Knick-Knack Paddy Whack

This Old Man

The Counting Song!
Fall story times begin next week in my library and it is time to dust off the flannel board and organize the books, songs and stories.  Who's ready for fun?  

First up - This Old Man  The Counting Song  illustrated by Robin Michael Koontz.  This is one of my long time favorites.  I grew up singing this song and learned the hand motions from a little girl named Colby.  I made these pieces 24 years ago to go along with the book. 

I drew them, outlined them, colored them with markers, laminated, cut them out and attached a piece of felt to the back of each.  I remember sitting at the Ref Desk and coloring them.  I still love "doing this song".  

This old man, he played one, he played knick-knack on a drum with a knick-knack paddy whack, give a dog a bone, this old man came rolling home!

Sometimes the children ask "did you bring the old men with you?"  I tend to play-out this question...looking all around, what old men?  who are you talking about?  The responses vary ...the counting men!  the give a dog a bone men!  the knick-knack men!!!   And I can not resist to play some more ...oohhh, the men who go with this book?  Maybe, let's see.  And I will take out the men, (from my book bag) one by one and we will count out loud til we have the 10 men on the flannel board.  Yay!  And then we have Piper too.  She is the dog from the line "give a dog a bone"

Click here for an adorable video of This Old Man with the words on the screen

or here for a version you may download for free to an iPad or iPod

This song is available as a free App for iPad and iPod.  Visit the App store under Nursery TV

With each verse I place one man on the flannel board we do all the motions, (hopefully I find a volunteer who will let me film him/her doing the motions next week and I will post on this blog!), and go right into the next verse.  The song moves quickly and that is good because there are ten verses!  This is what the flannel board looks like at the end of the song:

UPDATE: we made our own video click here for new posting

p.s. (piper script)  I love this song because I always get 10 bones!  yum!