1979
aka ep148.1 Noni and John make a house out of cardboard boxes. Noni makes the wallpaper, using crayons to draw a design. Noni sings 'Build the House up very High' and makes her body into a house. Hamble is looking for a house, but rejects this one. The song of the week 'Wanted' is about a mouse looking for a house. John uses smaller boxes to make a couch and a TV set for the box house. Noni looks at pictures children have sent in to Play School showing their houses, sings 'How Many People Live in Your House?' and shows slides of her house and those of other Play School presenters. John tells the story of the 'Dilly Dally Man' and Noni sings 'Here's a House'. Through the windows a family is moving house. The presenters sing 'Take You Riding' and the program ends with a selection off nursery rhymes about various houses.
1979
aka ep148.2 Noni and John make a yard for the cardboard house, using little pot plants and an old umbrella as a sun umbrella. John sings 'Wriggle Your Toes in the Sun'. Noni washes the toys' clothes and hangs them on the umbrella, which is now a washing line. She and John sing 'Wet Washing'. The story is 'Go Outside and Play' is told with photographs of a family of dolls. John plays ball, and Noni sings 'See How I'm Jumping'. John does jobs around the backyard, mowing the lawn, digging, hosing, then he and Noni make a cubby. Through the windows a mother and children hang out washing. Noni twirls like a washing line. John shows two little dolls made from wooden pegs and they sing 'Two Fat Gentlemen', with peg dolls, toys, as queens and as scary ghosts.
1979
aka ep148.3 Noni and John feed the guinea pigs, Jack and Jill. John sings 'I'm So Hungry'. Noni feeds the goldfish and then sings the song of the week 'Wanted'. One of the Play School mice is in the cardboard box house, but Noni takes it away while John adds a kitchen to the house. Noni sings 'Here's a House'. John adds kitchen furniture including a set of drawers made of matchboxes held together with elastic bands. The story is told with kitchen implements: tongs, a spring whisk, a dishmop, a corkscrew, rotary beaters and a grater. Noni sings 'I'm a Little Robot/Tube of Toothpaste/Teapot'. The film shows a family at lunch, then John and Noni clash kitchen implements in the 'Kitchen Symphony'. Hamble gives a teaparty for Humpty, Jim and the guinea pigs.
1979
aka ep148.4 Today a bedroom is added to the box house and John makes a ladder out of sticks and cardboard cylinders to go up to the top floor. The cartoon 'Bananas in Pyjamas' is shown and John sings the song. Baby Ted and Jim are put to bed in the new bedrooms, in beds made of shoebox lids. The story is 'Lucy and Tom go to School' told from the book. John sings 'Running to the Corner' and does some 'music and movement' - becoming a mouse and a giant. Through the windows two children are helping at home, cleaning a mirror. Noni pretends to clean a mirror, then John, using a mirror-cleaning spray bottle filled with water paint, spray paints the cardboard box house, and the ladder. Noni shows some spray painting children have done at a kindergarten and a second film shows kindergarten children playing a fire engine game. John and Noni sing a fire engine song and the program ends as they put the toys back into the cardboard box house.
1978
OUTSIDE BROADCAST from Sydney Opera House. Benita and John perform in a live concert before an audience of pre-school children. Songs include a collection of nursery rhymes, 'I'm a Great Big Tiger', 'Take You Riding in my Car Car', 'One Potato, Two Potato', 'Eency Weency Spider', 'Mr Frog', 'Mulberry Bush', etc.
Mon, Apr 9, 1979
aka ep150.1 Noni and Don explain the mechanics of the Play School calendar and show this week's pictures (of a chicken hatching from an egg). The poem of the week 'Tomorrow I'll Be Five...' is said over pictures. The presenters prepare for a birthday party. Don makes a birthday present (a Jack-in-the-box) and sings Jack in the Box. Other presents include a drawing book, a paper hat and a cardboard birthday cake with paddlepop stick candles. They sing 'Five Little Candles' and 'Happy Birthday'. The clock shows four o'clock. The story is 'Happy Birthday, Sam', followed by the 'Up and Down' song. Noni plays a guessing game (What will this be when it grows up?) with pictures of a kitten/cat, caterpillar/butterfly, chicken/rooster and baby/man. Don mimes 'This is the Way we Wash the Baby'. Noni does a finger game 'This is my Sister', using a rubber glove with faces drawn on the fingers.
Tue, Apr 10, 1979
aka ep150.2 Benita and Noni look at the pictures around the calendar. The poem of the week 'Tomorrow I'll Be Five...' is recited. Noni talks about the family. Toys are used to illustrate members of a family. She sings 'Hushabye Baby' to Hamble (in a nappy) and puts baby Hamble to bed. Benita says 'These are Grandmother's Glasses' with actions, and sings 'Slowly, Slowly Walk my Grandad'. The clock shows eight o'clock. Noni tells the story 'Grandma is Someone Special'. Benita does a finger play singing 'This Little Boy All Ready for Bed'. Noni introduces a guessing game, and Benita helps us guess who wears what headgear, including a motor cycle policeman's helmet, construction worker's helmet and a 1950s wig. Through the windows motor cycle police are at work, preparing and carrying out their duties. Noni and Benita sing a motor cycle song on a bike made from boxes, garbage lids and a chair.
Wed, Apr 11, 1979
aka ep150.3 Noni and Don identify objects by glimpsing bits of them hidden behind a cardboard peephole. Each object's function is demonstrated in the song, 'This is the Way'. Through the windows are ostrich puppets. Noni does an Ostrich Dance. The clock shows seven o'clock. Don looks at Picture story, 'What's Inside' which shows a goose hatching from an egg. Noni mimes a goose. Noni and don sing a round of 'My Goose'. Play School visitors are a goose, a duck and ducklings. Noni mimes a duck. The second film shows the birth of a baby seal. Noni does actions to poem of the week 'Tomorrow I'll Be Five...'. Don counts his toes, draws a face on his feet and has a conversation with it. This is followed by the song 'A-Jump'.
Thu, Apr 12, 1979
OUTSIDE BROADCAST from Golden Ridge Stud Farm at Dural, NSW. aka ep150.4 Noni and Don visit a special farm that children can visit. The farm's owner is Barbara. They feed oats to the goats and we meet the nanny, billy and kid goats. Don sings 'I said Good Morning to a Cow'. He feeds hay to the cattle, and we see a calf sucking from his mother's udder. Noni feeds the sheep family and sings 'Baa Baa Black Sheep'. Don bottle-feeds an orphaned lamb, showing the thick wool which will be shorn and made up into woolen goods. He explores the barn, making friends with the dog, the farm cats, a cocky, galah, and hen and her chickens. Don tells the story 'The Little Red Hen', helped by Noni. We see a cow being milked by hand and machine. Don sings 'Down on the Farm', sitting on a tractor. He feeds the horse, and he and Noni sing 'Old MacDonald', referring to some of the animals we have seen.
Fri, Apr 13, 1979
aka ep150.5 Noni shows us a frog in a tank. Don mimes a frog, jumping, as he sings 'Mr Frog'. Noni follows the stages of development from tadpole to frog and does hand actions to the song, 'Der Glumph'. The clock shows two-thirty. Don tells and sings the story 'Caterpillars Only Crawl' while Noni does caterpillar crawls in a sleeping bag and turns into a butterfly with shower-curtain wings. Don plays a game, guessing what a caterpillar, tadpole, seed, maggot, wriggler and baby will become when they grow up. Noni shows pictures for the poem of the week 'Tomorrow I'll Be Five...', then sings 'Running to the Corner'. Through the windows we see a boy going to school. Don picks up the children's song, 'This is the Way'. Noni prepares Little Ted for school, with teacher Humpty and a class of toys. The presenters sing 'Clap Your Hands'.
1979
Aka 151.2 ep#602 Benita and Noni find the right sized clothes for Humpty and Jemima. Humpty wears a blue jumpsuit and Jemima wears a spotted dress. Around the calendar there are different shapes. Benita compares how Humpty is 'fat' and Jemima is 'thin'. She then mimes changing shape from fat to thin. Benita recites the poem 'Mr Lynn is very thin'. Noni creates a picture puzzle by finding photographs of different shaped people in a magazine and tearing the pictures in half to mix and match. Benita and Noni pretend to be different sized people; a tall thin man walking, a short fat man bouncing, an old old man, pretty young lady tripping. It is four o'clock on the rocket clock, and behind the clock is a shop with a clothes mannequin and clothes rack filled with coats. Benita and Noni act out a story where 'A Man has trouble buying a new coat'. After Noni pretends to be the man and tries on a variety of outfits which are too big, too small or the wrong style, she inevitably attempts to purchase her original coat, which Benita the shopkeeper points out is the coat Noni already owns. Benita tidies up the pretend coat shop and looks at the different clothes. She sings 'I Jump out of Bed in the Morning'. Through the arched window there are funny mirrors in a mirror maze. Noni pulls faces and sings 'Changes', the song of the week. Noni and Benita mirror each others actions.
1979
aka ep154.1 Benita and Alister are making mobiles, using coat hangers and wool. Alister uses a yellow balloon for the sun and cotton wool for clouds. Benita makes a full moon and new moon, and a star from foil pie plates. Alister sings the Song of the Week 'Twinkle Twinkle', with hand actions and Benita, imitating Alister's twinkling finger action sings 'I Can Wriggle My Fingers'. Wriggling leads to stretching, yawning and snoring participation. Alister tells the story, which is about a little bear who could not sleep. Benita sings 'This Little Boy', a finger play. Alister is 'asleep'. Benita wakes him with an alarm clock. He mimes getting up and getting ready to go out, then realises that he has forgotten his destination. Benita is preparing the toys for a day at the beach. Alister helps her to load the toys into a box car. Both sing 'Take You Riding'. At the beach, the toys get suntan lotion and they sunbake. Benita sings 'Lazy and Warm', wriggling her toes. Humpty is put in the shadow of an umbrella. Through the windows children are making shadows. Benita makes her shadow move, then invites participation in running, jumping and spinning. Program ends with mobiles and repeat of 'Twinkle, Twinkle'.
1979
aka ep154.2 Humpty, Jemima and Little Ted are living in a block of cardboard box flats. Benita and Don are filling the toys' garbage bins. Don is a garbage man, with Big Ted as the truck driver. They collect the toys' bins. Don sings 'I Am the Garbage Man'. Pictures show night workers, including a garbage team, train cleaners, newspaper delivery people and an airline pilot. Benita turns the garbage truck into an aeroplane - Big Ted becoming the co-pilot - and taxis the 'plane' down the runway, singing 'Zoom'. Pilot Benita comments on the lights you can see from a plane - moon and starlight and the lights of the city. 'Twinkle Twinkle' is sung. The story is about a little girl who doesn't want to go to bed. Benita sings 'Rockabye Baby', inviting participation. Don introduces an identification game using a cassette player. The recorded night-time sounds include a baby crying, owl hooting, dog barking, frog croaking and cats meowing. Benita sings 'Have You Heard the Cat at Night?', including other sounds heard on the tape. She mimes a hunting cat. Through the windows cats are going to bed, and other night animals. Don invites grog action and sings 'How Does a Little Froggie Go?'.
1979
aka ep154.3 Benita and John are preparing mash for today's visitor, a rooster, then they feed him. John mimes a rooster walking and pecking, and sings 'The Rooster Wakes Up in the Morning'. Benita has a rooster hand puppet, and sings 'I Said Good Morning to the Rooster', leading into other animal sounds: pig snorts, duck quacks, cow moos and horse neighs. Benita is a farmer. John's loud rooster-crowing wakes her in the morning. She sings 'The Farmer Goes a-Walking, including the sounds made by a rooster, a pig and a horse. The story is about a donkey who doesn't like his own voice. John's hand is a buzzing bee and he sings 'Here's the Beehive' with hand actions. Benita is making breakfast for the toys and plays an egg-trick on John. She sings 'I'm a Little Teapcup'. After breakfast, both presenters 'drive' to the supermarket, buy cheese and peas, coffee and toffee, ham and jam. rush home, have a cup of tea and watch TV. They see Bananas in Pyjamas John animation. John marches and sings. Through the windows is a little boy going to bed. Benita sings 'Twinkle, Twinkle' and she and John take a last look at the rooster.
1979
aka ep154.4 Benita and John are using collage to make a day sky picture, and a night sky picture. They use paint, newspaper, balloon, kite, cardboard and cotton-wool. Benita jumps Daisy the cow over the moon on the collage and sings 'Hey Diddle Diddle' with actions, inviting participation. John makes a rocket ship, with Spaceman Humpty at the controls. After countdown, the rocket is launched and Hamble takes a walk in space. There is spacewalking activity with Benita. The story is about Spaceman Humpty McGoon, an astronaut who flies to the Moon, and Spacegirl Hamble Grace who likes to get out and walk in space. Benita does a moonwalk, using big, slow steps, and floating, bouncy steps. She invites viewer participation. She sings 'Walk, Walk, Walk Your Feet', and John, his feet in a sandtray, sings 'Clump, Clump, Clump Your Feet'. He shows his footprints in the sand, then makes a picture of a house, using various shapes, and then a hand print. Benita sings 'See My Fingers Merrily Dancing'. Through the windows is a mother and children who make various-shaped biscuits including a star. 'Twinkle, Twinkle' is sung. Benita makes shapes with dough.
1979
aka ep154.5 Benita and Alister are drawing. Alister uses a felt point pen, and Benita uses a crayon. Both paint over their drawings. Alister's disappears but Benita's crayon does not. Alister, using a candle, makes an invisible picture, then paints over it so that the drawing appears. It features a star. 'Twinkle, Twinkle' is sung. Alister makes up a verse, 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Cat, How I Wonder Why You're Fat'. He combines crayon and candle for another wax drawing featuring an umbrella. Benita pours water over a real umbrella which is protecting Little Ted. Ted - wearing waterproof boots, coat and hat, remains dry. Benita sings 'I Hear Thunder'. The Story is about a farmer on a wet day. Alister sings 'Happiness'. As a weather forecaster, in a cardboard box TV set, Alister forecasts changing weather, and Benita mimes reactions to hot, cold and wet weather. She and Alister sing a warm-up song, 'A Jump', adding verses for running and shaking. Through the windows penguins and people are in the snow. Benita sings 'Float With the Snow', and Alister, using a pillow-slip, beanie and scarf has turned Big Ted into a snowman.
1979
aka ep155.1 Noni and Alister are cleaning Play School. Dusting with a feather duster, polishing with an old sock and carpet sweeping with a manual cleaner to tune of 'Little Red Wagon'. Noni empties sweeper, shows how it works and sings 'Round and Round'. Alister shows us how kitchen utensils move - cork screw, parsley cutter, flour sifter, egg beater - then makes scrambled eggs. Alister cooks toast on a pop-up toaster. This leads to 'popping' activity with Noni. She shows how the hands of the clock move. The story is 'Hole'. Noni sings 'I Have a Pretty Nest'. They both make puppets out of socks and bits from the Useful Box, and sing a variation of 'Open Shut Them'. Through the windows is a car wash. Noni invites participation in a mime of car washing. She joins Alister with the toys in a cardboard box car with paper plate steering wheel and wheels painted on. They sing 'Everybody Do This'. Goodbyes.
1979
aka ep155.2 Noni and John make a double decker bus out of a cardboard box, and hammer on wheels using corks and lids. They sing 'The Wheels of the Bus'. John dresses up as a traffic policeman, and directs a 'traffic jam' created by Noni. Noni enters as bus, ambulance, helicopter, dog and ducks. After each entry John invites participation in traffic direction. Noni sings 'Five Little Ducks'. The story is 'The One Man Band' told by Noni and acted by John. Noni marches as a parade past the 'crowd' (John and toys) inviting children to join in song and activity with Everybody Do this. John cleans up rubbish left by crowd. Through the windows a garbage man is collecting rubbish. John sing 'The Garbage Man' song with actions. Noni has converted the box car into a garbage truck. They repeat song. Goodbyes.
1979
aka ep155.3 The visiting animal is a calf. Noni and John point out its features and movements as it walks and is fed from a bottle. Noni has made a farm picture with cut out and drawn animal pictures. She sings 'I Went to Visit a Farm One Day' then does activity of a galloping horse, flapping hen, and frisking cow. The story is 'Mrs Mooley'. Noni does cow jumps (as in story) singing 'Everybody Do This'. John turns on the toys' television to see animation of 'Hey Diddle Diddle', then sings song with actions. Noni repeats it then adds cabbages to picture and sings, 'Do You Plant Your Cabbages' with actions. Film is harvesting cabbages. John sings 'One Potato'. Noni uses potato cuts. John joins her to make a potato cut cow. Goodbyes.
1979
aka ep155.4 Noni and John paint to music played by Warren, reflecting mood of music. John sings 'Spot Song'. Noni repeats it. Noni extends feeling of music with full body movements. Warren changes music several times and Noni and John adapt their painting and body movements. Noni develops a 'stop, go' hand signal game. this leads into a poem about hands and how hands can signal messages. For the story, John mimes 'Mr Waterhouse has a Bath'. Noni shares watching with the child then invites participation with 'Everybody Do This'. John feels, rolls and bangs some clay into a free shape, which leads into a freeze game. Noni moves with the music and 'freezes' when it stops. Through the windows is expressive dancing - The Butterflies. Noni invites participation in butterfly actions. John moves Jemima in 'Heads and Shoulders, Knees and Toes'. Repeats song with Noni. Goodbyes.
1979
aka ep155.5 Noni and John make a waterfall out of cardboard, plastic, sand tray and blocks. John pours water making the 'fall' and a 'lake' in the tray. Noni floats matchbox and cork boats in the lake which are moved about by the water, this leads into a bobbing activity to song 'Everybody Do This'. John experiments with pebbles and a boat going down the 'fall'. Through the windows children are on a visit to Niagra Falls. Noni invites participation in waterfall and water movement. John does marble paints, and sings 'Spot Song'. The story is 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea'. John sings with actions 'I'm a Great Big Tiger', a thirsty tiger. Noni joins him as an elephant. Through the windows children visit a Fire Training Centre. John invites child to help him put out a fire. Chairs, hose and kitchen ladder make a Fire Engine, and Fireman Little Ted rescues Jemima from a burning building. Goodbyes.
1979
aka ep156.1 Noni and Don create tall buildings out of cardboard cartons, singing 'Build it Up' (with participation). Windows are drawn on the city buildings and a zebra crossing across the street. A shoe box becomes a bus and then a lift (pulled up by string). Jemima takes the lift to the toilet, shops for a hat, has a cup of coffee, then goes 'Walking in the City'. After the calendar they sing Song of the Week 'Walking in the City' again with participation. Noni creates a rush hour with box vehicles and toy pedestrians. The clock says 5 o'clock. The story is 'What's Inside the Box?' with illustrations. Don picks up story's monster idea, singing 'I'm a Monster' with participation. He tries frightening Noni who isn't impressed and turns the cardboard carton into a bus. 'Wheels of the Bus' is sung with actions. Through the windows a mother and son are driving by bus and buying shoes in a department store. Don and Noni sing 'Walking in the CIty' with actions.
1979
aka ep156.2 After calendar, Don sings Song of the Week 'Walking in the City' with actions. Jan adds a clock (box with face drawn on) to top of a building. It bongs five o'clock. rush hour. The toys 'emerge' from the city buildings and pursue their various ways home (car, ferry, walking and bus). Don sings 'Wheels of the Bus' with actions. Jemima needs a taxi. Don obliges. (Taxi is box slung over shoulders with straps). He explains how taxis work 'Vacant' and 'Not for Hire' signs, and sings 'I'm a Taxi'. He delivers Jemima. The clock reads 5 o'clock. The story 'Miss Smith Takes a Taxi' is acted out by Don and Jan. Don then sings 'Running to the Corner' with actions. Jan shows illustrations from the 'Blue Book' (How would you go to the city?). Don sings 'Big Blue Bus' with actions for bus, boat, plane. Through the windows a mother and daughter are taking a suburban train to town. Don then sings 'I'm a Train'. Jan adds underground train to box city and they both sing repeat of the train song.
1979
Jan and Don sing the song of the week with stills shown, including one of a pigeon. Don invites pigeon play with hands flapping about and shows real pigeons. He feeds the pigeons. Through the windows there are pigeons in a backyard in the city. Jan mimes being a pecking pigeon and then walks and flaps. The time on the clock is 6 o'clock. The story is 'Holly Loses Teddy', told with stills and shows a mother and daughter's day shopping in town. Jan pretends to drive a taxi while singing 'Everybody do this'. Jan does the finger play for 'Two Little Dickie Birds'. Don plays a puzzle game, matching tails to the correct animals. Don sings 'Giddiap'. Jan repeats this song with actions. Through the windows there are mounted police controlling traffic at rush hour. Don pretends to direct traffic. Don sing 'Police Song'. Jan pretends to be a mounted police officer. Don and Jan ride on a pile of cushions singing 'Giddiap'.
1979
aka ep156.4 Jan and Don evoke 'city at night' by sticking shiny paper (foil) on windows in box buildings where the lights are 'on'. They make street lights (balls of foil on sticks). Diddle loiters in the street. They sing 'Have You Heard the Cat at Night', then owl and mouse. Diddle chases mouse and wakes Hamble. She shines torch on him and frightens him off, and retires to bed. Don sings 'Everybody Do This', yawning etc. The clock says seven o'clock. The story is 'The Summer Night' about a girl who couldn't sleep one night. Don then sings 'I Jump Out of Bed in the Morning' and mimes having breakfast. Jan sings 'I'm a Little Teapot' with actions, then shows how to make a shadow box (light from torch casts shadow of cut-outs onto thin paper, shadow is seen from other side of paper). She sings a song for each cutout: 'I'm a Little Teapot', 'Humpty Dumpty', 'Walking in the City' (Song of the Week). The calendar is looked at and Don sings 'Walking in the City' with actions. Through the windows there is street cleaning at night. Jan and Don clean 'box city' street, singing 'This is the Way'.