Swamp Songs to Sing on SAVE THE FROGS! Day or Any Day
by Kathy Warnes
SAVE THE FROGS! Day is celebrated every year in April. Here are some fun songs to sing with your class on SAVE THE FROGS! DAY and any day all through the year.
Frogs are disappearing from ponds and streams and rivers all around the world. About 200 species have completely disappeared since1980, and the surviving frog populations are faced with problems including pollution, loss of habitat, invasive species, climate change, disease, and over harvesting.
These songs for SAVE THE FROGS! Day or any day, can make the frog‟s problems real to children and hopefully make them care about a solution. The children can also act out the songs with finger plays.
Frog Count Up and Down
(To the tune of the Farmer in the Dell)
Now count one little frog,
Sitting on a log,
He wants some company,
Please save his family.
Now count two little frogs,
Sitting on two logs,
When your eating's done,
Don't throw garbage in their pond!
Now count three little frogs,
Sitting on three logs,
They need a place to stomp,
Don't cover up their swamp!
Now count four little frogs,
Sitting on four logs,
Eating mosquitoes for lunch,
Help them make a mosquito munch!
Now count five little frogs,
Croaking on five logs,
Don't put them in jars!
They have to jump up to the stars.
Now count six little frogs,
Croaking on six logs,
They're as old as a dinosaur,
Help them live a million years more!
This song can be sung forwards or backwards using any number combinations. The children can act out the motions of sitting, throwing, stomping, catching and eating mosquitoes, and putting a frog in a jar. For the "six frogs verse" some can pretend to be dinosaurs and others can count to ten times to approximate a million.
Freddy and Betty Frog
(To the Tune of Old MacDonald Had a Farm)
Freddy frog lived in a bog,
Polliwogs will grow,
And in this bog there was a log,
Polliwogs will grow,
Freddy hopped here and Freddy hopped there
Freddy swam swam,
Freddy croaked, croaked,
Freddy laughed, laughed
Freddy joked joked,
Freddy frog lived in a bog,
Polliwogs will grow!
Freddy married Betty one day in June,
Polliwogs will grow,
They found a lily pad in a blue lagoon,
Polliwogs will grow!
One day a man named Pease, Pease,
Came and cut down the trees,
He filled the lagoon with crackers and cheese,
Freddy and Betty frog lived in a bog,
Polliwogs will grow!
Freddy and Betty and their polliwogs four,
Polliwogs will grow,
Packed their suitcases and moved to Ecuador,
Polliwogs will grow,
Although life was sweet,sweet,
There weren't enough mosquitoes to eat,
So they hopped back home and rested their feet,
Freddy and Betty frog lived in a bog,
Polliwogs will grow.
Freddy and Betty stopped Pease, Pease,
Polliwogs will grow,
They tied him in water up to his knees,
Polliwogs will grow,
When the bulldozers came,
Freddy knew who to blame,
He and his family chased Pease Pease to Maine,
Freddy and Betty Frog lived in a bog,
Polliwogs will grow.
Freddy and Betty added another lily pad room,
Polliwogs will grow,
They enjoy the bright sun and the round yellow moon,
Polliwogs will grow,
They watch the pond shrink, water's brown as muck,
But they will keep trying, they'll never give up,
Freddy and Betty keep adding more logs,
Because their polliwogs changed to frogs!
(Everyone Shouts) Polliwogs will grow!
The children can be divided into two groups or more with one group singing each stanza and another group singing back, "Polliwogs will grow!" It can also be acted out.
Froggie Went A- Walking
(To the tune of Froggie Went A-Courtin')
Froggie went walking and he did hop, Oh, yes!
Froggie went walking and he did hop, Oh Yes!
Froggie went walking and he did hop,
He flipped over and landed on his top,
Oh, yes, Oh, yes,
I'll help him do his best.
Froggie went jumping and he did leap, Oh, yes!
Froggie went jumping and he did leap, Oh, yes!
Froggie went jumping and he did leap,
He got so tired he fell fast asleep,
Oh yes, Oh yes,
I'll help him do his best.
Froggie stuck out his tongue and caught a bug, Oh, yes!
Froggie stuck out his tongue and caught a bug, Oh Yes!
Froggie stuck out his tongue and caught a bug,
The bug got away and hid in a rug,
Oh yes, Oh yes, I'll help him do his best.
Froggie kissed the trees and the bumble bees, Oh, yes!
Froggie kissed the trees and the bumble bees, Oh, yes!
Froggie kissed the trees and the bumble bees,
Then he missed and he kissed his knees,
Oh yes, Oh yes, I'll help him do his best.
Froggie hopped back and sat on his log, Oh, yes!
Froggie hopped back and sat on his log, Oh, yes!
Froggie hopped back and sat on his log,
Waiting for someone to help a frog,
Oh yes, oh yes, I'll help him do his best.
This song too, can be acted out or used as a finger play. Using this song as a springboard, ask the children how they can help the frogs "do their best," and what they as individuals can do to help keep frogs viable and part of their lives.
References
Pfeffer, Wendy, From Tadpole to Frog, Collins, 1994
Schwartz, David, If You Hopped Like a Frog, Scholastic Press, 1999
SAVE THE FROGS! Day is celebrated every year in April. Here are some fun songs to sing with your class on SAVE THE FROGS! DAY and any day all through the year.
Frogs are disappearing from ponds and streams and rivers all around the world. About 200 species have completely disappeared since1980, and the surviving frog populations are faced with problems including pollution, loss of habitat, invasive species, climate change, disease, and over harvesting.
These songs for SAVE THE FROGS! Day or any day, can make the frog‟s problems real to children and hopefully make them care about a solution. The children can also act out the songs with finger plays.
Frog Count Up and Down
(To the tune of the Farmer in the Dell)
Now count one little frog,
Sitting on a log,
He wants some company,
Please save his family.
Now count two little frogs,
Sitting on two logs,
When your eating's done,
Don't throw garbage in their pond!
Now count three little frogs,
Sitting on three logs,
They need a place to stomp,
Don't cover up their swamp!
Now count four little frogs,
Sitting on four logs,
Eating mosquitoes for lunch,
Help them make a mosquito munch!
Now count five little frogs,
Croaking on five logs,
Don't put them in jars!
They have to jump up to the stars.
Now count six little frogs,
Croaking on six logs,
They're as old as a dinosaur,
Help them live a million years more!
This song can be sung forwards or backwards using any number combinations. The children can act out the motions of sitting, throwing, stomping, catching and eating mosquitoes, and putting a frog in a jar. For the "six frogs verse" some can pretend to be dinosaurs and others can count to ten times to approximate a million.
Freddy and Betty Frog
(To the Tune of Old MacDonald Had a Farm)
Freddy frog lived in a bog,
Polliwogs will grow,
And in this bog there was a log,
Polliwogs will grow,
Freddy hopped here and Freddy hopped there
Freddy swam swam,
Freddy croaked, croaked,
Freddy laughed, laughed
Freddy joked joked,
Freddy frog lived in a bog,
Polliwogs will grow!
Freddy married Betty one day in June,
Polliwogs will grow,
They found a lily pad in a blue lagoon,
Polliwogs will grow!
One day a man named Pease, Pease,
Came and cut down the trees,
He filled the lagoon with crackers and cheese,
Freddy and Betty frog lived in a bog,
Polliwogs will grow!
Freddy and Betty and their polliwogs four,
Polliwogs will grow,
Packed their suitcases and moved to Ecuador,
Polliwogs will grow,
Although life was sweet,sweet,
There weren't enough mosquitoes to eat,
So they hopped back home and rested their feet,
Freddy and Betty frog lived in a bog,
Polliwogs will grow.
Freddy and Betty stopped Pease, Pease,
Polliwogs will grow,
They tied him in water up to his knees,
Polliwogs will grow,
When the bulldozers came,
Freddy knew who to blame,
He and his family chased Pease Pease to Maine,
Freddy and Betty Frog lived in a bog,
Polliwogs will grow.
Freddy and Betty added another lily pad room,
Polliwogs will grow,
They enjoy the bright sun and the round yellow moon,
Polliwogs will grow,
They watch the pond shrink, water's brown as muck,
But they will keep trying, they'll never give up,
Freddy and Betty keep adding more logs,
Because their polliwogs changed to frogs!
(Everyone Shouts) Polliwogs will grow!
The children can be divided into two groups or more with one group singing each stanza and another group singing back, "Polliwogs will grow!" It can also be acted out.
Froggie Went A- Walking
(To the tune of Froggie Went A-Courtin')
Froggie went walking and he did hop, Oh, yes!
Froggie went walking and he did hop, Oh Yes!
Froggie went walking and he did hop,
He flipped over and landed on his top,
Oh, yes, Oh, yes,
I'll help him do his best.
Froggie went jumping and he did leap, Oh, yes!
Froggie went jumping and he did leap, Oh, yes!
Froggie went jumping and he did leap,
He got so tired he fell fast asleep,
Oh yes, Oh yes,
I'll help him do his best.
Froggie stuck out his tongue and caught a bug, Oh, yes!
Froggie stuck out his tongue and caught a bug, Oh Yes!
Froggie stuck out his tongue and caught a bug,
The bug got away and hid in a rug,
Oh yes, Oh yes, I'll help him do his best.
Froggie kissed the trees and the bumble bees, Oh, yes!
Froggie kissed the trees and the bumble bees, Oh, yes!
Froggie kissed the trees and the bumble bees,
Then he missed and he kissed his knees,
Oh yes, Oh yes, I'll help him do his best.
Froggie hopped back and sat on his log, Oh, yes!
Froggie hopped back and sat on his log, Oh, yes!
Froggie hopped back and sat on his log,
Waiting for someone to help a frog,
Oh yes, oh yes, I'll help him do his best.
This song too, can be acted out or used as a finger play. Using this song as a springboard, ask the children how they can help the frogs "do their best," and what they as individuals can do to help keep frogs viable and part of their lives.
References
Pfeffer, Wendy, From Tadpole to Frog, Collins, 1994
Schwartz, David, If You Hopped Like a Frog, Scholastic Press, 1999