Today Cat Sandion is exploring the sounds of the garden and we hear a story about contrary Mary's garden.
Introduction
Key vocabulary: garden, grass, soil, plant, shoots, vegetables, seeds, flowers, water, rain, puddles, mud, wellies, contrary, grumble.
Sound discrimination: garden sounds, birds singing, wind blowing through the trees. Cat invites the listeners to guess the sounds: rain, squelching of feet in puddles, splashing, tinkling bells. Cat then invites the listeners to imagine that they are holding a bell and shaking it along to the sounds as they join in with 鈥楳ary, Mary, quite contrary.鈥
Song 鈥 Mary, Mary, quite contrary
Mary, Mary, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.
Help children to keep in time with a steady beat as they 鈥榮hake their imaginary bells.鈥
Story time: Mary, Mary
Once upon gardening time鈥 To help the children focus and maintain attention, provide a watering can, bells, shells, flowers, a girl puppet or doll and use these items (along with pictures) to illustrate the story. These resources can also be used later as prompts to help retell and sequence the story. Cat encourages the children to pretend to water plants with their watering cans andto imagine that their plant is growing pea pods.
Song video: 'Mary, Mary quite contrary'
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