Combining art activities with creative writing can offer opportunity for further depth of thoughtful understanding and personal inspiration.
The following poems were created by the author to encourage children to explore number through story-prose and accompanying art activities.
| One rabbit greets the break of day. Two rabbits say it’s time to play… Three rabbits hop in the hay. Four rabbits say let’s stay… Five rabbits say let’s run away. Six rabbits say let’s not delay. Seven rabbits say the sky is grey. Eight rabbits go without delay. Nine rabbits know their way. Ten rabbits say it’s the end of our day. |
[This rabbit rhyme is easily presented with accompanying actions using the appropriate number of fingers with or without rabbit finger puppets actions.] |
Number-story rhymes
These rhymes can be accompanied with appropriate props and action, e.g. using a potted tree, a nest, an egg box, hard boiled chicken eggs and wooden beads for the Wren’s eggs.
There once was a happy hen, and wise was she.
Three eggs she laid, hidden under a tree.
Once every day she continued to lay;
one on Sunday, one Monday and one Tuesday.
The sunny days went by
and her eggs did multiply.
Today when I looked the clutch was many more,
Happy Hen had laid another four.
Now our happy magic hen
has laid one whole box of ten.
[The author illustrates this poem using a potted tree with a circle of dried grass underneath for the hen’s nest. Then one person acts as the hen and places the eggs (as directed by the poem) into the nest. At the end someone collects the eggs and places them in a ten size egg box.]
Similarly the following poems can be acted out with appropriate props and thereby add a deeper understanding of the numerical concepts integrate into the story presented by the poem.
| Six eggs in a nest The small wee Wren had really done her best, But one egg fell out how many had she then. Sadly another was left out in the cold and Removed from the nest no more to behold. Of all those left one never hatched. This one was also tipped out of the batch. Soon happy chicks did chatter and chirp While the proud parents did all of the work. The baby birds grew bigger and bigger, Fatter and featherier. Until one day the nest was too small So the fledglings flew off to sit on the wall. |
Six smooth eggs sitting in a box Five were brown and one was white. Four were big and two were small, Three were short and three were tall. One fell and cracked upon the floor, So ask the chickens to lay one more. Two were boiled for our tea One for you and one for me. So now how many can you see. |
0) A Poem About Nothing?!
Have you felt what nothing feels like?
What no-thing is…..,is not easy to describe!
It is not like my grumbling tummy – empty and needing more.
It’s not like Mr. Nobody who slams the kitchen door.
It’s not found in a place where there should be something – that was there before.
Like when the crumbs in the bottom of the cookie jar say there are no more!
Like the bare trees in winter with their leaves upon the floor,
It’s not like sweet nothings whispered in my ear.
It’s not like a silence that brings up my fear.
It’s not like when something is missing and I feel very sad.
Like when my birthday card from Grandma doesn’t come through the door.
Or an absence of knowing what something is for.
Nothing is only in the places where there could be something ……
Like another line for this poem…..
1)One sun so high in the sky,
Without your light there would only be night.
It is your warm that warms our earth,
So all can grow and bring new birth.
Flowers trees, birds and bees
All love the sun Oh Brilliant one!
You really do make life fun.
2) I saw two twigs floating down the stream,
What a race they were having.
Like twins they looked so similar
In a race most peculiar 
Staying together they drifted
On turbulent waters they were spun and lifted
Twit Twoo said the owl so wise
These two sticks won’t get any prize.
So in the twilight of the day
The twin twigs floated far away
4) Four knocks upon the door
One loud, one soft and then two more
Four stamps upon the floor,
One hard and one soft and then two more.
5) Five bees on the hive,
Four were learning to jive
Three bees went buzzing off in flight
Two looked up to have a fright
They saw their friend carried away
On a tractor full of hay.
So it was that five busy bees buzzed their way through there day.
6) Six pigs were in a fix, stuck inside a muddy ditch.
Five pigs grunted and groaned
Four pigs splashed around as they scampered up and down
Three pigs rolled about muddy they were without a doubt.
Two pigs squealed with delight
As one pig ducked right out of sight.
Then the farmer came with some food……
All the pigs jumped and scrambled right out of that muddy place,
And ate their dinner with dirt all over their face!
7) Seven angels playing in Heaven
Thought they would come to help girls and boys in Devon.
So down they came to find
Children who were good and kind.
They found a boy who was very sad because his dog had been naughty and bad.
They found a girl sitting on a seat who was eating ice-cream as a treat.
They found a baby Oh so sweet splashing in puddles with bare feet.
They stopped young Jane from running off down the lane
And played with the twins singing songs on the swings.
Then helped little Sonny find his lost bunny.
The Seven angels went back to heaven after a helpful visit to Devon.
8).Eight little ladybirds resting on a gate
One had seven spots, one had six.
Two had five spots three had only four,
The last one you can see has flown away into a tree.
9) Nine socks on the line
One is yours and one is mine.
Two pairs are big and one pair is small.
And the last sock on the line is not yours and is not mine,
It is very small and most divine.
10
Ten hens in the pen,
Nine rabbits out to dine
Eight cows sighted nine owls.
Seven swans are odd not even.
Six horses run by the gorse.
Five fat cats sat on a hive.
Four big pigs love to dig.
Three sheep are all asleep.
Two goats eating toast.
One small boy, all alone in the sun.
10) Ten little Indians sitting down to dine
One had tummy ache so then there were nine
Nine little Indians eat at such a rate one couldn’t move at all So then there were eight
Eight little Indians build themselves a house One little Indian was frightened by a mouse
One little Indian got in such a fix Caught in a bramble bush so then there were six.
Six little Indians worked the whole day through
One rolled up in the carpet disappeared from view.
One little Indian nailing down the floor nailed down his piny too So then there were four
Four little Indians busy chopping wood
One sawed his perch away that didn’t do him any good.
One little Indian didn’t know what to do
So hid in the garden, this left only two.
Two little Indians working in the sun one got sunstroke so that left only one
One little Indian acting as the nurse made sure that nobody was getting any worse, nine little Indians in nine little beds, nine little pillow slips for nine little heads.
The above poem is a life remembered poem from the author’s most precious childhood book of Nursery rhymes if anyone can provide details of this book and thereby help the author obtain a replacement for this book contact details are on www.
| Ten sheep in the pen, Twenty more and this field is empty. Thirty, now my boots are dirty. Forty can be very naughty. Fifty, the dogs eyes are very shifty. Sixty, too many for our old dog dixy. Seventy sheep is more than plenty. Eighty makes me feel high and mighty Ninety makes the dogs quite flighty One hundred is too many to be fed |
Number bonds to ten One and nine, socks on the line. Two and eight, children on the gate. Three and seven, might get us to Devon. Four and six, get some pick and mix. Five and five, bees in the hive. Six and four, please close the door. Seven and three, now let’s get some tea. Eight and two, I’m ok and so are you. Nine and one, our rhyme is done. |
The sighting of one or more magpies may be associated with the rhyme:-
One for sorrow, two for joy.Three for a girl, four for a boy.Five for silver, six for gold.Seven for a story never to be told.
It can be fun to develop this style of thinking using one’s own ideas. The following poem about swallows does not have rhyming words at the end of each line but the first number word rhymes with the word at the end of that line. When working with children one can collect interesting ideas and present them without any specific poetic pattern of rhythm or rhyme
One swallow heralds the morning sun.
Two swallows show me what to do.
Three swallows sing what is to be.
Four swallows present an open door.
Five swallows say try a forward dive.
Six swallows find an amazing trick.
Seven swallows play in the blue heaven.
Eight swallows rest and celebrate.
Nine swallows know all is fine.
Ten swallows come and whisper when.
Further examples of creatively adapting a traditional rhyme to meet a personalised presentation of poetry are as follows. This approach offers a simple formula of poetic structure that can be used to share our everyday experiences. This creative endeavour can be shared as inspiration and an expression of new poetic communication. This can provide an enriched literacy foundation and develop further interest that encourages everyone to enjoy the art of creative expression. The following are examples of this form of language enrichment in practice.
| Monday’s child is fair of face, Tuesday’s child is full of grace, Wednesday’s child is full of woe, Thursday’s child has far to go, Friday’s child is loving and giving, Saturdays child works hard for a living, And the child that is born on the Sabbath day Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay |
Monday’s child has a magical flow,(or seeds to sow) Tuesday’s child knows where to go. Wednesday’s child will bring a surprise Thursday’s child is thoughtful and wise. Friday’s child is full of fun, Saturday’s child loves being in the sun. Sunday’s child is peaceful and kind, blessed with patience and a joyful mind. The traditional rhyme relates to the day of a child’s birth but a parent could relate a new version to the days of the week. Using the line of the rhyme to describe actions or affirmations for a particular day |
| Monday’s child has run away Tuesday’s child is out at play. Wednesday’s child is asleep in bed Thursday’s child has bumped his head. Friday’s child knows the time, Saturday’s child is fit and fine. Sunday’s child is quite divine. |
One, two, what shall we do? Three, four, sit on the floor Five, Six, do some tricks Seven, eight, lets swing on the gate Nine, ten, let’s do that it again! |
A free style version of this theme could have a different introduction and be open to any answering completion of the sentence. For example the author initiates the following unfinished questions:-
On Monday my Mother ………. [E.g. made marvellous cakes]
On Tuesday the teacher……..[Told us a lovely story[
On Wednesday I was [wandering in the woods/ wading in the water/ washing my wellingtons.
On Thursday the thunder ………..[crashed loudly across the sky]
On Friday our Father ………[found a frog in the ditch]
On Saturday some singers…………[sang lovely songs at the supermarket]
On Sunday your son …………[ saw a stripy tiger strolling down the street?!]
The traditional Christmas song ‘The Twelve days of Christmas’ is understandably popular with children and in schools. This song provides a rich foundation for a wide spectrum of learning through multi-sensory art and craft projects and performances. These learning activities incorporate:-
Musical melody and song.
Sequential memory and repetition.
Quantative numerical value [1-12 and 1st through to 12th and 12 down to 1]
Art and craft presentation related to number values 1-12.
Co-operative project participation.
Alliterative phrases e.g. drummers drumming, swans a swimming, pipers piping, maids a milking, Lords a leaping.
For those who are already familiar with the traditional song it can be used as an opportunity to create new items to be sent by ‘the true love.’ A wide and diverse selection of ideas may be useful as a creative starting point, however, someone will have to take on the extra challenge of suitably uniting the verbal structure of the ideas with the musical notation. This person will need to correlate the syllable structure and rhythm of the words with the musical melody.
An example is as follows:-
|
1st … a hive full of busy buzzing bees |
A Rhyming Multiplication game
Example:- Three times table (The words in the brackets are optional choices)
One, two, three, (once three is three or 1×3=3), go climb a tree!¬
Four, five, six, (two threes are six) pick up the sticks/now you’re in a fix
Seven, eight, nine, (three threes are nine) lets go out to dine/ the weather it is fine
Ten, eleven, twelve, (four threes are twelve) lets dig and delve.
Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, (five threes are fifteen) now where have you been!?
Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, (six threes are eighteen) and what have you seen?
Nineteen, twenty, twenty one, (seven threes are twenty one) did you see Mary’s son?
Twenty two, twenty three, twenty four, (eight threes are twenty four) someone is knocking at the door.
Twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven, (nine threes are twenty seven) is there time to go to heaven?
Twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty, (ten threes are thirty), certainly not you are much too dirty!
There are many creative rhyming answers e.g. either a single word (three/tree) – this could also be a nonsense rhyming word, a short phrase (What can you see?) or a story (It’s time for your tea.). The table rhymes can be created by an individual person or a group and recited either as a single piece of prose or spontaneously created by a group who take it in turns to add the next line when their turn comes around. The rhyming tables can be spoken and/or recorded in numerical form 3 x 3 = 9 (nine socks on the line) with drawn pictures to represent the rhyming word/phrase at the end of each line. For those who know their tables and can easily recall any element of each table, this activity presents a creative verbal challenge, for those that are not expert at their tables this activity also challenges the mind to address automatic recall of the mathematical tables from a new light-hearted perspective.