Number
songs counting to 100+
Counting
apple seeds
Hundreds
of stars / Only one mother
Lean
daddy longlegs
One
two buckle my shoe
The
appleman
The
centipede song
Three
frogs
We
are going down the numbers
We’ll
all go down the meadow
Also find songs at:
Floating down the river
Four in a boat
Here comes the little centipede
Last updated: 8/15/2022
10:03 AM
The songs below are compiled, illustrated and
sometimes adapted by Dany Rosevear
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To listen to music from these
songs click on O
To watch the
author sing a song click on the title at:
© Dany Rosevear 2008 All rights reserved
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|
Counting
apple seeds 🔊
A child’s divination and counting rhyme, traditionally English but
with the addition of the last three lines it was known in New England at the
beginning the 19th century, Newell, 1883.
Information can be found in the Opie’s ‘Oxford dictionary of nursery rhymes’
p391. Reminds
me of counting plum stones after a plum and custard dessert: ‘Tinker, tailor,
soldier, sailor’ and also daisy petal counting ‘He loves me, he loves me
not’. These rhymes were also used for skipping’ Tune
by Dany Rosevear. |
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One
I love, two I love, Three
I love, I say, Four
I love with all my heart, And
five, I cast away; Six
he loves, seven she loves, Eight
they both love; Nine
he comes, ten he tarries, Eleven
he courts, twelve he marries; Thirteen
wishes, fourteen kisses, All
the rest little witches. |
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Lean daddy longlegs 🔊
There are so
many tiny creatures to be found under a stone, lift but do not disturb. The words are
in Candy Verney’s delightful book ‘The Singing Year’ where it was attributed
to ‘Anon’ but I have been unable to find the words anywhere else. Music by Dany
Rosevear. |
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Lean daddy longlegs underneath a
stone, Have you any company, or are you
all alone? Peep, peep under, peep and you
will see, Two spotted ladybirds are
sitting here with me. Lean daddy longlegs underneath a
stone, Have you any company, or are you
all alone? Peep, peep under, peep and you
will see, Three beetles, inky black are
sitting here with me. Six skinny earwigs are sitting
here with me. Four and twenty spiders are
sitting here with me. Lean daddy longlegs, pray what
will you say If children going home from
school roll that stone away? If children going home from
school roll that stone away, Then all my little guests and I
must say, “Good day!” |
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This number rhyme lends
itself to miming. It has a Roud Folk Song index number of 11284. To find out
more visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One,_Two,_Buckle_My_Shoe
The site http://www.rhymes.org.uk/one_two_buckle_my_shoe.htm
links its origins to the lacemaking industry.
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The appleman 🔊
An addition song and days of the week. The numbers can vary according
to the concept being taught e.g. two or five apples each day. Words
by Helen Clyde, tune by Dany Rosevear; You can find the original tune in
A&C Black’s ‘Count me in’ published 1984. |
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Which of you can tell? How many apples did the
old man sell? One on Monday, Two on Tuesday, Three on Wednesday, Four on Thursday, Five on Friday, Six on Saturday, Well, well, well, Now can you tell? How many apples did the
old man sell? |
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There are two versions of
this to be found on iTunes. It possibly was also on an Early Learning Centre
CD in the past. I have as yet been unable to
find the name of the composer. It was brought to my attention by a teacher
from the Middle East who wondered if I was familiar with the song. I had not
come across it before but was intrigued enough to do some research and to
have a go at recording it informally. Recently heard it might be
written by Kaye Umansky??? Make a line with hands on
shoulders and walk lifting legs up on one side and the other. The leader
takes the others off on a wavy path. The leader joins the tail to allow for a
new leader after each verse is sung. Have three or four centipedes on the go
so everyone gets a turn to be leader.
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Three frogs 🔊
A traditional Chinese nursery rhyme and hand play. A simple way to visualise multiplication. Addresses singular and
plural. I have found many versions of this in both English and Chinese. The translation and arrangement here is by Dany Rosevear based on this
version sung in Mandarin: Chinese
– Three Frogs 三只青蛙 | King County Library
System (kcls.org) To play as an action game: Practise jumping like frogs. Jump and make
swimming motions. Hop like frogs around the room. Hand play: see video. |
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One
frog, we know, has one mouth, Two
eyes, four legs and no tail, Big
hop! Bellyflop! Into the pool. La,
la, la, la, La, la, la, la, La,
la, la, la, La, la, la, la. Two
frogs, we know, have two mouths, Four
eyes, eight legs and no tail, Big
hop! Bellyflop! Into the pool. La,
la, la, la, La, la, la, la, La,
la, la, la, La, la, la, la. Three
frogs, we know, have three mouths, Six
eyes, twelve legs and no tail, Big
hop! Bellyflop! Into the pool. La,
la, la, la, La, la, la, la, La,
la, la, la, La, la, la, la. 一只青蛙, 一张嘴, 两只眼睛, 四条腿, 扑通, 扑通跳下水, 青蛙不喝水, 太平年。 两只青蛙, 两张嘴, 四只眼睛, 八条腿, 扑通, 扑通跳下水, 青蛙不喝水, 太平年。 三只青蛙, 三张嘴, 六只眼睛, 十二条腿, 扑通，扑通跳下水，青蛙不喝水，太平年！ |
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We are going down the numbers 🔊
This singing game
from Nigeria (as sung by Ernest Ikpe) can be played in or out of doors. It
has been adapted here to include counting back which can easily be adapted to
any number string. Children sit or stand in a circle. Each hold a stick, pebble or
beanbag. As the sing they pass their ‘stick’ round the circle to the beat. A
the end of a verse, any child without a stick or with two sticks is ‘out’. |
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We are going down the numbers
one by one, We are going down the numbers
one by one, We are going down the numbers,
going down the numbers, Going down the numbers one by
one: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! We are going down the numbers
two by two, We are going down the numbers
two by two, We are going down the numbers,
going down the numbers, Going down the numbers two by
two: 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4,
2! We are going down the numbers
ten by ten, We are going down the numbers
ten by ten, We are going down the numbers,
going down the numbers, Going down the numbers ten by
ten: 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30,
20, 10! We are going down the numbers
one by one, We are going down the numbers
one by one, We are going down the numbers,
going down the numbers, Going down the numbers one by
one! |
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We’ll all go down the meadow 🔊
Learn to count
down in ones. This is a
community song from ‘The Ditty Bag’ compiled by Janet E. Tobitt in 1946. It
was contributed by Gwladys Davies so could possibly be of Welsh origin. The book
suggests this song should be sung with very deliberate rhythm and with
harmony on ‘We’ll have no more’ for an effective variation. |
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Be one little, be two little, We'll all go down the meadow, Be three little, be four little,
We'll all go down the meadow, Be four, be three, be two, be
one, We'll have no more. Hay me hay, carry me hay, We'll all go down the meadow. Be five little, be six little, We'll all go down the meadow, Be seven little, be eight
little, We'll all go down the meadow, Be eight, be seven, be six, be
five, Be four, be three, be two, be
one, We'll have no more. Hay me hay, carry me hay, We'll all go down the meadow. Be nine little, be ten little… Be thirteen little, be fourteen
little… Be seventeen little, be eighteen
little… |
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