1976
Aka 119.1 ep#441 Jan and Alister look at an alarm clock, a watch and a grandfather clock. Interest is focused on their sizes and the sounds they make. Each needs winding to make it work and the alarm clock needs to have its alarm wound also. The song ''In the House' gives opportunity to make the sounds of different clocks. A shoe box, paper plate and gum-leaves make a grandfather clock which is used during the week when singing 'Hickory Dickory Dock'. A cardboard cutout mouse on a stick is animated on the box clock. Both 'Grandfather' and the Play School clock say one o'clock. The story is 'The Little Boy who Didn't Want to Get Up' from 'Look, Do and Listen' by Ruth Ainsworth. It is related to morning, and what happens at that time of day. The alarm clock is used to 'wake' Alister who sings with actions of yawning and stretching, singing 'Jump'. Through the windows a farm and the animals wake up in the morning. A breakfast is prepared by Jan with interest in boiling eggs and use of an egg-timer. After 'waking' Alister for breakfast, they again sing the yawning and stretching songs (with actions) to the tune of 'Jump'.
1976
Aka ep#442 Jan and Alister demonstrate some of the things that people do when they get up in the morning: they brush hair, clean teeth, shave and polish shoes to the song 'This Is the Way'. The box 'Grandfather Clock' says one o'clock, so before the story they sing 'Hickory Dickory Dock'. The story is 'Lucy and Tom's Day' by Shirley Hughes, which follows the activities of two children at different times of the day. Shopping time: first Jan makes her shopping list and finds her shopping bag, then she sings 'Let's Go Walking'. Alister is the butcher and Jan buys sausages; he becomes the greengrocer, Jan buys lettuce and oranges; finally, he becomes the bus conductor, then the bus driver for Jan's journey home. They sing 'The Wheels of the Bus'. Through the windows there is another way to go shopping with country people in a horse-drawn sulky. A broom with a cord from a dressing gown makes Alister's horse as they sing 'Horsey Horsey', riding home.
1976
Aka ep#443 Jan and Alister look at the mice, Henry and Henrietta, a mouse being the subject of the song of the week 'Hickory Dickory Dock'. Alister looks at the cuckoo clock, showing how the clock indicates the half-hours and the hours. Both sing 'The Cuckoo Clock'. Rhythm sticks and woodblocks are used for the tick tocks. 'Hiccups' by Barbara Ker WIlson, is told by Jan, with Alister providing the hiccups. Jan encourages participation in an eating mime with a banana, soup, an apple and water melon featured. Through the windows it is feeding time for animals, including lions, tigers and cockatoos. Bird pecking actions with fingers is followed by the action song 'Two Little Dicky Birds'. The Play School cocky is fed birdseed and the mice are also fed before the final singing of 'Hickory Dickory Dock'.
1976
Aka ep#444 Jan and Alister play a 'how-do-you-do-game' with their fingers: 'Two Fat Gentlemen'. They then introduce themselves and shake hands with the song 'How Do You Do?'. The toys are included in the introductions. 'Hickory Dickory Dock' is sung before the story which is an enactment of 'Two Fat Gentlemen'. Both presenters dress up as fat gentlemen, thin ladies, tall policemen, small schoolboys and tiny babies. The wall used in the story becomes Humpty's wall for Humpty Dumpty and a piece of cardboard makes a see-saw for an enactment by Jemima and Humpty of 'See Saw Marjory Daw'. Through the windows children are playing in a park which features a tree-house and a wooden horse. A chair becomes a wooden horse for 'Horsey Horsey'. It is then turned around to become a car for 'Riding in my Car'. Laid down it becomes a train for 'Train is a-Comin''. Alister, miming a wind-up Hickory Dickory Dock mouse sings 'Hickory Dickory Dock'.
1976
Aka ep#445 Jan and Alister make a 'papier-mache' mouse by simply soaking and shaping newspaper. This mouse becomes the Hickory Dickory Dock mouse for 'Hickory Dickory Dock'. Bathroom objects are introduced for a floating and sinking demonstration. Articles include a face washer, nail brush, soap, soap container. Floating and sinking is continued in imaginative play with the soap container becoming a boat, overloaded with a cargo of soap. It begins to sink, and is rescued by a soap-container 'tug'. Bath time activities are included in the action song Wash Your Dity Knees. The story is 'The Little Girl Who Did Not Want to Go to Bed'. The toys are all in bed for the singing of 'Five in the Bed'. Jan's 'sleep' is interrupted by the alarm clock. Yawning and stretching are the wake-up activities for 'Ha Ha This Away'. Through the windows there are activities on a beach early in the morning. Alister creates the movements of the sea with his hands introducing the hand action song 'Here is the Sea'. Wet newspaper is used by Jan to make fish. She sings 'One, two, three, four, five' and introduces hand actions for this song.
1976
Aka 120.1 ep#446 Lyn and Don are moulding clay. She experiments with various shapes, finally making a bell. Don makes a face and leads us to the activity song 'Put Your Finger on Your Nose'. Lyn demonstrates how a potter's wheel works, spinning and moulding. Don spins as a wheel and introduces other activities: jumping, sliding. Through the windows children are skating. Some tumble on ice. Lyn tumbles with toys, singing 'Ring a Roses'. They increase the tempo of the song and this leads to the slow/fast game, 'Roly Poly' with hand spinning actions. Don stirs flour, salt and water showing how dough is made, and sings 'Let's Make a...'. He shapes dough into various things, ending with a circle. The story uses the dough circle which becomes a face, as various features are added: dough eyes, nose, mouth. They sing the participation song 'Smile' (tune 'Jump') adding other activities to the song.
1976
Aka ep#447 Lyn and Don pile clothes for various parts of the body into a big basket. They dress quickly, checking with the viewer where they should wear each article before putting it on. They finish with socks which leads to the participation song 'Mr. Funny Feet', sung by Don. Lyn, with socks on hand, jumps them (as feet) then repeats the song. She then converts one sock into a hand puppet, first a dog (by adding sticky paper eyes and matchbox ears), then a rooster (with one matchbox as a comb). Finally, it becomes a snake (by simply removing the matchboxes). Don shows how to make a sock puppet duck (paper eyes, cardboard bill and a floppy hat for wings). They sing 'Old MacDonald' conjuring up the animal they have made. The story is 'The Little Bird' by Dick Bruna, in which the bird searches for a place to build its nest and finally settles for some secret place in a tree. Don sings 'I have a Secret', as he hides various Play School toys under a cover. Lyn has to identify each by feeling its shape through the cover, finishing with Fido the dog. Through the windows there are dogs playing follow the leader. A follow the leader game is played with Lyn following Don as he jumps and hopping from one piece of paper to another. They sing to the tune of 'Stamping Land'. Participation is invited to jump, hop and clap.
1976
Aka ep#448 Lyn and Don cut out (or draw) pairs of pictures of cars, dogs, planes, horses and cats to paste on cards, and sing 'Let's make a...'. The cards are used to play simplified snap, with the viewer being invited to call out 'snap' when the cards match. Don then mimes various things (represented on the cards) with an invitation to identify each. The visiting animal is a cat. Lyn grooms it, singing 'Warm Kitty'. Through the windows there are big cats (cheetahs) with mother cheetah playing games with her kittens. Don plays a game with the toys; a climbing game using a paper ladder which he tears out of newspaper. The toys climb up as Don sings 'Humpty Climbed the Ladder'. The story is acted out by Don and Lyn dressed as builders. Diddle the Cat is stranded on a wall. A ladder is used in a rescue attempt but each time someone climbs the ladder, the other removes it unwittingly. All ends happily and Diddle is saved. Don invites the viewer to climb and sing 'Up Up Up'. Lyn shows how to make a puppet mask of a cat from a paper bag (we select an appropriately shaped one), paper stuffing, straw whiskers and a cardboard tube to hold it by. She sings 'Pussy Cat'. Don joins her for play with the cat masks, and they repeat the song.
1976
Aka ep#449 Lyn and John make pictures by sticking bits of wool and string to cardboard. Lyn makes free shapes. John outlines the shape of three mice. He sing 'Three Blind Mice' with participation, then appropriately he removes the tails of the mice. The story is 'The Bear Tail'. Little Ted wants a tail and samples some from a tail shop. The bird tail, horse tail and monkey tail do not suit him and he settles for remaining 'tail-less'. John sings 'The Monkey', and invites participation in being a monkey, then a bird and a horse. He dons the horse's tail for fun. Lyn makes the tail for a kite, then the kite (brown paper, with attention to appropriate shape). She sings 'Let's go fly a Kite'. Through the windows children are flying kites. John, as a kite, flies about, and invites participation. Lyn joins him. They repeat 'Let's go Fly a Kite'.
1976
Aka ep#450 Lyn and John experiment with the sounds one can make by blowing into water with various sized tubes (thick tubes to thin straws). They note the bubbles which disappear. By adding soap fluid they get better bubbles. Lyn sings 'Bubbles'. She blows up a round balloon, and lets the air squeak out. John invites participation in a matching mime. Lyn releases a blown up balloon. Another shaped balloon (sausage-shaped) is blown up with a matched participational mime by John. Lyn shows that the air escaping from a balloon can blow a blob of paint about. The story is in three parts, based on the activities of blowing paint with straws, of squashing paint in a folded sheet of paper and of printing on paper using household items (paper cups, toothpaste tubes, etc.). Lyn prints a scarecrow and sings 'When all the Cows are Sleeping'. John repeats the song, miming a scarecrow being blown in the wind. Lyn paints a face on a balloon which becomes a blown about scarecrow. Through the windows children are painting. John mimes painting in the air, inviting participation and singing 'The Spot Song'. Lyn joins in.
1976
Aka 121.1 Ep #451 Lorraine and John are playing with hula hoops, spinning them on the floor, on their arms and around their waists, singing as they spin. The hoop becomes a circus hoop for John and Little Ted to jump through the hole. The poem of the week 'Holes' is presented with many items that illustrate the 'holes' concept: shoe with hole in sole, sock with hole in toe etc. Lorraine is tearing holes in sheets of paper, first to make patterns for paper mats, then a paper dress for Jemima. It is two o'clock on the clock. The story is 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle. The book is illustrated in such a way to emphasis the holes left by the hungry caterpillar in its progression towards becoming a butterfly. Lorraine uses her hands to make a butterfly and caterpillar movements. John recaps portions of the poem 'Holes' as he leads us to the action song 'I'm a little Teapot'. Through the windows we see the progress of milk bottles through a factory, from their return after use, washing and refilling to beginning of home delivery. Lorraine delivers milk to the toys, and to John. She sings 'Heigh ho' to help her with her work. She joins John as they sing 'Five Green Bottles'.
1976
Aka ep#452 Lorraine and John are gathering all the things they need for a camping trip. A warm jumper (Lorraine has difficulty finding the hole to put her head through), a parka, a tent (they use an old blanket with a hole in it) and bush hats to keep off the flies. They sing 'We're going on a Holiday'. They look at the calendar before gathering some picnic items together: a hamper and an esky. They recite 'Holes'. The big hole of the 'Useful Box' is closed and the 'Useful Box' becomes the engine of a car. The steering wheel is a paper plate and a broom handle. Seat belts fastened, they sing 'Riding in my Car'. Through the windows a tent is put up at a camping site. John completes the blanket tent and sings 'Johnny works with One Hammer'. It is six o'clock on the clock. The story is about 'The Hole in the Tent'. John sings 'There were five in a Bed' with the toys in the tent. Sam the lamb and owl are included in the singing of 'I Said Good Morning'.
1976
Aka ep#453 Lorraine and John use car tyres as swings and experiment with various ways of swinging. They sing 'The Daring Young Man on Flying Trapeze'. The Play School pets use holes; the mice and guinea pigs to enter their houses and the mice to enter the exercise wheel. John sings 'I am a Mole'. Lorraine uses a finger as a caterpillar singing 'How Does a Caterpillar Go?'. A megaphone is shown and how it works, prepares the way for the story. It is two o'clock on the clock. The story 'Hare's House' is about a caterpillar who takes over a hare's cave (the megaphone) and terrorises a fox, a tiger and an elephant. The caterpillar is finally frightened off by a frog. John sings 'I said Good Morning' incorporating animal sounds used in the story. Through the windows we see desert creatures that live in holes. Lorraine sings 'How Does a Little Ant Go?'. We see an ant farm with the holes the ants make. A pile of tyres make a hole for the toys to be Jacks in the Box. The program concludes with swinging in tyres. Big Ted is in a car tyre cut out to form a comfortable seat. 'Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze' is repeated.
1976
Aka ep#454 Lorraine and John use a simple insert puzzle of a horse. This is followed by the action game 'Build the House up Very High'. After the calendar, the poem of the week 'Holes' is recited. Lorraine mimes drilling a hole in the road with a pneumatic drill. She sings 'Hole in the Road'. It is four o'clock on the clock. The story is 'Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel' by Virginia Lee Burton. John invites us to feel cold with him. The question, 'how to get warm?' introduces the activity song 'This is the Way'. Boxes are used as stairs for Big Ted to climb. 'Climbing up Stairs is hard for Bears' is repeated as a finger game. Fingers are used for buzzing bees. Through the windows there are bees and blossoms. We see a honeycomb, the holes being full of honey. 'Here is the Beehive' and 'What do you Suppose?' both give an opportunity to participate in verse and hand actions.
1976
Aka ep#455 Lorraine and John use plastic bottles and tubing in an experiment which shows how water flows from high to lower levels. The water is poured into the top bottle and we see the level rise until it reaches a hole and flows through the tubing inserted into the side of the bottle into the next bottle. In the same way, the water proceeds to a third bottle, then along a final length of tubing into a water wheel where a bell rings as the weight of water turns the wheel. 'Holes' is recited. John is digging a hole in the garden. The activity song, 'Do you Plant Your Cabbages?' is sung, using a spade, hose, elbow and tummy. It is three o'clock on the clock. The story is 'Such a Useful Elephant' by Joanna Cole, is about an elephant in a zoo who takes the hose from a watering can, attaches it to his trunk, and waters the plants. John mimes an elephant walking, and sings 'The Elephant'. He extends the activity to watering plants and showering himself. Holes are torn in paper to make happy and sad faces. A household spray bottle filled with water paint is used to spray the paper, revealing the eyes, nose and mouth on the paper beneath. Through the windows matchbox cars are being sprayed with paint in a factory. A large cardboard carton with a door cut in one side makes a car. John sings 'Riding in my Car'. Lorraine helps spray paint the car, using detergent spray bottles.
Mon, Nov 1, 1976
Aka 122.1 ep#456 The poem this week is 'The Robot'. Jan and Alister use kitchen utensils in a game where a part is visible for identification of the whole objects. The final object; a kettle, introduces Alister singing 'Polly Put the Kettle On', accompanied on autoharp. Jan sings 'I'm a Little Teapot'. Awareness of body parts and their names are presented in a series of strange body positions struck by Jan. The poem of the week is recited with a mechanical robot. Jan constructs a robot with boxes and cardboard cylinders. Alister does a stiff-bodied robot walk. The story is 'Frances Facemaker', emphasising facial expressions and their meanings. A game is played to identify Jan's feelings by the way she looks. They sing 'If You're Happy and You Know It'. Through the windows there is Russian dancing. Jan and Alister do their own dancing.
Tue, Nov 2, 1976
Aka ep#457 Jan and Alister use mouth, tongue and lips for talking, nose for smelling and so forth. A touch game is played to recognise these parts of the body. Jan puts two felt figures together, making mistakes with positions of body parts and their quantities. The robot poem of the week is recited. A broom is dressed to make a scarecrow and Alister sings 'When All the Cows Were Sleeping'. Jan blows to provide wind to move Alister's scarecrow. The story is 'The Wind Blew'. 'Two Little Boats' is sung with matchbox boats with leaf sails and is repeated to mime being a boat. A plastic windmill is blown by Jan, introducing the idea of the wind's force. Through the windows there are windmills in The Netherlands. Alister turns his arm as a windmill, varying the speed of movement according to the strength of the wind. The toys are used to help enact the song 'A Windmill in Old Amsterdam'. The program ends on the theme of parts of the body as Jan and Alister play a game with the wind blowing different body parts.
Wed, Nov 3, 1976
OUTSIDE BROADCAST at Taronga Zoo, Sydney. Aka 122.3 ep#458 Jan, Lorraine and Alister visit the zoo with a group of children. They visit 'Friendship Farm' where zoo visitors may handle and feed the animals. We see a cockatoo, feed some donkeys, then cuddle a rabbit. Jan says the poem 'There Once was a Rabbit Who Developed the Habit'. Alister and the children sing 'Baa Baa Black Sheep'. Lorraine feeds one of the sheep. The story is 'The Gingerbread Man'. 'The Zoo' is sung before we look at some of the other zoo animals. First, spider monkeys, when Jan introduces a finger play 'Five Little Monkeys', then the tall giraffes. Looking at lions and tigers, two songs are sung 'Leo the Lion' and 'I'm a Great Big Tiger'. The poem of the week is recited by Jan. Lorraine meets one of the zoo keepers and her special charge a baby wombat. 'Going to the Zoo' is sung, recapitulating the sounds of the animals seen at the zoo.
Thu, Nov 4, 1976
Aka ep#459 The poem 'The Robot' introduces stiff-bodied movements. Alister varies this with loose limbed walking in response to music. 'What Do We Do With This and That?' is sung. An imaginative finger play is done and Jan sings 'Open Shut Them'. Alister finger paints, responding to piano accompaniment with design and stiff and floppy hand movements. The story is 'The Squiggle' told and illustrated by Jan. Alister participates in a scribble movement. Through the windows there is painting. Jan uses body paint to highlight the bones of her face including nose, forehead, cheek and jaw. She then applies body paint to Alister's back; on his shoulder blades, ribs and backbone. 'Dem Bones' is sung and danced to.
Fri, Nov 5, 1976
Aka ep#460 Jan and Alister use blocks of various shapes and sizes to build a tower and sing 'Build it Up'. The song is repeated for physical participation. The presenters attempt to create shapes with their own bodies and finally, measure themselves and the robot for height. 'The Robot' is recited. The story is 'Mr. Tall and Mr. Small' about a giraffe and a mouse. An animal movement song is sung to the tune of 'A Tall Thin Man'. Through the windows an elephant is being washed. An activity song follows (tune, Farmer in the Dell) in which we wash various parts of the body.
Mon, Nov 8, 1976
Aka 123.1 ep#461 The story today is 'Peter and the Wolf', told simply with puppets on sticks and the theme music for Peter, his grandfather and the animals. The program commences with Alister making a simple bird puppet of polystyrene and placing it on a ruler. Lorraine flies like a bird, singing 'Zoom'. With Warren, we look at a grand piano, seeing how the keys are played and plucking the strings to see the source of the sounds. The song of the week 'Sing Me', emphasises some of the emotions music can convey. 'Peter and the Wolf' is told on the top of the piano. The animal themes are used for participation with Alister, after story. Through the windows there is Athol, a talking crow. 'The Barnyard Song' is sung with the story puppets: bird becoming a crow. The program ends with piano presenting rhythms for recognition and participation.
Tue, Nov 9, 1976
Aka ep#462 Lorraine and Don have a selection of home made instruments. Lorraine makes a largerphone, hammering bottletops on long nails into a broomstick. With a rolled paper horn, a metal coathanger triangle and a biscuit tin drum (covered with brown paper) they sing 'Oh We Can Play', inviting participation from the viewer. Today Don dresses as a drummer boy. On an old coat, he puts bottletop medals and a crepe paper sash. His hat is made of a supermarket bag. He sings 'The Grand Old Duke of York', as he marches. The story is 'Drummer Hoff' by Barbara Emberley, a cumulative story told in rhyme. The story rhythm is clapped and this clapping is extended with nursery rhymes of varying rhythms. Through the windows there is a pop concert featuring a drum solo. Lorraine and Don sing 'I Like Peace' with coathanger triangle and the biscuit tin drum. 'Sing Me' is sung.
Wed, Nov 10, 1976
Aka ep#463 Lorraine and Alister feed the mice and cocky and listen for their sounds. 'Sing Me' is sung by Lorraine. Alister feeds a pet monkey, and it climbs on his shoulder. Lorraine mimics the monkey's movements and sounds. 'The Monkey' is sung. Alister tells the story 'In the Forest' by Marie Hall Ets, with Lorraine playing the paper horn. After the story there is animal movement in the song 'I Went to Walk in the Woods One Day' (sung to the tune of 'I Went to Visit a Farm One Day'). Alister introduces the finger play 'Little Cottage in the Wood'. Through the windows there are Australian bush animals. The piano provides music for kangaroo hops then the Swanee whistle is introduced. The glockenspiel provides up and down sounds as Alister climbs Big Ted up and down shoebox stairs to the verse 'Climbing Up Stairs'.
Thu, Nov 11, 1976
Aka ep#464 Lorraine sings the Play School theme accompanied by Don on the autoharp. After seeing how the autoharp works they sing 'Sing Me'. A piece of wood and various sized rubber bands are utilised by Lorraine to make a autoharp. With it, she sings 'Hey Diddle Diddle'. We look at a guitar and Don sings 'The Pussycat Says Meow'. Lorraine reads 'The Owl and The Pussycat' and Don repeats it in song. Diddle the Cat and Owl are used to introduce owl and cat participation dances. Through the windows there are New Guinea dancers at the Goroka Show. Don initiates dancing and Lorraine provides paper head dresses. The program ends with 'Everybody Do This' recalling activities and instruments of the day.
Fri, Nov 12, 1976
Aka ep#465 Lorraine and Alister experiment with wind instruments (Swanee whistle, tin whistles, pipes of pan, recorder), finding the longer the instrument, the lower the sound. They sing with mime participation, 'Oh I Can Play' using each instrument. 'Sing Me' is accompanied by the biscuit tin drum which provides the rhythm for marching 'The Grand Old Duke of York'. The story is 'Whistle for Willie' by Ezra Jack Keats. After story, the difficulty of whistling is developed through the verse 'Whistles' and Alister sings 'Whistle While you Work'. There is opportunity for viewer participation when Lorraine whistles up her 'dog' Bingo (Alister) and the viewer. Through the windows Lyn is seen with a primary school brass band. They present 'I Am a Fine Musician'. Finally all the week's 'made' instruments are included in Lorraine's One Woman Band, Alister joining her to sing 'Oh We Can Play'.
Mon, Dec 20, 1976
Aka 124.1 ep#466 Jan, Alister and Bob each make something with a shoebox, Then change their "make" into something different for example a house. Alister and Bob tell a story about a magician who sometimes succeeded in changing animals around. Bob plays his guitar. Through the windows children collect scraps of wood from a timberyard and take them back to their kindergarten where they make aeroplanes. The three presenters sing 'Zoom', by the windows, as aeroplanes, then change themselves into birds, then rockets.
Tue, Dec 21, 1976
Ep#467 Jan and John are cooking pikelets, watching the mixture change as it cooks. John sings 'Aiken Drum' whose clothes were made of food. The story is 'Meg and Mog' by Helen Nicoll, about a witch whose spells are not always successful. Jan pretends to be a cat and John a mouse, then Jan sings 'The Old Grey Cat'. John dresses up as a witch and pretends to change the toys with magic spells. Through the windows pizza is made. Jan and John wash their cooking utensils.
Wed, Dec 22, 1976
Aka ep#468 An old English sheepdog is visiting Play School. Jan makes a split book: pictures of a dog, a man and a fish are cut in half so that strange combinations can be made. John sings 'Swim Little Fish', changing his hands into a fish, a bird, a caterpillar and a cradle. The story is a traditional African story, 'The Saucepan Fish', in which a monkey puts a saucepan to unexpected use. John plays the finger game, 'Five Little Monkeys', then he and Jan play 'Just Like Me'. Through the windows a poodle is being clipped and shampooed, then John changes his appearance by putting on different wigs.
Thu, Dec 23, 1976
Aka ep#469 Jan and John are finger-painting, changing each others' pictures into something different. The story is 'The Elephant and The Bad Baby' by Elfrida Vipont and illustrated by Raymond Briggs, about a baby who never says 'Please'. John sings 'The Elephant Song', then pretends to be an elephant, taking the toys for a ride on his back. Jan makes a bed for Humpty out of a wooden fruit box, using hammer and nails, and John sings 'Bling Blang'. Through the windows a little girl is helping her father work with wood, and painting a toy high chair. Jan then take a dry brush and 'paints' the whole of Play School, including John, who is pretending to be the pegs, and changing into a chair and a house. He then helps Jan to paint Humpty's new bed.
Fri, Dec 24, 1976
Aka ep#470 Jan and John build a tall tower with blocks, then Jan changes the arrangement into a road construction. John sings 'Riding in My Car' and Jan makes a traffic light which she changes as John drives around. Norman Hetherington and his puppets tell the story of 'Stroganoff's Circus' where nothing remains the same very long. The presenters experiment with a tape recorder, recording their own voices, and then play a trick, running the wrong voice or words. Through the windows there are the wrong sounds attached to the wrong thing: e.g. a horse sounds like a typewriter. Jan and John say various nursery rhymes, changing the words.
1976
Aka 125.1 ep#471 Jan and John are making egg-carton 'window boxes' for parsley and seed which Jan plants. John shows seeds which have been growing for a week. The poem of the week about gardens is spoken over still photos. John shows us the root system of an up-rooted parsley plant but makes the point that roots grow under the soil. He sings 'Mary Mary Quite Contrary', as he waters the plants. Introducing the notion of garden animals, John evokes the movement of a caterpillar, singing 'How Does A Caterpillar Go?'. We have a look at slugs and snails, noting various features: the shell of a snail, the long slimy body of the slug. John sings 'Snail Snail'. Jan moves as a spindly spider and sings 'Eency Weency Spider'. The story is 'Aranea: A Story about a Spider' by Jenny Wagner, about a spider who builds a web, only to have it washed away. John and Jan take turns at being 'Little Miss Muffett' and the spider. This is followed by a running activity to the tune 'I'm Hot'. Through the windows there are various garden creatures, including spiders, ants and frogs. John croaks and jumps like a frog, singing 'Mr. Frog'. Jan has been making happy and sad puppet faces on egg shells. They sing smiling and crying verses to the tune of 'Jump'.
1976
Aka ep#472 Lyn and John are dressing up in gardening clothes: hats, gloves and overalls. Lyn says the poem of the week. We mime raking leaves, mowing the lawn and pruning trees. Through the windows children in an inner city backyard prepare the ground for some seeds, help peg out the washing and make mud pies. John makes mud pies, singing 'Pat-a-cake', then makes a birthday cake for the toys. We sing 'Five Little Candles'. John washes his muddy hands, singing 'Wash Your Dirty Hands', then mimes washing various articles of clothing; e.g. shirt and trousers. The story is 'Mr. Mollomby's Washing Day', told with slides. John mimes wet washing hanging on the line.
1976
Aka ep#473 Lyn and John are feeding and watering the Play School pets. They mime the animals' actions for the song 'I Said Good Morning'. John reads the story 'Are You My Mother?' by P. D. Eastman. Lyn sings with finger play, 'I Have Made a Pretty Nest'. John is solving a puzzle: which baby animal belongs with which mother? Through the windows a child is grooming her pony. Lyn takes Big Ted for a ride on Dapple, singing 'A Cowboy Song'. Both trot and sing 'Yankee Doodle'.
1976
Aka ep#474 Jan and John are dressing up the toys in warm clothes for the park. They sing 'What Shall We Do?' followed by the poem of the week. John makes a bicycle with blocks, a plank of wood and a broom handle for bars. They 'ride' to the park singing 'Round and Round'. Through the windows there is a picnic in a park. John mimes a kite flying in the wind and a model aeroplane with noisy engine. They have a picnic with the toys. Jan feeds the ducks. She sings 'Have You Seen the Ducks?' as John waddles like a duck. The story is about a picnic and is told with the toys. John and Jan sing 'Diddle Climbed the Tree'.
1976
Aka ep#475 Lyn and John look at vegetable plants to see how they grow: tomato plants and cabbages above the ground, carrots and potatoes under the ground. The vegetables are prepared for vegetable soup. They sing 'One Potato Two Potatoes' and 'Do You Plant Your Cabbages?'. The poem of the week is followed by the story 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit' by Beatrix Potter. John hops like a rabbit, then Lyn sings 'Little Cottage in the Wood', with hand actions. Through the windows there is coconut picking. John shows a whole coconut and one cut in half to reveal its centre. He then uses the empty coconut shells to make the trotting rhythm for 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'. They gallop, walk and trot.
1976
Aka 126.1 ep#476 Today is useful box day and Lyn and John are making a nativity scene. The story is 'Paddy's Christmas' by Helen Monsell and illustrated by Kurt Wiese, about a bear cub wanting to know what Christmas is. Lyn and John talk about presents and sing Christmas songs. The film is of a mother and three children going Christmas shopping in a toy shop.
1976
Aka 126.2 ep#477 Going away and holidays. John and Jan sing a transport song, while Jan makes a box into a plane, car and boat. The story is 'Mr Gumpy's Motor Car' by John Burningham. John swims across the floor, then sings 'I can run as fast as you'. John dresses up in several layers of holiday clothes and John tries to guess the locale of the holiday. John sings 'We're going on a holiday'. Through the windows a grandmother is met at Sydney Airport. John sings 'Cousin Peter'. They go back over the crib made on Monday and sing the song of the week 'This Little Light of Mine'.
1976
Aka 126.3 ep#478 Lyn and John are making Christmas presents. Lyn makes a donkey to stand near the crib and they sing Christmas songs. Film is of children riding donkeys on a beach. The story is about how important it is to put people's names on their presents to avoid confusion. John feeds the Play School pets and reminds us to have our pets looked after if we go away at Christmas. Decorating of the Christmas tree begins.
1976
Aka 126.4 ep#479 OUTSIDE BROADCAST at Shelly Beach, Sydney. Lyn feeds the seagulls while she waits for John to arrive in a row boat. She then collects litter along the tideline, to add to John's sandcastle. The story is about Sleeping Beauty sung by Lyn and illustrated by John with his sandcastle and some quickly constructed 'puppets'. John then plays various games in the sand, while Lyn discovers a few sea creatures living among the rocks. Lyn and John get back in the boat, rowing away from the beach.
1976
Aka 126.5 ep#480 Lyn and John make a theatre for the toys to enact various nursery rhymes. They play a guessing game, pretending to be a Jack in the Box, a teapot, and a train. John makes a Christmas present, using pressed flowers, sand and shells set in a foil dish. The story is 'Christmas in the Stable'; and the film shows Christmas festivities in England. The program finishes with Lyn and John singing Christmas songs.