Listen to this song.
This song is available on Hap Palmer's Early Childhood Classics.
See below for suggested activities.
Open shut them, open shut them
Give a little clap
Open shut them, open shut them
Put them in your lap
Apart together, apart together
Give a little clap
Apart together, apart together
Put them in your lap
I raise my hands oh so high
I bring them down and now they're low
I raise my hands oh so high
I bring them down and now they're low
My hands are high, my hands are low
My hands are high, my hands are low
My hand is a bird flying high
The bird flies down and now it's low
The bird flies up and now it's high
The bird flies down and now it's low
My hands are high, my hands are low
My hands are high, my hands are low
Open shut them, open shut them
Give a little clap
Open shut them, open shut them
Put them in your lap
Back and forward, back and forward
Give a little clap
Back and forward, back and forward
Put them in your lap
Note: Additional verses have been added to this traditional classic to explore concepts of direction and space.
Actions:
Do the following sequence:
- Open and shut your hands two times
- Clap your hands two times
- Open and shut your hands two times
- Pat your lap two times
In verse two, move your hands and arms apart and together. In verses three and four, raise and lower your hands. In the last verse, move your hands to the back and to the front. Some children enjoy rolling their whole body back and forward with this verse.
Variations:
Find other parts of your body you can open and close, move apart and together, and back and forward. What other parts of your body can you move high and low? Show your ideas in motion as you move with the instrumental version of this song.
This song is available on Hap Palmer's Early Childhood Classics.
Many thanks to Hap Palmer for permission to display these lyrics.
©Hap-Pal Music. All rights reserved.
These songs and activities are for the personal use of parents and teachers only. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Hap-Pal Music, Box 323 Topanga, CA 90290 e-mail: hap@netwood.net.