Nursery number favourites to 3

Billy Pringle

Fishing song

My hat it has three corners

Once there were three cats

There were two birds sat on a stone

Three blind mice

Three crows

Three little kittens

Three little pigs and a little pig more

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears

Also see:

Three jellyfish

Last updated: 4/7/2015 4:22 PM

The songs below are compiled, illustrated and sometimes adapted by Dany Rosevear

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© Dany Rosevear 2008 All rights reserved

You are free to copy, distribute, display and perform these works under the following conditions:

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Your fair use and other rights are no way affected by the above.

Billy Pringle had a little pig O

Iona and Peter Opie note that a version of this ’Did you hear of Betty Pringle’s pig?’ was published in Gammar Gurton’s Garland in 1784 . This tune is from Walter Cranes Baby’s Bouquet 1879.

Billy Pringle had a little pig,

When it was young it wasn’t very big,

When it was old it lived in clover,

Now it's dead and that's all over.

Billy Pringle he lay down and died,

Betsy Pringle she lay down and cried,

So that’s the end of one, two, and three,

Billy Pringle he, Betsy Pringle she,

And the piggy wiggy wee.

Fishing song O

How many children get to go fishing nowadays? Invite visitors in to talk about their experiences. You will probably need to introduce the word ‘bait’.

Set up the water tray with magnetized fish and fishing rods for fishing play; how many fish can they catch?

Sitting by the riverside, Here I wait, For all the little fishes, To nibble at the bait. Pop them in my fishing bag, One, two, three! Salt them and pepper them, And eat them for my tea!

Place hands one on top of the other with palms facing down, stick out thumbs and move hands in a fish like motion. Wiggle forefinger like a worm. Clap three times. Shake with each hand. Place imaginary fish in the mouth.

My hat it has three corners O

A simple action rhyme; the difficult part is singing nothing!

First time sing through with no actions. Next time miss out the word ‘hat’ and touch the head instead. The third time continue with the first action but also miss the word ’three’ and hold up three fingers. Fourth time do both of the above but also raise an elbow when ‘corners’ is sung. The last time sing all the words and perform all the actions. Good luck!

My hat it has three corners,

Three corners has my hat,

And had it not three corners,

It would not be my hat.

Once there were three cats O

A great song for making up rhymes.

Once there were three cats,

And they were wearing hats,

Tra la la la la la la la la la, three little cats.

And then there were three dogs,

And they were wearing clogs,

Tra la la la la la la la la la, heigh ho!

Once there were three doves,

And they were wearing gloves,

Tra la la la la la la la la la, three little doves.

And then there were three ants,

And they were wearing pants,

Tra la la la la la la la la la, heigh-ho!

Once there were three goats,

And they were wearing coats,

Tra la la la la la la la la la, three little goats.

And then there were three ducks,

And they ran out of luck,

Tra la la la la la la la la la, heigh-ho!

There were two birds sat on a stone O

A traditional nursery rhyme with music by Moya Smith.

Find out more at: http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/BGMG049.html

There were two birds sat on a stone,

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de;

One flew away, and then there was one,

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de;

The other flew after and then there was none,

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de;

And so the poor stone was left all alone,

Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.

Three blind mice O

This song can easily be sung as a rhyme.

Find an energetic game to play at:

http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/pe/threeblindmice.htm

Three crows O

A song from Scotland – this is the English adaption but there are many charming versions in the Scottish vernacular to be found on You Tube.

Use fingers and fist to show the birds on the wall. Mime the other movements.

Three crows sat upon a wall,

Sat upon a wall, sat upon a wall-all-all-all.

Three crows sat upon a wall,

On a cold and frosty morning.

The first crow couldn't fly at all,

Couldn't fly at all, couldn't fly at all-all-all-all.

The first crow couldn't fly at all

On a cold and frosty morning.

The second crow fell and broke his jaw,

Fell and broke his jaw, fell and broke his jaw-aw-aw-aw.

The second crow fell and broke his jaw,

On a cold and frosty morning.

The third crow was weeping for his ma,

Weeping for his ma, weeping for his ma-aa-aa-aa.

The third crow was weeping for his ma,

On a cold and frosty morning.

The fourth crow wasn't there at all,

Wasn't there at all, wasn't there at all-all-all-all.

The fourth crow wasn't there at all,

On a cold and frosty morning.

That's all I know about the crows,

Know about the crows, know about the crows-ow-ow-ows.

That's all I know about the crows,

On a cold and frosty morning.

Three little kittens O

The tune of this nursery rhyme was probably originally a hymn tune - it is very similar to the folk tune The seven joys of Mary. To find out more to the background of the words visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Little_Kittens

Three little kittens, they lost their mittens,

And they began to cry,

“Oh mother dear, we sadly fear,

Our mittens we have lost.”

“What lost your mittens, you naughty kittens,

Then you shall have no pie.”

“Miaow! Miaow! We shall have no pie.”

The three little kittens, they found their mittens,

And they began to cry,

“Oh mother dear, see here, see here!

Our mittens we have found.”

“What, found your mittens, you good little kittens,

Then you shall have some pie.”

“Purr, purr! Purr, purr! We shall have some pie.”

The three little kittens put on their mittens,

And soon ate up the pie;

“Oh, mother dear, we sadly fear

Our mittens we have soiled.”

“What, soiled your mittens, you naughty kittens!”

Then they began to sigh,

“Miaow! Miaow! Yes, they began to sigh.

The three little kittens they washed their mittens,

And hung them out to dry;

“Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,

Our mittens we have washed!”

“What, washed your mittens, you good little kittens,

But I smell a rat close by.”

“Miaow! Miaow! We smell a rat close by.”

Three little pigs and a little pig more O

A lesson in manners, for as the saying goes ‘manners maketh man’ and perhaps pigs too!

These verses were written by Anne Mendoza; the music by Dany Rosevear.

Hold up the number of fingers indicated by the words and make expressions and movements to suggest how the farmer and animals feel. Rap loudly on the door for the first two verses and quietly for the last one.

Three little pigs and a little pig more,

Knocked on the farmer’s bright green door:

Be quick, Mr Farmer, we want our lunch,

‘Hunch, hunch, hunch!’

Three little calves and a little calf more,

Knocked on the farmer’s bright green door:

Be quick, Mr Farmer, we want our lunch too,

‘Moo, moo, moo!’

The farmer came out with a furious roar:

‘Who’s that a-hammering at my green door?

Not a bit, not a scrap will you get from me.’

So said he.

Those poor little animals knocked once more,

Quietly, so quietly on the bright green door,

And asked most politely on their knees,

‘If you please!’

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears O

An action song; count to three and learn about comparative sizing.

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears, Oh, what did her blue eyes see? A bowl that was huge, A bowl that was small, And a bowl that was tiny, and that was all, She counted them: one, two, three. When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears, Oh, what did her blue eyes see? A chair that was huge, A chair that was small, And a chair that was tiny, and that was all, She sat in them: one, two, three. When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears, Oh, what did her blue eyes see? A bed that was huge, A bed that was small, And a bed that was tiny, and that was all, She slept in them: one, two, three. When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears, Oh, what did her blue eyes see? A bear that was huge, A bear that was small, And a bear that was tiny, and that was all, They growled at her: GRRRH! GRRRH! GRRRH!

With hands above head make a roof shape. Thumb and forefinger make glasses to look from side to side. Indicate size of each bowl with hands. Count with fingers. As above. Indicate height of each chair. Hands indicate sitting then count with fingers. As above. Indicate length of each bed. As above. Indicate height of each bear. Growl loudly with hands to face to protect others from the loud sound!