Submitted by Patricia Albritton, Florida

Idea posted May 21, 2004

I got out Mr. Potato Head with my first graders today and taught them the song, "Mr. Come Out And Play."

Will you come and play with us, play with us, play with us. (2x)
Oh, please please please please please.
Do re mi fa soso mi, fafa re, mimi do
Do re mi fa soso mi, mi fa re do ti do

Then I opened the lid of the box. (It's the 50th Anniversary Mr. Potato Head.) I looked down, listened, and said "He says to sing it again only higher. What does that mean?" A little girl points upward and says, "It means sing up here." (I thought "YES!") I said, "Ok, let's sing it up there." and we did.

I looked back into the box, listened again, and said "Now he asks if you can sing it softer." They sang back, "Ye-es" (so mi). (They divided the "Yes" up without my asking.) So I asked them, "What does softer mean?" A little boy says, "It means quieter." ("Yes," I thought, "I'm getting through.") So we sang it quieter. I look down into the box again, rolled my eyes, and said "Now he wants us to sing it louder. Does that mean shouting?" "No," they sang. They all did so well, singing with great gusto but not screaming.

I handed out the head parts and I sang, "Who has the ears?" (so mi la so mi) They answered me. "Who has the eyes?" etc. Finally, Mr. Potato Head is all put back together. They all had great fun with this activity.