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Post by Alexa Rosenbaum, Toneworks intern

Recently, one of our ECSE teachers asked us to come up with an activity using stretchy resistance bands to work on arm strength, and the first thing that came to my mind was bubblegum (stretchy and delicious!).  When I hunted for bubblegum related songs on youtube, I found this gem and thought the simple melody and repetitive words would be perfect for our kiddos!  I also love that you can address other academic goals such as body part identification with this song.  The words to the song are below:

Icky sticky icky sticky bubblegum

Bubblegum, buublegum

Icky sticky icky sticky bubblegum

Sticking to my (body part)

During the first three lines I have kids stretch their bands by pulling and releasing, and then I name a body part that they have to stick their elastic band to (feet, head, tummy, knees, ears, etc.).  Then I count to 3 (this helps kids work on waiting and self-regulation) and we all shout “unstick!” together before starting the song again.  You could also modify this song to address color identification goals by saying “(color) sticky bubblegum” and giving each child a different colored elastic band.  The novelty of the elastic bands alone gets kids excited, and who doesn’t love singing about candy?