Stella Ella Ola
Stella Ella Ola, often known as Quack Dilly Oso, is a children’s game involving chanting a simple rhyme while performing hand motions in a circle with friends. Stella Ella Ola is one of the most popular clapping games in the […]
Games and Singing games
Ip Dip
Ip Dip is often used to determine who will be “it” in a game of tag or other playground games. It is a simple and fun way for children to make decisions and assign roles in a group. The exact
Hickety Pickety Bumblebee
Hickety Pickety Bumblebee is a folk song that is designed to help people learn the names of others when in a group setting. It is popular in schools, Guides, Scouts, and other child-focused activities. The song is short in length
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Jenny Jenkins
Another popular song in America, Jenny Jenkins has been used as a way for boys to ask girls that they like to dance with them. Boys were expected to choose a color and the girl they were talking to had
Oats Peas Beans and Barley Grow
Oats Peas Beans and Barley Grow is a popular rhyme with school-aged children who are taught to recite it along with a number of actions. One child is chosen as the farmer who listens to the rhyme and then acts
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The Lady with the Alligator Purse
The Lady with the Alligator Purse has been a popular song in America for many years, with most children being able to recite the lines of the song with ease. The song tells us the tale of Miss Lucy who
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Lazy Mary
Lazy Mary is a nursery rhyme that’s sung to the same tune as “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush”. It tells the story of Lazy Mary who’s not keen to get out of bed and her mother who’s trying
Concentration 64
Concentration 64 is a fast-paced clapping game that is often played by children in the playground. However, the structure means that it can also be adapted for use as a learning activity or to spark discussion. As well as being
If All The Raindrops
If A If All The Raindrops is a song that first appeared in the eighth season, twelfth episode of Barney Goes To School, on the 15th August 1990. Initially the song was shorter, but the producers of the show later
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Who Stole The Cookie From The Cookie Jar
Who Stole The Cookie From The Cookie Jar also known as Who Took The Cookie From The Cookie Jar is a traditional American nursery rhyme that is great for both singing aloud as a group and playing a game. There
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Lemonade, Crunchy Ice
Lemonade Crunchy Ice isn’t as old as many of the other popular nursery rhymes and clapping songs, as it’s been around since the 1980s only. How To Play Lemonade, Crunchy Ice Game A fairly simple rhyme, it can be either
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Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum In a Dish
This simple counting-out rhyme originally from the United States is now popular all over the English speaking world. It is a fun game to play in kindergarten or preschool alike but older kids may enjoy it as well. How to
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Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky
Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky is a simple and fun song that is generally sung as part of a circle game. As with most rhymes the origins of Hanky Panky are unclear but it most likely originated
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Down Down Baby
Down Down Baby is a children’s song and a clapping game. It is a very simple game that can be played by either two or more players. The origins of Down Down Baby are unclear but in the 1960s Little
Alle meine Entchen
“Alle meine Entchen” (“All My ducklings” in English) is a song of German origin that has been translated into many languages and it is loved by children around the world. It is also a popular circle game among the little
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Little Sally Walker
Little Sally Walker is a circle game popular among kids, especially girls. Often times when boys play the same game in groups, the lyrics are changed to Willy Wally Walker. All the players are dancing in a circle, one of
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Miss Susie Had a Steamboat
“Miss Susie had a steamboat” (or Lucy, Mary and other names) is an old jump-rope song. Nowadays the song is more widely associated with a clapping game. It shares its tune with another popular jump rope song called “Miss Lucy
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Skip to My Lou
“Skip to My Lou” is a singing-game and dance, famous since the 1840s. Searching for the origins of this partner-stealing game, musician Stephen Frederick Starr recalls its resemblance to the African-American dance “Lolotte Pov’piti Lolotte”. The meaning of the word
Guess What? Chicken Butt!
“Guess What?” “Chicken Butt!” is a beloved playground song we can easily use to cheer up our kids as it makes everybody laugh and the little ones just adore the spontaneity of the dialogue. They also love the use of
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Draw a Pail of Water
Draw a Pail of Water (known in the USA as “Draw a bucket of water”) is an traditional nursery rhyme that first appeared published in “The Nursery Rhymes of England: Obtained Principally from Oral Tradition” by James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps in
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Alice The Camel
Alice the Camel or sometimes known as Sally the Camel is a classic nursery rhyme that teaches kids to count down. To make the song more interactive, kids can show the number of fingers on their hand with each new
Here We Go Looby Loo
Here We Go Looby Loo or simply Looby Loo is a fun action song that can be performed by many kids at once. Its very simple moves and catchy tune make it a favorite of very youngs too! Dance Instructions
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Little Robin Redbreast
Little Robin Redbreast is an old traditional rhyme that first appeared in the first ever anthology of nursery rhyme named “Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book” published around 1744. Another different version of Little Robin Redbreast appeared in the 1833 version
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Here are the Lady’s Knives and Forks
Here are the Lady’s Knives and Forks also sometimes known as Here are Mother’s Knives and Forks is a short song with a fingerplay associated to it. The tune of the song is very similar to the more popular Pop
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A Sailor Went To Sea Sea Sea
A Sailor Went to Sea Sea Sea is a rhyme that children love to sing and play to. Each line has to be sung faster, thus making it more difficult to sing. Children clap along this song rhythmically, progressively faster.
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Way Up High in the Apple Tree
Way Up High in the Apple Tree is a rhyme that has a fingerplay associated with it. The second line can be changed with any number instead of “two” and the song can be repeated, each time with one less
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Zoom Zoom, We’re Going to the Moon
Zoom Zoom is a fun song that is popular among preschoolers. It is also associated with a fun action game. Game Instructions Whenever the “zoom, zoom, zoom” part starts, hands are rubbed together while rocking them up in the air.
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Miss Mary Mack
Miss Mary Mack is one of the most popular clapping game. It is first found in written form in the United States in 1888. Although the song is American, even mentioning the 4th of July, it is very popular throughout
Cuckoo, cherry tree
The Cuckoo, cherry tree nursery rhyme dates back to the 19th century. It is a very loved and popular rolling-ball game for little ones. As with many nursery rhymes, there were other versions circulating through time but today its lyrics
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Sally Goes Round the Sun
Sally Goes Round the Sun is a popular circle dance usually played in larger groups. The dance is a very simple one, kids go around in a circle singing. When they sing the song a second time, they go in
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Hokey Cokey
Hokey Cokey is a very popular children’s dance song. It rose to popularity during the 1940s when it was recorded simultaneously in the UK by Jimmy Kennedy (The Hokey Cokey) in 1942 and in the United States by Robert Degan
One Potato Two Potato
One Potato, Two Potato is a popular counting song for little ones especially in Ireland and the UK. Game Instructions Hold your fists in front of you and stack them on top of each other starting with “one potato”, then
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A Ram Sam Sam
Originally a Moroccan song, A Ram Sam Sam is today a very popular children’s song around the world. Its original lyrics have often been modified. Most often it is performed as an action songs where children must perform certain actions
Miss Polly Had a Dolly
Miss Polly Had a Dolly is a popular nursery rhyme in the United Kingdom. Its origins are obscure but most likely dating back to the early 20th century or late 19th century. The song is a very popular action song
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Ten In The Bed
“Ten in the Bed” is a counting song and lullaby, with repetitive verses. It has been popular since the early 20th century although its origins are unknown. Similar with Ten Green Bottles this song is an easy way for kids
Peekaboo
Peekaboo is probably the most popular game played with infants and toddlers. Before singing the song, one player hides its face, then reveals it while shouting Peekaboo! This action is repeatedly made, sometimes followed by “I see you”! It is
Baby Shark
“Baby Shark” was originally a campfire song. The Baby Shark Song and Dance gained a new audience and massive popularity when German singer Alemuel uploaded a video of “Kleiner Hai”online, a German version of the song that became very popular
One Little Finger
One Little Finger is a contemporary song that helps kids learn about their body parts. It is very beloved by kids and it is very educational as it teaches body parts at a slower pace than other songs like “Head,
If You’re Happy and You Know It
If You’re Happy and You Know It, also sometimes known as the Happy Song is a popular children’s song first published in the 1950’s in the USA. There are many version to this song and it can easily be expanded
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Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes is a very easy and popular children’s song. Popular all around the world as far back as the 1950’s, its origin remains unknown. The song is very often accompanied by dances or motions, kids are
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Wind the Bobbin Up
“Wind the Bobbin Up” is a nursery rhyme and one of the favorites singing games and gesture-play songs for children, dating back to the late 19th century, England. Besides the fact that “Wind the Bobbin Up” is an entertaining song
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The Muffin Man
“The Muffin Man” is a traditional nursery rhyme and singing game dating back to early nineteenth-century, England. The rhyme, first recorded in 1820, tells the story of a muffin man from Drury Lane, an overpopulated area of London where poverty,
The Farmer in the Dell
“The Farmer in the Dell” is one of the oldest and most popular nursery rhymes around the world. The word dell defines a small wooded valley. The rhyme has been translated in different languages like English, French, Romanian or Thai,
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Ten Green Bottles
Similar to Ten in the bed, “Ten Green Bottles” is a counting song and singing game with repetitive lyrics. It is more popular in United Kingdom with different versions circulating, some of them vulgar or satirical. “Ten Green Bottles” singing
See Saw Margery Daw
“See Saw Margery Daw” is a traditional nursery rhyme and folksong dating back to 18th century England. It has been widely used as a popular playground song for centuries. The lyrics as known today were first recorded in the Mother
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Row, Row, Row Your Boat
“Row, Row, Row Your Boat” is a popular nursery rhyme originating in the 19th century America. It is an educational song and also an interactive singing game for kids. It can be played at home by parents and children or
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Round and Round the Garden
“Round and Round the Garden is a nursery rhyme that originates in the 1940’s, and it is also a singing game associated with fingerplay. “Round and Round the Garden” Finger Play This nursery rhyme is usually accompanied by other actions,
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Ring Around the Rosie
“Ring a Ring o’ Roses” more commonly known in the USA as “Ring Around the Rosie” is a folksong and singing game that was first published in 1881 in England. Although first published in 1881 only, it is believed that
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Pop Goes the Weasel
“Pop Goes the Weasel” is a nursery rhyme originating in England. It is one of the more popular singing games. Although the first written records of the song date back to the mid 19th century, it is believed that the
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Pease Porridge Hot
“Pease Porridge Hot” (sometimes referred to as Pease Pudding Hot) is an English nursery rhyme and a popular singing game. Its oldest reference can be traced back to the 18th century, being included in Mother Goose’s Melody (1760). The song
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