The song is set to the tune of the popular French nursery rhyme “Frere Jacques” or its English version “Are you sleeping, Brother John”.

The song is very easy to learn as each stanza is very similar to the first one, the only difference is the name of the fingers (thumbkin, pointer, tallman, ringman, baby).

Where is Thumbkin Lyrics

Where is thumbkin?
Where is thumbkin?
Here I am.
Here I am.
How are you today sir?
Very well I thank you.
Run away. Run away.

Where is pointer? Where is pointer?
Here I am.
Here I am.
How are you today sir?
Very well I thank you.
Run away. Run away.

Where is tallman? Where is tallman?
Here I am.
Here I am.
How are you today sir?
Very well I thank you.
Run away. Run away.

Where is ringman? Where is ringman?
Here I am.
Here I am.
How are you today sir?
Very well I thank you.
Run away. Run away.

Where is baby? Where is baby?
Here I am.
Here I am. How are you today sir?
Very well I thank you.
Run away. Run away.

Where’s the whole family? Where’s the whole family?
Here we are.
Here we are. How are you today sir?
Very well we thank you.
Run away. Run away.

“Here are the Lady’s Knives and Forks” Fingerplay

Each instruction corresponds to one line from the rhyme:

Fingers should be interlaced like knives and forks.
Palms should be facing down forming a table.
With fingers kept interlaced, the palms should be turned towards you as in looking into a mirror.
Interlaced hands should be put up and a rocked back and forth to simulate the motion of a cradle.

“Here are the Lady’s Knives and Forks”Lyrics

Here are the lady’s knives and forks,
Here is the lady’s table,
Here is the lady’s looking-glass,
And here is the baby’s cradle.

There is also a finger play associated with the song. At first the parent holds five fingers out, then waves the ducks goodbye (when they swim away), then makes motions signalling a chatter when the duck quacks and finally holds up four fingers when only four ducks come back. The finger play is then repeated for all verses with the appropriate number of fingers.

“Five Little Ducks”Lyrics

Five Little Ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away.
Mother Duck said, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack,” but only four little ducks came back.

Four little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away
Mother Duck said, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack,” but only three little ducks came back.

(Repeat counting down to “but no little ducks came back.”)
Sad mother duck went out one day, over the hills and far away
Mother Duck said, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack,” and five little ducks came back.

Five Little Monkeys Finger Play

The song has an associated fingerplay, each verse being represented by an action. First the number of the monkeys left jumping on the bed is shown, followed by a hand falling and tapping one’s head (signifying a bump in the head). This is followed by a hand gesture mimicking a telephone call (calling the doctor) and wagging the finger during the last part (No more monkeys jumping on the bed).

“Five Little Monkeys” Lyrics

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell down and bumped his head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Four little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell down and bumped his head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Three little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell down and bumped her head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell down and bumped his head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

One little monkey jumping on the bed,
She fell down and bumped her head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
Put those monkeys back to bed!

“Five Little Monkeys” Video

It was first published in London in the collection called “Mother Goose’s Melody” from 1765. There are no recorded evidences about the exact origin of the song. In its today’s form which dates back to the 19th century the lyrics have been slightly modified and the names of the birds have been replaced from Jack and Gill to Paul and Peter, the apostles.

“Two Little Dickie Birds” Finger-play

How to play:

It is played by an adult who is playing with both of his index fingers, pointing them so the child can see it well. One hand is for Peter, and one hand is for Paul.

At the line: “Two little dickie birds, Sitting on a wall” both hands are exposed to the child, alternatively playing with the index finger (while hiding the rest of the fingers).

At the next two lines, “One named Peter” and “One named Paul” only one finger will be moving, to attract the attention: first Peter’s hand and second Paul’s hand.

To the next lines: “Fly away Peter!” and “Fly away Paul!” your hands will fly one by one, hiding to the back and then they will come back with the next words: “Come Back Peter!” and “Come Back Paul!” again one by one.

“Two Little Dickie Birds” Lyrics

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!

It dates back to 18th century and the full version was first published in 1760 in” The Famous Tommy Thumb’s Little Story-Book”. The “This little piggy went to market” line was recorded before in an older nursery rhymes collection from 1728.

“This Little Piggy” finger-play

Each line of the rhyme is sung while pointing out one children’s toe, starting with the thumb toe to the pinky toe. It usually ends by tickling the foot on the line: “wee wee wee all the way home”.

“This Little Piggy” Lyrics

This little piggy went to the market,
This little piggy stayed home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none,
And this little piggy cried wee wee wee all the way home.

“Round and Round the Garden” Finger Play

This nursery rhyme is usually accompanied by other actions, usually played by an adult to a child. During the first two verses of the song, the adult traces his finger in a circle on the child’s palm. During the third verse the adult climbs the child’s arm and in the final verse the adult tickled the child.

“Round and Round the Garden” Lyrics

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

The origin of this song is not known, but it was first published in 1920, more as a song for adults in “Camp and camino in lower California” with the words “blooming, bloody” instead of “itsy bitsy”.

The actual version of “Itsy Bitsy Spider” was later printed in 1947 by the California Folklore Society in the Western Folklore collection. It appears as a nursery rhyme in 1948 in the American Folk Songs for Children a collection by Mike and Peggy Seeger, and in 1955 in Maxwell Slutz Stewart’ book “The Growing Family: A Guide for Parents”.

Itsy Bitsy Spider Finger Play

“Itsy Bitsy Spider”, more often recited than sung, is a finger-play rhyme for children. It tells the adventures of a Spider, named Itsy Bitsy (or Incy Wincy – more popular in England) who is going up and down, and up again, as the weather is chaining. The kids have to mimic its movements while singing the song, a very entertaining activity, useful to improve their manual dexterity.

The rhyme has more than one accepted versions as it follows:

“Itsy Bitsy Spider” Lyrics

“The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout.
Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,
and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again”

In other versions, “crawled” is replaced with “climbed” or” went”

“Incy Wincy Spider” Alternative Version

Incy Wincy spider climbing up the spout.
Down came the rain, and washed poor Incy out.
Up came the sun, and dried up all the rain
And Incy Wincy spider went climbing up again.

“Itsy Bitsy Spider” Video