Nursery
number favourites to 10 O-Z
Old
Davy Jones
On my
right hand what do I see?
Once
I caught a fish alive!
One
and one, it’s a mountain
One
bubble, two bubbles
One
duck, two ducks
One
little brown bird
One
man went to mow
One,
two, kittens that mew
Over
in the meadow
Seven
little pigs went to market
Six
little acorns
Six
little ducks
Six
little pigs
Ten
fat sausages
Ten
fat turkeys
Ten
fluffy chickens
Ten
galloping horses
Ten
in the bed
Ten
little bubbles
Ten
little fairies
Ten
little goblins
Ten
little pumpkins
Ten
little tadpoles
Ten yellow chicks
The
ants go marching
These
two rabbits
Two
little chickens
Under
a web
Who gives
a hoot?
Last updated: 3/28/2022
10:58 AM
The songs below are compiled, illustrated and
sometimes adapted
by
Dany Rosevear
Return to the ‘Singing games for
children’ home
To listen to music from these
songs click on 🔊
To watch the
author sing a song click on the title at:
© Dany Rosevear 2008 All rights reserved
You
are free to copy, distribute, display and perform these works under the
following
conditions:
·
you must give the original author credit
·
you may not use this work for commercial purposes
·
for any re-use or distribution, you must make clear to others the
licence terms of this work
·
any of these can be waived if you get permission from the copyright
holder
Your
fair use and other rights are no way affected by the above.
Old Davy Jones O Learn to count to ten and
back again.
|
On my right hand what do I see? 🔊 How many fingers?
Learn which is the left and right hand. This works well as a hand play |
On my right hand what do I
see? Five little fingers all
looking at me. On my left hand what do I
see? Five more fingers all
looking at me. I put them together, then
I see, Ten little fingers looking at me! |
Once I caught a fish alive!O
A nursery favourite that
encourages counting to ten and will help to distinguish left from right.
|
One and
one, it’s a mountain A hand play, double numbers
as you go. 1. Raise one finger on each hand, place tips
together. 2.Show two fingers on each hand, place hands
together and stretch out four fingers to make them walk. 3. Show three fingers on each hand, sweep face with
them like cat cleaning whiskers. 4. Show four fingers on each hand, place hands
together and wiggle fingers. 5. Show five fingers on each hand, cross wrist and
flap hands moving upwards and away. |
One and one, It's a mountain. Two and two, It's a crab. Three and three, It’s a cat: ‘Meow!’ Four and four, It’s an octopus. Five and five, It’s a butterfly, Fly up through the sky - And away! |
One
bubble, two bubbles
🔊 A simple action rhyme and
number play to ten. Music by Dany Rosevear. 1. Tap top of head. 2. Hop once. 3. Clap hands. 4.
Slowly sit or crouch down . |
One bubble, two bubbles, three
bubbles, TOP! Four
bubbles, five bubbles, six bubbles, HOP! Seven bubbles,
eight bubbles, nine bubbles, POP! Ten
bubbles floating down, time to STOP! |
One
duck, two ducks 🔊 Or ‘Ten ducks’. A number action rhyme. 1. Raise one then a second finger, ‘splash’ hands.
2.Show two more fingers toch cheeks. 3. Raise two more fingers, hands on
hips. 4. Raise two more fingers, move wiggling fingers downwards. 5. Raise
last two fingers, flap elbows up and down, shake body then hands to cheek. |
One duck, two ducks splashing in a pool, Three ducks, four ducks find the water cool, Five ducks, six ducks want to stay and play, Seven ducks, eight ducks love a rainy day, Nine ducks, ten ducks, all with wings outspread, Shake their glossy feathers and waddle off to bed. |
One
little brown bird O Become familiar with the
concept of ‘one more’.
|
Learn to count back from
ten. This song is great fun to sing
especially on coach journeys when you have plenty of time. It can be made simpler for
young children by just having the word ‘Woof!’
after ‘dog’ or add more words to get everyone in a tizz such as. ‘an
old tin can, a frying pan’ There are plenty of more
ideas at the Mudcat website. Put one finger up in
sequence for each number. Count back from the number
beginning each subsequent verse.
|
One,
two, kittens that mew A traditional counting
rhyme to ten. From the
Ladybird book of ‘Number rhymes’ 1976. Raise corresponding finger for each number and make
appropriate noises! |
One, two, kittens that mew, Two, three, birds on a tree, Three, four, shells on the shore, Four, five, bees from the hive, Five, six, the cow that licks, Six, seven, rooks in the heaven, Seven, eight, sheep at the gate, Eight, nine, clothes on a line, Nine, ten, little black hen. |
Learn to count to ten or to count
back from ten by singing the same song in reverse order. There are many different
versions of this great traditional song; most of the verses here I remember
singing to young children in the 1970s. Children can use fingers to
count and mime the actions. Encourage children to make up their own rhymes
with versions that correspond with the topic of the day.
|
Seven little pigs 🔊 A subtraction song.
You can also change the number of pigs and how many fall down / run away each
time and sing ‘So how many went to town. Use fingers to represent each pig. Fold
fingers down and make runaway pig wiggle away. |
Seven little pigs went to
market, One of them fell down, One of them, he ran away, And five pigs got to town. Five little pigs went to
market, One of them fell down, One of them, he ran away, And three pigs got to
town. Three little pigs went to
market, One of them fell down, One of them, he ran away, And one pig got to town. |
A song for autumn. Learn to subtract from six. 1.
Hold up fingers to show the number of acorns. Make hands move like the
wind. 2.
As above 3. Show empty hands. Wiggle finger upwards and point
to self. |
Six little acorns in an old oak tree, The autumn winds began to blow and down came
three. Three little acorns in an old oak tree, The autumn winds began to blow and down came
three. No little acorns in an old oak tree, But underneath I saw one sprout, just for me! |
Where are they going? Start with a count to six
using fingers.
|
Six little pigs 🔊 A hand play. Learn about the importance of saying
‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Written by Helen Call and published around 1923 in Songs of Childhood.
Tune and adapted wordsby Dany Rosevear. 1. Hold up six fingers. 2. Put hand to eyes, wiggle
little finger. 3. Roll fists round each other. 4. Make arm and hand into a
tree. 5. Put hand to ear. 6. Put hand to mouth. |
Six little pigs in the
straw with their mother Bright eyes, curly tails,
tumbling on each other. Bring them apples from the
orchard trees, And hear those piggies
say, "Please! Please! Please!
" But instead of “Thank
you!” they’ll go, "Wee! Wee! Wee!" |
Ten fat turkeys 🔊 A hand play
for Thanksgiving. Learn about to differentiate ‘left’ and ‘right’. 1. Hold up ten fingers. 2. Spread fingers . 3. Move
fingers to the left and right . 4. Open and close beak. 5. Form sun. |
Ten fat turkeys standing
in a row, They spread their feathers
and tails like so. They strut to the left, They strut to the right. They say “Gobble, gobble,
gobble!” In the bright sunlight. |
Can you count in twos to
ten? This song helps you subtract two each time and understand the concept of
two less.
|
Ten fluffy chickens O A number song for
Easter. Tune by Dany Rosevear. |
Five eggs and five eggs, Hold up both hands That makes ten. Sitting on top is the
Mother Hen. Close one hand; fold other hand over it Crackle, crackle, crackle,
crackle, Wiggle fingers What do I see? Put hands to eyes Ten fluffy chickens Put up fingers As yellow as can be! Throw out hands |
Learn how ten is made of two
fives in this lap bouncing baby song. Bounce baby in the direction indicated
by the words of the song. The game below is for older toddlers. 1.
Make a galloping motion with hands on the knees 2. With fingers still
indicate one hand then the other. 3. Move one hand up and the other down. 4.
Make hands gallop to the left and then the right and then behind your back.
|
Learn to count back from ten
in this bedtime song This is another great
favourite for coach journeys when there is plenty of time to sing. Put one finger down in sequence for each number.
|
Ten little bubbles 🔊 A number song
for Spring cleaning or outdoor play. Put a finger up for each number, clap for each ‘pop!’ Catch bubbles. |
One little, two little,
three little bubbles, Four little, five little,
six little bubbles, Seven little, eight
little, nine little bubbles, Ten little bubbles go pop,
pop, pop! Pop, pop, pop! Can you
catch those bubbles? Pop, pop, pop! Can you
catch those bubbles? Pop, pop, pop! Can you
catch those bubbles? Ten little bubbles go pop,
pop, pop! |
Ten little fairies
🔊 A whimsical number rhyme and hand play set to music by Dany Rosevear. |
Ten little fairies stand up
straight, Ten
little fairies make a gate, Ten
little fairies bow to the King, Ten
little fairies make a ring, Ten
little fairies dance and play,and Ten
little fairies fly away, Ten
little fairies hide away. |
Ten little goblins 🔊 A number rhyme, subtraction song and hand play set to music by Dany
Rosevear. Choose a different number out of 10 to be touched each time. 1. Raise ten fingers, make them dance. 2. Look scary, shake finger. 3.
Wave wand. 4. Touch number of fingers. 5. As before. 6. Show how many are
left. |
Ten little goblins dancing in the glen, Frightening the fairies - naughty little
men. Here comes the Fairy Queen, a magic wand has
she, Ev'ry one she touches will turn into a tree. Ten little goblins dancing in the glen, But two are turned to oak trees leaving
eight little men. |
Learn to count to ten and
back again.
|
Be careful who you go off with however enticing it might be! A poem by Rose Fyleman set to music. |
Ten little tadpoles playing in a pool, "Come," said the water-rat,
"Come along to school. Come and say your tables, sitting in a
row," And all the little tadpoles said, “No, no,
no!” Ten
little tadpoles swimming in and out, Racing
and diving and turning round about, "Come," said
their mother: “Dinner time I guess” And all the little tadpoles cried “Yes, yes,
yes!” |
Ten yellow chicks 🔊 Easter finger play
number for the very young, How many eggs, how many chicks? Addition and
doubling of numbers and conservation of number. From ‘Singing fun’
published in 1962. Written by Lucille F. Wood and Louise B. Scott. Before finding the
original version I wrote a new tune some time ago for the words and recorded
it, (see above): Ten fluffy
chickens - a number song for Easter - YouTube It is always
important to recognise the original authors. 1. Show five
fingers on one hand then five on the other. 2. Place fist on cupped hand. 3.
Clap hands for each crackle. 4. Ring eyes with thumbs and foref ingers. Hold
up ten fingers. |
Five eggs and five eggs, that
makes ten.
Sitting on top is a mother
hen.
Crackle, crackle, crackle,
What do I see?
Ten yellow chickens, as
fluffy as can be!
A traditional number song to
the tune of ‘When Johnny comes marching home’. Children can march together
in lines of the number mentioned in each verse. Organising selves into these
groups will take some thought even with help and become increasingly difficult
as the numbers increase!
|
These two rabbits 🔊 How many rabbits?
Count in twos. Set to music by Dany
Rosevear. Raise thumbs,
forefingers to little fingers each time. 1. Hold up
forefinger and second finger on each hand to make rabbit head, thumb and
other fingers make face. 2. Circle eyes with thumbs and forefingers. 3. Brush
cheeks with back of hands. 4. Wriggle nose and point. 5. Curl fingers on
hands up. |
These two rabbits Have ears so tall; These two rabbits Have eyes so small; These two rabbits Have whiskers that wiggle; These two rabbits Have noses that that wriggle These two rabbits are the smallest of all |
They curl up tightly in a
round furry ball.
Two little chickens O Count in twos
to ten. I found this
song in a pre-school playgroup pamphlet from the 1970s. Music by Dany
Rosevear. |
Two little chickens
looking for some more, Along came another two and
they make four. Run to the haystack, Run to the pen, Run little chickens, Back to Mother Hen. Four little chickens
getting in a fix, Along came another two and
they make six… Six little chickens
perching on a gate, Along came another two and
they make eight… Eight little chickens run
to Mother Hen, Along came another two and
they make ten… |
Under a web O A traditional rhyme
with music by Hugo Shortcombe. Sort pictures
of creatures (Venn or other diagrams) or toys animals (sand or water play)
according to their number of legs. |
Under a web beside our
gate A spider hangs his legs
are eight. Above him flies the busy
bee, Six black and furry legs
has she. A tabby cat goes leaping
past, Her four legs carry her so
fast. I’ve only two, that isn’t
many, But Mr. Worm, he hasn’t
any. |
Who gives a hoot? A number number hand play. Count up, count down. A
number rhyme by Dany Rosevear. 1. Put up one finger at a time. 2. Place thumb and forefinger round
eyes, use forefingers to make beak. 3. As before. 4. Throw out hands, cross
hands at wrists and flap. 5. Starting with eight fingers up fold one finger
down at a time. 6. Flap hands, fingers run. 7. As before. 8. Shake head and
form sun with hands. 9. Put hand to mouth, make fingers scoot. |
One hoot, two hoots three hoots, four, Round eyes, sharp beak and mice grabbing claws. Five hoots, six hoots, seven hoots, eight, Who gives a hoot? It’s owl out late. Too-whit too-whoo! Eight hoots, seven hoots, six hoots, five, Owl’s out hunting, run for your lives! Four hoots, three hoots, two hoots, one, We don’t give a hoot for day has come! Too-whit too-whoo! Oh dear!! RUN! |
Return to the ‘Singing games for
children’ home