'Round about, 'round about

'Round about, 'round about -tickle

'Round about, 'round about [circle baby's tummy or back]
Sat a little hare
The puppies came and chased him [crawl fingers up to neck]
Right up there! [kiss top of head]

Wee Willie Winkie

Wee Willie Winkie – nursery rhyme

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town

Upstairs, downstairs in his nightgown

Rapping at the windows

Crying at the locks

Are all the children now in bed?

For now it’s eight o-clock!

Two little blackbirds (or bluebirds)

Two little blackbirds – fingerplay

Two little blackbirds [fists together, thumbs up]

Sitting on a wall

One named Peter [wiggle 1 thumb]

And the other named Paul [wiggle other thumb]

Fly away Peter [hide 1 hand]

Fly away Paul [hide other hand]

Come back Peter! [bring back hand]

Come back, Paul! [bring back other hand]

(alternately, do bluebirds sitting on a hill... one named Jack and the other name Jill)

[This one is really fun if you quickly use a ballpoint pen to draw little faces on your thumbs]

Three little kittens

Three little kittens – rhyme

Three little kittens had lost their mittens

And they began to cry:

“Oh mother dear, we sadly fear

our mittens we have lost.”

“What, lost your mittens?

You lazy kittens

Now you shall have no pie

Meow, meow, meow, meow

Now you shall have no pie.”

This is the Family

This is the Family - fingerplay

This is the mother, kind and dear	[Make a fist and the show your thumb]
This is the father sitting near;	[Shown pointer]
This is the brother strong and tall;	[Show middle finger]
This is the sister, and that’s not all;	[Show ring finger]
This is the baby, littlest of all.	[Show pinky]
See the whole family large and small. (OK, so it's a little Leave it to Beaver...)	[Wiggle all the fingers]

There was an old woman

There was an Old Woman – nursery rhyme

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.

She had so many children she didn’t know what to do.

She gave them all broth, without any bread

Whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed.

*An alternate version for the last two lines goes-

So she gave them all dinner with butter and bread,

And read them all stories, and put them to bed.

*Or if you want to go even more touchy-feely:

She gave them all love, she gave them all bread

She hugged them all tightly and sent them to bed.

(I don't think it's right to censor or change traditional rhymes, but in this case I usually present both versions and use this as an example of the history of the Mother Goose rhyme)

There was a little turtle

There Was a Little Turtle – fingerplay

There was a little turtle that lived in a box	[cover one hand with other, let fingers wag]
He swam in the water	[flap hands]
And he climbed on the rocks.	[“climb” hands]
He snapped at a mosquito	[right hand fingers to thumb]
He snapped at a flea	[left hand fingers to thumb]
He snapped at a minnow	[snap both hands out]
And he snapped at me.	[snap both hands toward self]
He caught the mosquito	[grab with right hand]
He caught the flea	[grab with left hand]
He caught the minnow	[grab with both]
But he didn’t catch me.	[hold hands up]

Ten fingers

Ten Fingers- fingerplay

I have ten fingers	[hold up both hands, fingers spread]
And they all belong to me,	[point to self ]
I can make them do a lot of things-
Would you like to see?
I can shut them up tight	[make fists]
I can open them wide	[open hands]
I can put them together	[place palms together]
I can make them all hide	[put hands behind back]
I can put them up high	[hands over head]
I can put them down low	[touch floor]
I can fold them up quietly	[fold hands in lap]
And hold them just so.

Star light, star bright

Star Light, Star Bright -- rhyme

Star light, star bright

First star I see tonight

I wish I may

I wish I might

Have the wish I wish tonight

Simple Simon

Simple Simon – nursery rhyme

Simple Simon met a pieman

Going to the fair

Said Simple Simon to the pieman,

“Let me taste your wares.”

Said the pieman to Simple Simon,

“Give me, sir, your penny.”

“Oh, good sir,” said Simple Simon

“Alas, I have not any.”

Rub a dub dub

Rub a dub dub – nursery rhyme

Rub a dub dub

Three men in the tub

And who do you think they be?

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker

Knaves are they, all three!

Reach for the stars

Reach for the Stars – action rhyme

Bend and stretch, reach for the stars	[bend, stretch up]
Here comes Jupiter, there goes Mars	[wriggle left, then right arm]
Bend and stretch, reach for the sky	[bend, stretch up]
Stand on tiptoe, oh so high!	[up high]

Ratoncito

Un ratoncito – Spanish rhyme

Un ratoncito iba por un arado

Y este cuentecito

Ya se ha acabado

(rough translation: A mouse was under the plow. And this story- it already happened.)

Queen of Hearts

The Queen of Hearts – nursery rhyme

The Queen of Hearts, she baked some tarts

All in a summer’s day

The Knave of Hearts, he stole the hearts

And carried them away

The King of Hearts called for the tarts

And beat the Knave full sore

The Knave of Hearts brought back the tarts

And vowed he’d steal no more.

Pussy cat, pussy cat

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat – nursery rhyme

Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?

I’ve been to London to look at the queen

Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there?

I frightened a little mouse under her chair.

Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater – nursery rhyme

Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater

Had a wife and couldn’t keep her

Put her in a pumpkin shell

And there he kept her very well

Pease porridge

Pease Porridge Hot – lap bounce

Pease porridge hot

Pease porridge cold

Pease porridge in the pot

Nine days old

Some like it hot

Some like it cold

Some like it in the pot

Nine days old!

Pat-a-cake

Pat-a-Cake – hand clap to the rhythm

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 a “B”

And put it in the oven for baby and me

One, two, buckle my shoe

One, two, buckle my shoe – counting rhyme

One two, buckle my shoe
Three four, close the door
Five six, pick up sticks
Seven, eight, lay them straight
Nine, ten, a big fat hen
Eleven twelve, books on the shelves
Thirteen fourteen, stories in between!

Old Mother Hubbard

Old Mother Hubbard – nursery rhyme

Old Mother Hubbard

Went to the cupboard

To get her poor dog a bone

But when she got there

Her cupboard was bare

And so the poor dog had none.