Nursery Rhymes, Songs, and Fingerplays for Kids
Witches come on Halloween,
Heh-heh, heh-heh!
Watch out now or you might scream,
Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh!
Pumpkins shining bright,
With their candlelight.
Ghosts and goblins coming, too.
Watching out for you—Boo!
I’m a little witch with a big black cat (pretend to pet cat)
Here is my broomstick. (Hold imaginary broom)
Here is my hat. (Pretend to place hat on head)
You’d better be careful. (wag finger)
You’d better beware.
One of my favorite Halloween fingerplays is 5 Little Pumpkins. This collection of witch songs, fingerplays, books, and crafts is inspired by the witches flying in the air spotted by the second pumpkin.
Zoom, zoom, zoom
Climb aboard my broom.
Zoom, zoom, zoom,
We’re flying past the moon.
If you want to fly tonight,
To give a spok or give a fright.
Zoom, zoom, zoom,
Climb aboard my broom
In 5…4…3…2…1
BOO!
Five little witches standing by the door. (hold up five fingers)
One flew out and then there were four. (Flying motion with hand)
Four little witches standing by a tree. (four fingers)
One went to pick a pumpkin and then there were three. (picking motion with three fingers)
Three little witches stirring their brew. (stir)
One fell in and then there were two. (two fingers)
Two little witches went for a run. (run with fingers)
One got lost and then there was one. (one finger)
One little witch, yes, only one. (one finger)
She cast a spell and now there are none. (make motions as if to cast spell and then put hands in lap).
I’m a witch
Boom! Boom! (clap, clap)
I’m a witch
Boom! Boom! (clap, clap)
With a pointed hat on my head…. (hands point over head…forming a hat)
I jump on my broom (pretend to jump on broomstick)
And I sweep the sky (sweeping motion)
While children are in bed (head resting on hands)
Five little witches standing by the door. (hold up five fingers)
One flew out and then there were four. (Flying motion with hand)
Four little witches standing by a tree. (four fingers)
One went to pick a pumpkin and then there were three. (picking motion with three fingers)
Three little witches stirring their brew. (stir)
One fell in and then there were two. (two fingers)
Two little witches went for a run. (run with fingers)
One got lost and then there was one. (one finger)
One little witch, yes, only one. (one finger)
She cast a spell and now there are none. (make motions as if to cast spell and then put hands in lap).
5 Little Witches was originally found on Imperfect Women’s blog.
Zoom, zoom, zoom
Climb aboard my broom.
Zoom, zoom, zoom,
We’re flying past the moon.
If you want to fly tonight,
To give a spok or give a fright.
Zoom, zoom, zoom,
Climb aboard my broom
In 5…4…3…2…1
BOO!
Check out Halloween Zoom, Zoom, Zoom from Jbrary to learn the tune.
Check out the original Zoom, Zoom, Zoom song.
Five little goblins on a Halloween night
Made a very, very spooky sight.
The first one danced on her tippy-tip-toes.
The second one tumbled and bumped his nose.
The third one jumped high up in the air.
The fourth one walked like a fuzzy bear.
The fifth one sang a Halloween song.
Five little goblins played the whole night long!
| Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate | {Hold up five fingers and sit hand on opposite are, like it’s a gate} |
| The first one said, “Oh my, it’s getting late.” | {Hold one finger up. Put hands on cheeks and make a surprised face} |
| The second one said, “There are witches in the air.” | {Hold two fingers up. Move hands around like they are flying in the air} |
| The third one said, “But we don’t care!” | {Hold up three fingers. Shrug shoulders} |
| The fourth one said, “Let’s run and run and run.” | {Hold up 4 fingers. Move arms in a running motion. If standing, run in place} |
| The fifth one said, “I’m ready for some fun.” | {Hold up 5 fingers. Nod head with a bigger than life motion} |
| Oooo went the wind | |
| And OUT went the light | {Clap hands on “OUT”} |
| Five little pumpkins rolled out of sight. | {Roll hands} |
As soon as our little ones could clap, they loved to clap with this rhyme. The same thing with rolling hands. Older kids like to practice holding up different numbers of fingers.
