The story
Murphy is having a picnic on the farm when his sweet, juicy orange slips off his lap and rolls away down the lane. It stops right in front of a gentle ox, who sniffs it and nudges it on, and then it plops into the river, where an otter floating on its back catches it and tosses it up onto the bank. In the old barn it hides in the hay, and a sleepy owl wakes up and hoots to show where it is. Then a speedy ostrich pokes its long neck into the hay, pulls out the orange and runs it back to Murphy.
Sing along: O Is Outstanding
Coming soon to Spotify!
O! O! O is outstanding!
O! O! Here we go!
Murphy had a picnic on a sunny farm day
His orange slipped and it rolled away!
It rolled down the lane, it rolled so far away
So hop up on the couch and let's chase it today!
O, O, orange! (Orange!)
O, O, ox! (Ox!)
O, O, otter, floating in the stream!
O, O, owl, waking from a dream!
O, O, ostrich, running really fast!
O is outstanding, what a blast!
An ox gave it a nudge, then into the river, plop!
An otter caught it on its tummy, then toss, up top!
It rolled into the barn and hid in the hay
The owl said, “Who? Who?” and pointed the way!
O, O, orange! (Orange!)
O, O, ox! (Ox!)
O, O, otter, floating in the stream!
O, O, owl, waking from a dream!
O, O, ostrich, running really fast!
O is outstanding, what a blast!
Here comes an ostrich, with a long, long neck
She poked in the hay and she found it, peck, peck!
She brought it back to Murphy, right where it should be
Outstanding, outstanding, outstanding as can be!
What starts with O? (Orange!)
What starts with O? (Ox!)
What starts with O? (Otter!)
What starts with O? (Owl!)
What starts with O? (Ostrich!)
Five outstanding things that start with O!
For parents
Murphy chases his orange all over a sunny farm, and every friend and thing he finds starts with the letter O: orange, ox, otter, owl and ostrich. Each word pops up next to a big letter O, and Murphy says “O is for…” after each one, so kids see the letter and hear its sound together.
Why does O sound different in orange, ox and owl?
The letter O makes more than one sound. In ox, otter and ostrich it makes the short “o” sound, like when the doctor says “say ahh.” In orange it sounds like “or,” and in owl it says “ow.” Kids learn the short sound first, and the others come with practice.
How do I help my child write a little o?
Start a little below the top line and go around to the left like a ball, all the way back to where you started. The Trace It game shows it with arrows.
