Five Little Monkeys Kindergarten Activities

The Chant

• The "Five Little Monkeys" chant is quite easy to learn. It goes like this:

  "Five little monkeys jumping on the bed

  One fell off and bumped his head

  So Momma called the doctor and the doctor said

  No more monkeys jumping on the bed."

  In the following verses, the number of monkeys decreases by one in each verse until no monkeys are left. The last line of the song, when the last monkey falls off the bed, is: "Put those monkeys straight to bed!"

Actions

• Have the children stand around or sit while you make the moves. They can watch or they can follow your moves. When singing "five little monkeys," hold up the number of fingers to match the number of monkeys that changes in each verse. For "jumping on the bed," bounce your fingers, which are the monkeys, up and down on your other hand, which is the bed. When "one fell off," hold up a finger, and then hold your head and rock it back and forth while singing "and bumped his head." When "Momma called the doctor and the doctor said," make a phone dialing gesture. Finally, to show "no more monkeys jumping on the bed," make a "no-no" sign by shaking your index finger.

Finger Puppets

• To better illustrate the "Five Little Monkeys" song, help each child to make five finger puppets. Each finger should have a puppet to begin with, and then diminish the number of puppets on each hand while the song continues. You can find monkey templates (in activity books or online) that the children can color in and enhance.

Puppets

• Another activity choice is to make five large monkey puppets. Find an illustration of a monkey (large enough to fill an entire standard page) that can be printed or cut out. Attach a string to its arms and select five children to hold up a puppet each. They can jump around with the monkeys, and then squat down when the monkey falls off the bed, until no children holding up monkeys are left.