Nursery rhymes

Round and Round the Garden

Round and round the garden,
Like a teddy bear.
One step, two step,
Tickle you under there!

Actions: Draw circles on your child's palm, walk your fingers up their arm, then tickle under their arm.

This Little Piggy

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed at home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none,
And this little piggy cried "Wee, wee, wee!"
All the way home.

Actions: Wiggle one toe for each line, starting with the big toe. On "wee, wee, wee" run your fingers up to a tickle.

Pat-a-Cake

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man,
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Pat it and prick it and mark it with B,
And put it in the oven for baby and me.

Actions: Clap hands together, then pat, prick and draw a letter on your child's hand. Try using the first letter of their name instead of B.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.

Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
If you see a crocodile,
Don't forget to scream!

Actions: Sit facing each other, hold hands and rock gently backwards and forwards. Save a big "Aaargh!" for the crocodile.

Two Little Dickie Birds

Two little dickie birds sitting on a wall,
One named Peter, one named Paul.
Fly away, Peter! Fly away, Paul!
Come back, Peter! Come back, Paul!

Actions: Hold up one finger on each hand for the birds. Hide them behind your back to fly away, and bring them back again.

Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Heads, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
Heads, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,
And eyes and ears and mouth and nose.
Heads, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes!

Actions: Touch each part of the body as you sing it. Sing it again a little faster each time.

Incy Wincy Spider

Incy Wincy spider climbed up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain,
So Incy Wincy spider climbed up the spout again.

Actions: Walk your fingers upwards for the spider, wiggle them down for the rain, and make a big circle with your arms for the sun.

Ring-a-Ring o' Roses

Ring-a-ring o' roses,
A pocket full of posies.
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.

The cows are in the meadow,
Eating buttercups.
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all jump up.

Actions: Hold hands in a circle and walk round. Fall down gently on "we all fall down" and jump up for the second verse.

The Grand Old Duke of York

Oh, the grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill,
And he marched them down again.
And when they were up, they were up,
And when they were down, they were down,
And when they were only halfway up,
They were neither up nor down.

Actions: March on the spot. Stand tall for "up", crouch down for "down" and stop halfway for "neither up nor down".

Hickory Dickory Dock

Hickory, dickory, dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock.

Actions: Swing your arm like a pendulum, run your fingers up and down, and clap once when the clock strikes one.

Five Little Monkeys

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mummy called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Four little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mummy called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Keep counting down with three, two and one little monkey...

No little monkeys jumping on the bed,
None fell off and bumped his head.
Mummy called the doctor and the doctor said,
"Put those monkeys straight to bed!"

Actions: Hold up five fingers and bounce them. Put one finger down each time a monkey falls off. A favourite at Little Monkeys!

Five Little Ducks

Five little ducks went swimming one day,
Over the hill and far away.
Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack,"
But only four little ducks came back.

Four little ducks went swimming one day,
Over the hill and far away.
Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack,"
But only three little ducks came back.

Keep counting down with three, two and one little duck...

One little duck went swimming one day,
Over the hill and far away.
Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack,"
But none of the five little ducks came back.

Sad mother duck went out one day,
Over the hill and far away.
Mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack,"
And all of the five little ducks came back!

Actions: Swim five fingers along, hide them behind your back for "over the hill", and make a beak with your hand for the quacks.

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!
And on that farm he had a cow, E-I-E-I-O!
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there,
Here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo.
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!

Keep going with more animals: a pig (oink), a duck (quack), a sheep (baa), a horse (neigh)...

Actions: Let your child choose the next animal and make the noise. Toy animals or pictures make it even more fun.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

Actions: Open and close your hands like twinkling stars, and draw a diamond shape in the air.

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full!
One for the master,
One for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

Actions: Hold up three fingers for the three bags, and count them off one by one.

Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Actions: Sit your child on your knees and gently "tumble" them down between your legs on "great fall".

Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

Hey Diddle Diddle

Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed
To see such fun,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

Actions: Pretend to play the fiddle, jump high for the cow, and have a big laugh with the little dog.

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow,
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.

Actions: Swap in your child's name and a favourite animal: "Ruby had a little dog..."

Little Miss Muffet

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away.

Actions: Creep your fingers along like a spider, and pretend to jump with fright at the end.