Here Sits a Monkey

Materials

1. Animal pictures (including a monkey)
2. Scissors
3. Tagboard or poster board
4. Glue stick
5. Laminate
6. Hole punch
7. Yarn
8. Chair

Instructions

1. Collect pictures of various animals from books, magazines, or the Internet. Be sure to include a monkey. Cut out enough so that each child gets one.
2. Glue the pictures to a poster board or tagboard sized for the picture. Laminate for durability and cut out. Punch two holes at the top of each picture.
3. Insert yarn through the holes and tie the ends together to make a necklace.
4. Ask the children to choose necklaces to wear. Whoever chooses the monkey necklace sits in a chair in the middle of the circle. The rest of the children form a circle around "the monkey" and march or skip around it, singing the following American folk song.
   Here Sits a Monkey
   Oh, here sits a monkey in the chair, chair, chair,
   She lost all the true loves she had last year,
   So rise up on your feet and greet the first you meet,
   The happiest one I know.
5. At the proper time, the monkey rises and chooses a child from the circle to take her place. The game is repeated and the name of the new animal is used in the song in place of "monkey."
6. Encourage the child in the chair to choose a child who hasn't been chosen yet so that everyone gets a turn.