Materials
What to do
1. Children sit on the floor as a group.
2. Sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" several times until most of the children can follow along.
3. Give flashlights to five or six of the children.
4. Turn out the lights and encourage the children who have the flashlights to shine the lights on the ceiling and move the beams to the rhythm as the rest of the group sings the song.
5. Repeat until each child has had a chance to use a flashlight.
Note: Be aware that some children may be afraid of the dark. Allow those children to sit by you or to stand in the doorway as they play the game.
More to do
Movement: Randomly tape enough cut-out stars to the floor so that each child will have one. Children perform some of the following gross-motor skills: walk around the stars, jump over the stars, sit beside a star, stand on a star, etc.
* Form a circle and sing Sally Go Round the Moon:
Sally go round the moon (slide to the left)
Sally go round the stars (slide to the right)
Sally go round the chimney top (slide to the left)
Every afternoon Boom! (jump and clap)
Music: Children with flashlights turn them on when the group sings the words "twinkle, twinkle" and turn them off for the rest of the song.
-Joyce Montag, Slipery Rock, PA
