kangaroo,
A frilly necked lizard and a kangaroo.
Koala, koala,
A frilly necked lizard and a kangaroo.
Koala, koala,
A frilly necked lizard and a kangaroo.
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Those are fantastic, Francesca! And the photo idea would translate nicely to the felt board too. Hmmmm…. Maybe I’ll repurpose a few of my miscellaneous animals, if I can find a few with the necessary syllables.
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I love your blog, thanks for putting it all together.
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A colleague taught me this pretty funny, pop reference one:
A Pizza Hut, A Pizza Hut
Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut
A Pizza Hut, A Pizza Hut
Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut
McDonald’s, McDonald’s
Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut
McDonald’s, McDonald’s
Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut.
Jabba the Hut, Jabba the Hut
Luke Skywalker and Jabba the Hut
Jabba the Hut, Jabba the Hut
Luke Skywalker and Jabba the Hut
Darth Vader, Darth Vader
Luke Skywalker and Jabba the Hut
Darth Vader, Darth Vader
Luke Skywalker and Jabba the Hut.
To make it funnier, she mashed them up:
A Jabba the Hut, A Jabba the Hut,
Luke Sky Chicken and Jabba the Hut…
McVader, McVader….
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This blog is fantastic, I just started playing the ukulele during my programs. I’ve played the guitar for years, using the ukulele is so much easier for early childhood programming.
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