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Earlier this week, I got the song "Do You Know The Muffin Man?" stuck in my head. So I decided to create an entire K/1 lesson around muffins!
First, sing the classic song with your students a few times while warming up your voices and bodies. I like to have each student demonstrate a different way to show the beat (tapping knees, clapping hands, tapping ears, touching toes, etc...) while I sing.
Once students have heard the song, watch and clap/tap along with this fun video:
To have students move around the room a bit more, introduce this poem:
Three Little Muffins
There were *3* little muffins in a bakery shop
(whispered) You know the kind with the honey and the nuts on top!
Along came a boy/girl with a penny to pay,
He/she bought that muffin and ran away!
*Each time through the poem, subtract one. So 3, 2, 1...
There were *NO* little muffins in the bakery shop
(whispered) You know the kind with the honey and the nuts on top!
Along came a boy/girl with a penny to pay,
He/she said "What? No muffins today!"
I have students act this out in groups and give out little paper muffins that i've made, and a few pretend pennies to each group. Some students pretend be the shopkeepers and others the customers. Then we all chant the poem together while I play a drum to keep a steady beat. Students LOVE to play the final customer who gets to say "What? No muffins today?" I've even heard from other teachers that they like to play the game on the playground at recess with other classes!
This activity is great for littles to practice different voices (spoken, loud, whisper) and it's a great way to get them comfortable with solo speaking parts at an early age and in a non-threatening way.
Return of the Muffin Man
Pass out rhythm sticks to every students and play along to this version of the Muffin Man song. You'll want to introduce the different ways of playing the rhythm sticks (tapping on the ground, and clicking sticks together) before you try the whole thing. I don't have carpet in my room (thanks, Covid 🙄) so I also pass out Polyspots to act as 'drum pads' so it's not so loud.
If you have any extra time left, you could read this book or this book, which are available on Amazon but were also available at my local library (cue Arthur theme song here 🤓)
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy your muffin-filled lessons!