Chestnuts

I was thinking as I walked away from the keyboard about making the chestnut poem into a finger play and I wanted to share my vision for circle time.

First the teacher recites the poem and demonstrates the movements.

Then each child is given a chestnut (we have horse chestnuts here so that is easy and costs nothing -- take in a horse chestnut to show what they look like in their prickly coverings). Hold the chestnut in your closed right hand and swing it back and forth for lines 1 - 4, then hold the hand still. The left hand is Jack Frost and swoops down to nip at the right, the right hand falls to the floor. The right hand bursts open and the chestnut pops out. Then both hands cup gently over the nut on the floor to represent the sleeping earth.