1975
Aka 109.1 ep#391 Benita and Peter select various interestingly shaped items from the Useful Box to spatter paint over. Two methods of spatter-painting are shown: one with a toothbrush and sieve and one with a spray-bottle. 'I Hear Thunder' is sung with stamping and finger actions. Peter puts up an umbrella and Benita pours water over it. Peter remains dry. Benita sings 'When the Rain is Falling Down'. The story is 'James and the Rain' by Karla Kuskin. Peter performs 'Mr. Frog Jumped Out'. Benita shows a wooden doll on the end of a long spring, and makes it jump to the rhyme 'Jeremiah jumped so high'. Through the windows a rain-shower is passing over a farm. Peter and Benita find things to make thunder and rain noises, and sing 'Clap Clap Clap Your Hands', shaking their hands for rain, or stamping their feet for thunder.
1975
Aka ep#392 Lorraine is putting various felt cut outs up on the board, placing them according to whether they can fly or not. An elephant, a snake and an aeroplane are among the cut outs and John does the action songs 'The Elephant (Hey de, Hey de ho)' and 'Zoom'. He recites a poem about a snake. Lorraine sets out an aircraft cabin with blocks and dresses as a hostess. John puts on a hat as a steward and they take the toys on a flight. Lorraine sings 'Up and Down'. The story is 'Little Bear Goes to the Moon' from 'Little Bear' by Else Holmelund Minarik. Lorraine has made a cardboard box space helmet, similar to Little Bear's and she takes off for the moon; unsuccessfully, as it turns out. She and John sing 'Jump If you Feel you Want to'. Through the windows there are light aircraft flying. John then demonstrates that crumpled paper falls faster than a flat sheet.
1975
Aka ep#393 Benita and John look at children's pictures. They come across some of trolls. They paint a fierce troll, emphasising that as it is a "pretend monster", it can be painted in any way the artist likes. John and Benita pretend to be trolls, using music from Greig's 'Peer Gynt Suite'. The story is 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'. Benita does an action rhyme about the three goats demonstrating little, middle-sized and big sized. Through the windows a goat is being milked and goats are climbing over rocks. John plays with sand, heaping it up and making castles and tunnels. 'Up and Down' is sung by Benita. Through another window children are playing on the beach, building sandcastles and sliding and rolling down a slope. Benita does the roly-poly action rhyme, then they both roll and slide the toys down an improvised slope.
1975
Aka ep#394 Benita and John are preparing for the story which occurs in a block of flats: (cardboard boxes) with a lift and some stairs. The characters are pegs. While John completes the preparations, Benita shows children's pictures of their homes, then shows photographs of different sorts of houses and does the action rhyme 'Anthony Ayres climbed up the stairs'. John tells a story about a fire breaking out in the flats. Benita sings 'The Fire Engine Song', then John builds a tall building with blocks, but it crashes down. 'Up and Down' is sung by Benita. Through the windows two children are visiting the city. Benita and John play out a visit to the building block city by the peg figures, then sing 'The Wheels of the Bus'.
1975
Aka ep#395 The piano is shown today and some attempt to understand pitch is made. Benita and John sing a few well known nursery rhymes then see how the piano works. Various activities physically relate high, middle and low to the sounds of the piano. The story is 'The Three Bears', using the toys and building blocks in a musical version. John does a clapping activity differentiating between little, middle and big bears, then pretends to be 'Big Father Bear' catching Benita who is putting up more children's pictures. Through the windows are a variety of things that go up and down. The program ends with a sing song of old favourites: 'Jack and Jill', 'Three Blind Mice', 'Humpty Dumpty' and a cumulative song including guitar, piano, clapping and clapping.
1975
Aka 110.1 ep#396 Lorraine and Don draw attention to the hinged (flap) lid of the Useful Box. A shoe box with flap lid is found. The poem of the week 'Lids on Tight' is recited. Lorraine makes a van from the shoebox, pencils, yoghurt packet lids and a milk carton. Don sings 'Wheels Keep Turning'. Lorraine loads van with matchboxes and delivers groceries to Little Ted's shop. Lorraine sings 'Riding In my Car' and then unloads groceries at the supermarket. It is three o'clock on the clock. The story is 'The Outside Cat' by Jane Thayer and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky. Lorraine sings 'Pussy on the Roof'. Don sings 'Have You Heard the Cat at Night?'. Through the windows are a variety of vans. Don and Lorraine make a removal van from Play School blocks. They load it and drive off singing 'Riding in my Car'.
1975
Aka ep#397 Lorraine and Don sort dressing up clothes. 'Lids on Tight' is recited with finger play. Lorraine and Don then play a dressing up game, Don wearing clothes that are worn outside and Lorraine wearing clothes that are worn inside. As each dresses, music plays. If the music stops before they finish dressing, the game is over. After the game, Don is wearing rain gear and he sings 'Happiness'. On the toys' TV set we see a cartoon of 'Dr. Foster'. Don recites the poem 'Dr. Foster'. Don then sings 'Hippopotamus Song'. It is seven o'clock on the clock. The story is 'It is Night' by Phyllis Rowand, about where animals go at night. Lorraine and Don sing 'This Little Boy', a finger game. Through the windows there are outside, inside games. Don and Lorraine play and sing 'Five in a Bed', animating the toys. Then they play and sing 'Jack in the Box', and end by playing a throwing game.
1975
Aka ep#398 Benita and Don look at mice in a mouse-house. They try to coax them out to be fed. 'Lids on Tight' is recited. Benita discusses which animals are allowed indoors and which are kept outside. Don sings 'The Elephant song'. Benita imitates a tiger and sings 'The Tiger'. Don imitates a camel, and sings 'The Camel'. Benita smiles and snaps like a crocodile as Don sings 'Never Smile at a Crocodile'. It is eight o'clock on the clock. The story is 'Too Much Noise' by Ann McGovern, dramatised by Benita and Don. Benita sings 'I Said Good Morning'. Don has a chook hand puppet. The puppet chook 'lays' a paper egg. He discusses eggs. Benita shows us the difference between a raw egg and a hard boiled egg and explains the difference between eggs bought for eating and eggs kept for hatching. Through the windows there are animals hatching from eggs. Don has a 'chicken' made from cotton wool, inside a cardboard egg carton shell. He sings 'The Chicken' with finger play. Benita has two live chicks.
1975
Aka ep#399 Benita and Don examine what they have just brought in from outside: twigs, leaves, stones, flowers and glass. Benita makes a collage tree. Don has a pile of dry leaves which he tosses in the air. He sings 'Like a Leaf or a Feather'. 'Lids o Tight' is recited. Benita finishes her collage, and sings 'Trees' with participation. It is half past seven on the clock. The story is 'Green is for Growing' by Letitia Parr. Don sings 'Tell Me a Story'. Benita and Don sing 'The Litterbug'. Through the windows there are children in the park. Don is walking around in his bare feet and sings 'Mr. Funny Feet', inviting viewer participation in actions. Don and Benita do some foot printing. They wash their feet before saying goodbye.
1975
Aka ep#400 The 400th program of Play School produces a party feeling. Benita and Don are blowing up balloons. They show that balloons, when they're blown up, have air inside them. They demonstrate by letting the air out of the balloon and seeing it blow a lot of paper away. We also hear the sound that air makes as it comes out of the balloon. Benita pretends to be a balloon being inflated and deflated. 'Lids on Tight' is recited. Benita reveals a barrel full of balloons. She tosses them about and sings 'Balloons' with floating. It is ten o'clock on the clock. The story is 'Benjy's Dog House' by Margaret Bloy Graham. A song and finger play is done about a 'Dog House'. Benita and Don discuss where animals live. Benita sings 'Warm Kitty', and Don sings 'Here is the Beehive', as a finger play. Benita is a rabbit who lives in a burrow. She sings with differing actions 'Whistle While You Work'. Don's arm is a snake. He sings 'The Snake'. Through the windows there are animal homes. Benita and Don use the barrel for a goal and play a game patting the balloon into the barrel.
1975
Aka 111.1 ep#401 Jan and Peter are looking at photographs of an ambulance. Jan points out the siren, red flashing light and red crosses. She sings 'The Ambulance Song'. Peter uses a tissue box to make an ambulance. Both play with pegs and 'ambulance'. It is two o'clock on the clock. The story is 'The Ambulance' by Ann Mari Falk. Peter sings the song of the week 'Miss Polly'. The presenters play hospitals with the toys. Humpty's head (he's had another fall) is bandaged. Jan sings 'Humpty Dumpty'. Through the windows there is a Doll's Hospital. They sing 'Heads and Shoulders, Knees and Toes'.
1975
Aka ep#402 Jan and Peter are dressing up as King and Queen for the story. Peter makes 'cakes' with play-doh and patty pans, singing 'This Is The Way We Make the Cakes'. Peter then sings 'I Am the King'. It is two o'clock on the clock. Peter and Jan dramatise the story about 'The Very Fat King'. During the story Peter sings 'I Feel Sick'. Jan sings 'Miss Polly'. Through the windows is a dentist. Peter sings 'Brush Brush Brush'. Jan enters eating a real apple and Peter mimes her munching.
1975
Aka ep#403 Jan and Peter watch Bit and Bot the goldfish. Peter points out aerator, water-snails and water-plants. He scrapes algae off the tank, singing 'This Is the Way We Clean the Tank'. Jan does a finger game about fish. It is two o'clock on the clock. The story is 'A Fish Out Of Water' by Helen Palmer. Jan makes a balloon fish which she inflates and deflates. She sings 'All the Fish Are Swimming in the Water'. Peter feeds Bit and Bot. Through the windows there are zoo animals being cared for. Peter bandages Owl's wing. Jan sings 'Miss Polly'. Owl's bandage is removed.
1975
Aka ep#404 Jan and Peter make a cradle for Hamble. They use paper plates and a shoebox. Peter sings 'Rock a Bye Baby'. 'Miss Polly' is sung. Jan sings 'I Like Peace, I Like Quiet'. It is two o'clock on the clock. The story is 'The New Bed' by Miss Read. Jan sings 'Ten in a Bed'. Through the windows a baby is visited in hospital. Peter sings 'When I Was a Baby'. Jan makes a mobile using paper plates and a coathanger. Both presenters bathe Hamble and put her into a cradle. They sing 'Rock a Bye Baby'.
1975
Aka ep#405 Peter does 'see saw springs' and Jan makes a see-saw. Both sing 'See Saw Marjory Daw'. Jan makes a small see-saw for Humpty and Jemima. Jan gives the toys a ride and sings 'See Saw Marjery Daw' again. She makes a tightrope for Jemima and animates her, then makes a slippery dip for Humpty and animates him. It is two o'clock on the clock. The story is told with Jan and Peter animating Humpty and Little Ted for a story about a ladder which breaks. Jan and Peter sing 'Miss Polly'. Through the windows there is a visit to the doctor. Peter feels the bones of his body and sings 'The Anatomical Song'. Jan joins Peter and they both sing 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'.
1975
Aka 112.1 ep#406 Benita and Peter are playing with a spinning top. We watch it spin, topple and fall and hear it hum. Benita says a poem about spinning tops. Bruegal's painting 'Children's Games' is examined: there are children straddling a fence, playing with a top, doing head-stands and spinning. Benita sings and mimes 'We All Turn Round Together'. It is two o'clock on the clock. The story is about the 'Shhhhhptt Pen'. The viewer is invited to join in the action. Through the windows there is pottery-making. Peter sings 'Little Brown Jug'. He makes a jug and some mugs with tins and cardboard containers, decorating them with his felt pen. Benita shows us another painting, 'Country Feast'. Peter and Benita and the toys have a birthday party.
1975
Aka ep#407 Benita and Peter play a dressing-up game, dressing themselves at random from a pile of clothes. They sing 'I'm the Man in the Wellington Boots'. Benita has made a scare-crow, and sings 'The Scarecrow'. Peter makes a hobby-horse with a broomstick, a wellington boot and a feather boa. Benita shows us Bruegal's painting: children playing with a hobby-horse, a tug of war and game of blind man's bluff are featured. Benita is blindfolded and plays a game guessing the identity of the toys handed to her by Peter. He makes a hobby horse from a broomstick and an old sock. Benita gallops around on it. It is three o'clock on the clock. The story is 'Herbie the Lonely Scarecrow'. Benita sings a 'Scarecrow Song' extending it into a shaking activity, with hands and feet. Through the windows there are children skipping. The presenters sing 'Let's All Sing Together' with clapping, stomping and laughing actions.
1975
Aka ep#408 Benita and John have hula hoops. Benita demonstrates, whirling hers around her waist as John watches moving his hips. The viewer is invited to participate in hip- wriggling. John then tries whirling the hoop around his arm. The viewer is invited to make circles with their arms. Bruegal's painting is looked at to find children bowling hoops, climbing on a barrel, and playing leapfrog. John has a frog and we see it leaping. He talks about some of its physical features. Henry and Henrietta, the white mice and Jack and Jill the guinea pigs are introduced as the regular residents of Play School. The frog is a visitor. Benita sings 'A Tall Thin Man' and leaps and jumps like a frog. The story is 'Flippy the Frog' by Ruth Ainsworth, told with animal cutouts animated at a bench. A frog, fish, lamb, butterfly, snake and kangaroo are featured. John sings 'Kangaroo Brown'. Through the windows are kangaroos. Benita and John sing 'I Went to Visit', imitating the sounds of a kookaburra, crow, flies, snake, sheep and frog.
1975
Aka ep#409 Benita and Don give Big Ted a 'rough ride' in a game where they make a seat with their arms and throw Big Ted up into the air. Don gives Big Ted, Little Ted and Humpty piggyback rides while Benita sings 'Donkey Riding' using the lyric 'piggyback riding' instead of 'donkey riding'. Benita using a broom to do some cleaning. Don helps by miming sweeping and they sing 'Let's go sweeping'. The broom is used for imaginative play, becoming various items. Don looks at the Flower Clock. Benita tries to play a tuba, which she then gives to Don so he can accompany her reading a story about 'A Small Boy with a Big Horn'. Don is tired from playing the tuba, so swaps it for his electric guitar using a wah-wah pedal. Benita and Don sing 'They All Walk the Wibbly Wobbly Walk'. Through the square window there is lots of feet walking and running, including people walking, dogs walking, running and kicking balls, prams being pushed and children running in the playground. Benita and Don recite "I can hear my feet go stamp stamp stamp".
1975
Aka ep#410 Benita and Don are playing skittles with a ball and old 'Jif' bottles. Don blows some bubbles. Benita mimes blowing up a balloon. Through the round window there is glass blowing. Don looks at his reflection in a mirror and pulls different faces. The presenters play a copying game where Benita pretends to be a mirror and copies all of Don's movements. Don makes reflections by drawing half of Humpty and also a squiggle on paper and then reflecting them with a mirror to complete his illustrations. Don looks at the Flower Clock. Benita reads 'Follow this Line' by Michael O'Leary. Don and Benita play follow the leader while singing 'I Travelled Over Land and Sea'.
1975
Aka 113.1 ep#411 Benita and Don have made a model house with a dark, night time sky as a backdrop, featuring stars and a moon made from aluminium foil. To go with the model, they are making model children from toilet rolls, pipe cleaners and shredded paper. Benita puts the children to bed in their house. 'Moon Moon' is sung, followed by Don singing the 'Yawning Song'. It is three o'clock on the clock. The story is 'What's In the Dark?'. Don plays his guitar and sings 'Goodnight', 'Room' and Benita sings 'Twinkle Twinkle', followed by a finger game about getting ready for bed. Through the windows a child performs their night time routine. Benita and Don sing 'I Wiggle' together.
1975
Aka ep#412 Benita is making a tree to go with the model house and sings 'Trees' with actions. There is a letter box, and a garbage bin and Don sings 'The Postman'. Benita dresses up as a garbage worker singing 'This is the Way', while putting on her shoes, hat and gloves. Then she pretends to be a very noisy garbage man, singing 'The Garbage Man' song. Through the windows the streets are being cleaned at night. It is three o'clock on the clock. The story is 'The Garbage Man'. Benita and Don sing 'Jump, jump, jump'.
1975
Aka ep#413 Benita is making a bed to put the model children in. She goes to sleep on a bed made out of Play School blocks and then sings 'We Are All Jumping' to wake herself up. Don makes a owl out of paper to put in the model tree and sings 'Have You Heard the Owl at Night?'. We meet a real owl who is visiting Play School today. It is three o'clock on the clock. The story is 'Goodnight Now'. Don plays guitar and sings 'I Said Good Morning' and then we meet another visitor - a bat. Through the windows there are nocturnal animals. Benita turns out the lights and Don looks for Diddle the cat with his torch. Benita and Don sing 'The Owl and the Pussycat'.
1975
Aka ep#414 Don is making a pond for the model house and Benita is taking the foil moon from the sky so that a torch light can be used for the moon instead. The new moon can move right across the sky and shine on the house and on the pond. Torchlight can also be used to make shadows, and Don makes a shadow mouse, duck, soldier and horse. It is three o'clock on the clock. The story is 'The Moon's Reflection'. Benita and Don sing 'Everybody Do This' and watch the shadows of their actions. Benita then pretends to be Don's shadow. Don tries to make shadows with a candle. Through the windows candles are made. Don says the poem 'Five Little Candles' and sings 'If You're Happy and You Know It'.
1975
Aka ep#415 Mary Anne and Don are using hot water to melt iceblocks, and then Mary Anne pretends to be an ice block, then an ice cream being melted in the hot sun. There is a refridgerator in Play School today and Don looks inside to see what he can find. There is a whole fish wrapped in paper, and a packet of fish fingers. Through the windows fish fingers are being made. Mary Anne makes fish out of paper and attaches a paper clip to each, using a fishing line with a magnet attached to catch them. Mary Anne makes some snow out of paper and sprinkles it on the pond. Through the windows there is snow. After the story, the toys go for a ride in a toy sleigh, while Mary Anne sings 'Jingle Bells'. She and Don get warm by doing actions, and singing 'This is the Way'.
1975
Aka 114.1 ep#416 John and Jan use cardboard strips, floor cushions and blocks to make an expressway. They discuss bridges that go over water and bridges that go over roads - footbridges. John arches his body to make a bridge and Jan is a car going under it.. She then walks Ted across the footbridge to the other side of the road. Jan then makes herself into a bridge by standing up, legs apart. John sings the song of the week 'Over, Under' ('Open, Shut Them') with hand actions. Jan sings 'Building Blocks' (sung as 'I'm Building a Road') as she completes the expressway. She takes it over hills, blasts it through a mountain and over a river. The clock displays four o'clock. The story is 'The New Road' by Hana Peterson. John sings 'The Hole in the Road' with a digging, drilling and picking action. Jan makes a steamroller from a matchbox, a straw and a cotton reel, then sings 'the Steam Roller'. Through the windows traffic is going over and under bridges and overpasses. John builds a footbridge over Jan's new road. They sing 'Riding in my Car' while playing with matchbox cars, steamroller and boat on and under the expressway.
1975
Aka ep#417 Jan and John are playing with dirt in the sand tray. They play a game, John hiding three things, a cotton reel, a peg and a bottle top, Jan digging to find them. sings the 'Digging Song'. The story is about animals digging underground, and is told with animated cardboard cutouts. Jan sings 'How Does a Caterpillar Go', substituting Furry Rabbit, Little Mouse, Wriggly Worm and Spony Anteater, the animals featured in the story. Through the windows are mining activities. John mimes a bulldozer and sings 'Hole in the Road', miming digging, drilling and picking. Jan dresses up as a coal miner, and shows the special helmet. She sings 'Down in a Coal Mine'. 'Over Under' is sung. Jan is wearing a diamond ring and describes how diamonds and gold come from under the ground. She then hides some different objects in the dirt and John has to dig them out.
1975
Aka ep#418 Jan and John are playing with the guinea pigs. We look at the underneath of the guinea pigs. John sings 'Over Under'. He has a starfish and a sea urchin in a tank. We look at their over and under sides. John sings 'How Does a Caterpillar Go?' substituting sea urchin and starfish. Jan has a small tortoise on a block and explains how it lives inside a shell, its house. She shows the under side of the tortoise then sings 'I'm a Little Tortoise', curling and stretching out like a tortoise. John tells the story of Jocelyn the Jellyfish. Through the windows children are looking at sea life under rocks. Jan scuttles about like a crab as she sings 'Run Little Crab'. We look at a crab in the fish tank. John and Jan sing 'A Tall Thin Man', substituting snappy crab, spiky starfish, slippery slug, wriggly worm, and sea anemone, the animals included in the film.
1975
Aka ep#419 Jan and John are playing a game with rope. One wriggles it on the ground while the other jumps over it. They sing 'This Fine Day'. A hiding game follows. Jan has hidden three things under a table cloth, John has to feel them and guess what they are. He sings 'Over Under'. They play a hurdling game with a broomstick on blocks. The broomstick is gradually raised higher and higher. Both sing 'Jack be Nimble'. The broomstick is too high to jump over, so they decide to go under it. Jan plays some Limbo music on the record player and they both dance under the broomstick. The story 'The Cow Who Couldn't Jump Over the Moon' is based on the nursery rhyme, Hey Diddle Diddle. The toys are used to dramatise the story. Through the windows we see athletes, hurdling, pole-vaulting, swimming and gymnasts balancing. Jemima is practising to be a gymnast, walking along a balance beam. John is balancing on some rope on the floor. He sings 'One Elephant Went Out One Day'.
1975
Aka ep#420 Jan and Alister do breathing exercises. They demonstrate that you can breathe through your mouth or through your nose. Jan demonstrates breathing under water with the use of a snorkel and a face mask. Alister sings 'Over Under. Through the windows children are diving with snorkels and masks. Alister sings 'Three Jelly Fish'. Jan makes a jellyfish out of a plastic jelly mould and some streamers. She has made a fishtank out of a cardboard box, adds weed and coral made of paper and some cut out paper fish. She sings 'All The Fish are Swimming in the Water'. Alister gives Hamble a swim, and makes a snorkel and mask for her, then they have a splash about in the water. The story is 'Rain Drop Splash' by Alvin Tresselt. Alister has a boat which he is floating on the cardboard fish tank. He sings 'Here is the Sea'. Hamble has an underwater swim. Jan is on a block, pretending to swim.
1975
Aka 115.1 ep#421 Lorraine and Peter sort through junk, finding a paintbrush, old spoon, scooter wheel and upholstery spring. Lorraine springs up and down chanting 'Boing!'. Peter has a Jack in the Box which is operated by a large spring. Both sing 'Jack in the Box', inviting participation. The story is 'The Marvellous Toy', sung by Evan Jones. Peter and Lorraine invite participation in zipping, bopping and whirring. Peter and Lorraine mime a train, a puppet and a wind up toy. Peter makes a robot out of junk: cereal and washing powder packets, springs and cardboard tubes. The song 'Follow Me To Robot Land' invites participation in moving arms, head and walking backwards, clapping, nodding and stretching. Through the windows there is a council tip and the recycling of an old car. Peter and Lorraine decide to clean away the junk and sing 'The Job Song'. They arrange to do a cleaning up job. They sort through the junk, keeping useful junk in the Useful Box, rubbish going into the garbage bin.
1975
Aka ep#422 John and Lorraine prepare for a tea party with the toys, dressing them up for the occasion and making cakes from Play Doh. John sings 'Pat-a-cake' then 'I'm a Little Teapot' with actions. The tea party begins, and they sing 'The Teaparty Song'. The story is 'The Tale of Tom Kitten' by Beatrix Potter. John sings 'Six Little Ducks', and waddles. We look at a picture of a duck with webbed feet. Through the windows there are people's feet. Lorraine sings 'Wiggle Your Toes'. John does a wiggly toe painting. Then he does a finger painting. Both sing 'The Job Song', as they wash their hands and feet.
1975
Aka ep#423 There is a duck in Play School. We watch him swim. Lorraine pretends to be a duck waddling and sings 'Six Little Ducks'. John pours some water over the duck leaving him quite dry. Through the windows there are penguins covered in tanker oil, and the way oil is removed from the feathers so they can swim again. Lorraine imitates a penguin singing 'A Penguin Can Dive'. John mimes swimming and floating, and 'dries' himself. Lorraine has the job of washing a dog. John sings 'Shake Shake Shake'. The story is 'Angus and the Cat' by Marjorie Flack. John demonstrates how a cat washes itself.
1975
Aka ep#424 Potplants need careful watering. We see the drainage holes. John does some pruning, and sings 'I Have a Little Garden'. The story is 'The Garden' by Arnold Lobel (from 'Frog and Toad'). Lorraine is a plant and invites participation in growing. John 'waters' Lorraine, who droops because there is no sun, so John provides a sun and Lorraine grows again. Lorraine shows the differences between living things (growth) and non-living things (i.e. spoon, toothbrush). John has a spoon and toothbrush in pots. He waters them but they won't grow!. Lorraine sings 'When I Was a Baby'. Little Ted celebrates his birthday, and Lorraine sings 'Five Little Candles'. Through the windows a baby is being cared for by his mother. John washes Hamble like a baby, singing 'Wash Your Dirty Face', arms, knees, etc. Lorraine dresses Hamble.
1975
Aka ep#425 Lorraine and John are cleaning and polishing things; silver cutlery, brass candle- sticks, tray and teapot. John sings 'Polly Put the Kettle On'. The teapot is so clean that John can see his face in it. Lorraine cleans a mirror and plays a copycat game inviting participation of wrinkling her nose, mouthing 'boo', waggling her tongue and fingers, etc. John finger paints. The story is 'Mr. Messy' by Roger Hargreaves, about a messy man who is cleaned up by two cleaners, Mr. Neat and Mr. Tidy. John washes his hands, arms and face then tidies his messy hair. He sings 'Wash Your Dirty Hands'. Lorraine vacuums, showing how it works. Through the windows someone is cleaning a house. John mimes house cleaning; vacuuming, sweeping, scrubbing a bath and answering a telephone. 'The Job Song' is sung after cleaning.
1975
Aka 116.1 ep#426 Benita and John select a suitable cardboard box from the Useful Box to make an oven. John makes a frypan from a foil tart dish and a paddle pop stick. He paints hot-plates on the oven, explaining the difference between gas and electric stoves. Benita sings 'Pat-a-Cake' as she moulds Play Doh into the shape of a cake. John makes pretend popcorn from paper and Benita makes real popcorn in an electric frypan, explaining how it works and warning that it's hot. John mimes to 'Popcorn Theme' then sings the song of the week 'I'm Hot'. They eat the cooked popcorn. The story is 'Little Red Hen'. John and Benita sing the parts. Benita makes some toast in a pop up toaster, and sings 'You Push the Button Down' (to the tune of 'The Music Goes Round and Round'). John bends his knees and sinks slowly to the ground like toast in a pop up toaster. Through the windows sliced bread is being manufactured. John makes a popcorn man by threading the popcorn Benita cooked earlier through thin wire. He walks the popcorn man along singing 'Muffin Man' (substituting Popcorn Man). Benita joins him when John walks, claps and jumps to 'Muffin Man'.
1975
Aka 116.2 ep#427 Benita and John talk about suitable clothes to wear to the beach. Benita goes to put her bikini on. John sing 'I'm Hot'. Benita is dressed for the beach in shift, sandals, hat and sunglasses. She sings Sand's Hot while hopping on the pretend sand. She talks about protection from the hot sun with hat and suntan lotion. Benita sings 'Lazy and Warm'. John enters with an umbrella and zinc cream. They rub cream on to their noses, singing 'Put Your Finger On Your Nose'. Through the windows we see Desert Dwellers: Arab people in the desert with tents, camels and wells. John is dressed as an Arab person, draped in towels. He rides a pile of cushions as a camel, and sings 'Humpty Dumpty'. Th story is 'Nasr'd Din and the Moon' about an Arab person who thinks the moon has fallen into his well and tries to save it. Both presenters sing 'Ha Ha this away', miming and singing the following actions: pulling, falling, bumping, plodding.
1975
Aka ep#428 Lorraine and John are playing with Cocky. Lorraine explains how water helps Cocky to cool down. John imitates some things that cockies do: nodding, squawking, flapping, singing 'Ha Ha This Away'. Lorraine sings 'I'm Hot', with running actions, then gives Hamble a swim in a plastic bowl, singing 'All the Fish are Swimming in the Water'. John looks at budgies sitting on the edge of their bird bath, and imitates budgies taking a bath: he splashes and shakes and preens to the 'Jump' tune. Through the windows there are desert animals: birds, a snake, a lizard, a gecko, a door beetle, marsupial and a bandicoot. Lorraine says a poem about the animals in the film with accompanying digging actions. John mimes a snake and sings 'The Snake Song'. The Play School visitor is a blue tongued lizard. The story is 'Penny' about a kookaburra and a lizard. Lorraine imitates a kookaburra and sings 'Kookaburra Sits on an Old Gum Tree'. John and Lorraine have another look at the lizard before they say goodbye.
1975
Aka ep#429 John washes Hamble's hair, singing 'Ha Ha This Away' as he rubs, rinses and dries it. He explains how a hair dryer works, as he dries Hamble's hair with one. Lorraine has made a pretend Barbecue with sticks and wood with red paper for flames. She is blowing hard on the fire to get it going. John enters with pretend sausages made from cardboard rolls which he threads on a stick and holds over the 'fire' to 'cook'. Both sing 'Listen to the Sausages'. Lorraine prepares pretend bread rolls with pretend sauce. They put out the imaginary fire with imaginary water, singing 'Listen to the Fire Go Out'. The story is 'Fireball' told by John with slides to illustrate the action. Lorraine curls and twists her arms and body like flames. John throws pretend water on her and her flames die. She becomes smoke, waving, twisting and twirling, slowly moving from the floor. Through the windows there is Hot Air Ballooning. John floats about like a balloon, singing 'Zoom'. Lorraine sings 'I'm Hot' with running actions, and is joined by John.
1975
Aka ep#430 Lorraine and John admire a glass horse. Glass is smooth and shiny and hard and can be seen through. Lorraine sings 'High Stepping Horses', inviting viewer participation. John makes a horse out of clay. He gallops the horse along to the tune 'High Stepping Horses'. Lorraine demonstrates that, unlike clay, glass won't bend; to mould it into a horse, the glass has to be made very, very hot. Peter, a special visitor, is a glass blower. He has a hot flame into which he places a glass rod; we see it begin to bend in the heat. Peter is going to make a glass horse; while he does so, Lorraine demonstrates bending with her body. She invites viewer participation, singing 'Bending'. We see how Peter's horse is going. By now he has made the horse's head and neck. John sings 'I'm Hot'. Lorraine repeats the song, changing action from running to trotting. She bends herself like a piece of clay into a horse but she has no tail; Peter is just putting a tail on his glass horse. We look with John at the completed horse, then we see some other glass horses, all different shapes and sizes Through the windows horses are being shoed. John sings 'Blacksmith', beating one fist on the other for hammer and anvil action. The story is 'Indian Two Feet and His Horse'. John gives Ted a ride on Dapple. Ted has a Native American headdress. John sings 'Gallop-a-Gallop'. The tempo increases until Ted falls off Dapple. Lorraine enters wearing headdress and makes one for John out of newspaper, taped at the back. A design is scribbled on with charcoal and a piece of fish fern is the feather. They sing 'Big Tall Indian' as they dance around the camp fire.
1975
Aka 117.1 ep#431 Jan is drawing an outline of John on sheets of newspaper. When she has finished, John sings 'My Hands are Clapping' (adapted for parts of the body: foot stamping, knees knocking, hands clapping, elbows knocking, head nodding). Jan adds hair and clothes to the outline; they sing 'Mary Wore a Red Dress'. Jan shows paintings sent in to Play School relating to faces. John cuts out a hole for his face on the outline, pokes his face through and sings 'Open Shut Them'. He uses his hand in the 'face' of the paper man and pretends to be a man from Outer Space. Jan and John make up a story about a paper man. With Warren's help, they make up a song. They sing 'What Shall We Do When We All Go Out?'. Through the windows children at a creative leisure centre build with polystyrene and clay. John makes a marvellous toy with polystyrene, then he and Jan sing 'The Marvellous Toy'.
1975
Aka ep#432 Jan and Don scrunch up pieces of paper and stuff it into some old pantyhose. The legs have been tied up and the pantyhose turned inside out. The 'ball' is done up with an elastic band. Jan says the finger play 'Here's a Ball for Baby'. The story is based on the idea 'What I'll be when I grow up'. Jan tells the story and Don acts it out: he is a clown, a carpenter, a soldier and a footballer. Don talks about being a footballer, does some jogging and deep breathing exercises. The presenters prepare to take the toys to a football match. Don dresses the Teds as footballers and the other toys as their fans, while Jan builds a bus to take everyone to the match using two planks of wood and two chairs. 'What Shall We Do When We All Go Out?' is sung, with a verse about a football match being added. They put the toys in the 'bus' and drive to the 'match' singing 'Double Decker Bus'. Through the windows children are playing soccer. Jan and Don help Big Ted and Little Ted have a game of football. Jan and Don sing 'Jump', adapted for clapping and cheering.
1975
Aka ep#433 Jan and Don set up the Play School zoo. They find pictures of a monkey, a cockatoo and a bear. Don draws an owl. Each of these pictures have their names written on and placed next to the Play School cocky. The toys are the other exhibits. Through the windows a grandmother and child visit the zoo. Jan sings 'Going to the Zoo', as Don animates the toys. Don sings and mimes 'I'm a Great Big Lion' (tune: 'I'm a Great Big Tiger'). Jan reads the story 'A Room Full of Animals' by John Houston, illustrated by Winnie Fitch. Topaz the lion cub, from Warragamba Lion Park, is featured. Pictures of a lion and lioness demonstrate the obvious differences between the sexes. Topaz is given a meal, and Humpty (the zoo keeper) feeds the Play School animals.
1975
Aka ep#434 Jan and Don use blocks to build a car and sing 'Riding in my Car'. It is converted to a bus. They sing 'Wheels of the Bus'. Finally, the bus becomes an aeroplane, and they sing 'Zoom'. Both recap the places they have been to each day and sing 'What Shall We Do When We All Go Out?'. Through the windows some children visit Luna Park, travelling by Ferry across the Harbour. Jan gives Little Ted a ride on Dapple and sings 'Yankee Doodle'. Don makes a Big Dipper and the toys have a ride in a 'box' carriage. They rhyme words relating to the Big Dipper. They mime eating fairy floss and talk about the clowns at Luna Park. The story is 'The Circus' by Dick Bruna. Jan and Don take turns to entertain toys at the Play School Circus. Jan sings 'Oh We Can Play'. She becomes a circus horse, Don an elephant and he sings 'An Elephant Goes Like This and That'. When the circus is over, they go home by train.
1975
Aka ep#435 Jan and Don set up a pretend supermarket in Play School. Jan is a shop assistant, and Don brings Humpty to do the shopping. Humpty and Don make some purchases, including potatoes and sing 'One Potato Two Potatoes'. When Humpty and Don have finished their shopping, 'What Shall We Do When We All Go Out?' is sung. Through the windows there are people shopping. Jan and Don take turns to mime some of the supermarket activities, inviting viewers to guess. They mime eating ice-cream, and having tea. 'Polly Put the Kettle On' is sung. Jan mimes being a dog in the pet's department and Don sings 'BINGO'. He mimes driving a car, and sings 'Riding in My Car'. The story is 'Mr. Tweedley Goes to Town' acted out by Don. Jan mimes driving a car and sings 'Everybody Do This'. Don joins in.
1975
Aka 118.1 ep#436 Lorraine and John are taking one side off a big box. They are making a cubby house for the toys. John invites the viewer to do some hammering with him and sings 'Johnny Works with One Hammer'. Lorraine joins him for a repeat of this song and activity. She decides to paint a window on the wall while John makes a block into a table and uses boxes to build a cupboard and some chairs. He sings the song of the week 'Take a Box', while furnishing the house; first when placing the table, then when building a cupboard. Lorraine sings 'Take a Box' whilst painting a square window on the box. They discuss what kind of chair each toy will need, and sing 'Humpty Dumpty'. Humpty needs a chair with a back and arms to stop him falling out. John shows how he will make this. Lorraine reads 'Peter's Chair' by Ezra Jack Keats. John paints Humpty's chair pink while singing an adapted version of 'Jump Jump Jump'. Lorraine shows us a picture of the Play school house she has drawn. Both sing 'There's a Bear in There'. Lorraine shows some of the paintings of houses viewers have sent into Play School. One of these paintings is a tall, thin house with a painted roof. John says the finger play 'Build the House Up very High'. Through the windows there is a cubby house at a pre-school centre. Lorraine and John play houses in our cubby house. John and Lorraine sing 'How Many People Live In your House'. Viewers are asked to send in pictures of their family, or house.
1975
Aka ep#437 Lorraine and John are sorting the toys' clothes and checking to see just exactly what mending needs to be done. Lorraine finishes stitching a button on Hamble's dress. Whilst they are doing this they sing 'Mary Wore a Red Dress' adapting the song for each of the toys. Jemima and Hamble wear clothes most days and Humpty's clothes are stitched on. Big Ted and Little Ted wear clothes sometimes. We look at the clothes the Teds have had from time to time. Big Ted's shorts need the pocket stitched up. John says the poem 'What Have you Got in your Pocket'. Through the windows a mother is making shorts for her child. The shorts have a red pattern. Lorraine has finished mending Ted's pocket and she dresses him. She then decides to take him shopping to buy a shirt and matching cap. John converts the crate into a shirt shop and sing 'Take a Box'. Lorraine arrives with Big Ted, to buy him a striped shirt and matching cap. They sing a final version of 'Mary Wore a Red Dress' as Big Ted had a striped shirt. The story is 'Caps for Sale' by Esphyr Slobodkina. John pretends to be a monkey and plays a copycat game with the viewer. Lorraine joins him and they sing 'Monkey See and Monkey Do', first clapping hands then shaking fists, scratching themselves and stamping feet, and in this way recap the story.
1975
Aka ep#438 Lorraine and John play a matching game. They match a dog, bear, bird and a pig with their homes: a kennel, a cave, a tree and a pig sty. Then they sing 'Ha ha This Away', adapted to woof, tweet, growl and snort. The visiting animal is a piglet. Lorraine shows it to us and then feeds him. John sings 'Mud Mud'. The story is 'Just Me' by Marie Hall Ets. John takes Ted for a row, singing 'Row Row Row your Boat' with actions, first going down stream, then up- stream. Lorraine and John do mimes of the animals on the farm and sing 'I Said Good Morning to a Cat', extended to cow, goose, horse and frog. Through the windows polar bears are playing at a zoo. Lorraine sings 'Take a Box', converting the crate into a bear's cave. The Teds climb over the mountain to reach the cave, as Lorraine and John sing 'The Bear went over the Mountain'.
1975
Aka ep#439 Lorraine and John build bridges with matchboxes. John builds an arched bridge and sings 'Take a Box'. He walks fingers over and back. Lorraine takes a matchbox car over and nearly skittles John's 'Mr. Two Fingers'. She then builds London Bridge which John 'sabotages' by taking a truck over. The bridge collapses. Lorraine and John sing 'London Bridge' with actions. The story is 'The Tale of the Mouse Deer'. Lorraine sings 'The Crocodile Song' ('She Sailed Away') and has fun with a shoe box crocodile. She sets out box crocodiles on a pretend river and moves the toys across. Humpty (as usual) falls in and is rescued by John in his rowing boat. He sings 'Row Row Row' as he rows Humpty downstream, slowly and quickly, then upstream. Through the windows there is a Spanish boy who uses his boat to visit a woodcarver. Lorraine is attaching a paper sail to a broom mast. She finds a steering wheel, paints on portholes and a compass on a block. 'Take a Box' is sung. John arrives with life buoy and they collect the toys to take them for a sail. 'A Sailor Went to Sea' is sung and mimed by the presenters.
1975
Aka ep#440 Lorraine and John prepare to build a box wall. They select the building materials and sing 'Take a Box'. When the wall is finished, Humpty sits on it and falls off while Lorraine sings 'Humpty Dumpty'. John tries to build some card houses using cut up cartons which are bigger and firmer than cards. Whilst doing this, he sings 'Build it Up'. Lorraine mimes building and crashing. The piano leads this activity and it develops into a listening exercise. John then uses some boxes to build a block of flats: first with a flat roof, then a pitched roof. Lorraine reads 'We Were Tired of Living in a House' by Liesel Moak Skorpen. At the end we count the number of people living in that house. 'How Many People Live' is sung. John prepares to turn the box into a roof and sings a repeat of 'How Many People Live', counting how many people live in his Play School house. There are seven and the house is roofed to keep the rain off them. With their hands, John and Lorraine demonstrate flat and pointed roofs. Through the windows is the construction of a roof. Lorraine says the finger play, 'Here is the Church'. John adds a steeple to his block of flats, thus turning it into a church. He sings 'Take a Box', deciding to make a letterbox. The closing activity is a house building song with actions.