More
circle games M
Miss Sue / Go through your tiny
window
Mother Earth, Mother Earth
Mouse, mousie
My little boat turned over
My little dog Buff
My pigeon house (2)
Last updated: 4/10/2023
11:03 AM
These
songs are nursery rhymes and other traditional songs compiled, illustrated and
music arranged by Dany Rosevear.
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To listen to music from these
songs click on 🔊
To watch the
author sing a song click on the title at:
© Dany Rosevear 2013 All rights reserved
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Miss Sue / Go through your tiny window 🔊 A song from the Sea Islands off the
coast of South Carolina and Georgia. This is a singing game from Tony
Saletan’s ‘The Song Bag’ Unfortunately there were no instructions for the
movements so I have added my own educated guesses. This arrangement is by Dany
Rosevear. Stand in a circle holding hands high. One child stands outside. Verse 1. This child weaves in and out of ‘windows’ round the circle.
2. Children lower hands so child has to bend knees to travel in and out of
windows. 3. and 4. Raise hands and child moves into the circle and chooses a
dance to perform, those in the circle clap a syncopated pattern. 5. The
original child chooses another to continue the game. |
Go through your tiny
window, Miss Sue, Miss Sue. Go through your tiny
window, Miss Susiana Sue. Now down your tiny window… Heist your tiny window… Now let me see your hustle… Now choose your tiny
window… Go through your tiny
window, dear John, dear John. Go through your tiny
window, my little Johnny Brown. |
Mother Earth, Mother Earth 🔊 A song for the planting season.
In a circle act out the growing
cycle. Music by Dany
Rosevear. The steady beat of a drum would go well with this song. 1. Walk round holding hands. Crouch down with hands together, move
hands upwards. Stand up with hands stretched, wiggle fingers. Fingers move
downwards. 2. Wiggle fingers down like raindrops. Sweep arms over head. Hands
together pointed up move towards the sky. 3. Hold hands in a circle and raise
them and walk towards the centre and back. |
Mother Earth, Mother Earth,
Take our seed and give it
birth. Father Sun, gleam and glow,
Until the roots begin to
grow. Sister Rain, Sister Rain, Shed thy tears to swell the
grain. Brother Wind, breathe and
blow Then the blade of green
will grow. Earth and Sun and Wind and
Rain Turn to gold the living
grain. |
Mouse,
mousie 🔊 A simple chase
game with a steady beat. Two or three smaller circles will allow more
children to take on the roles of the cat and mouse. Children sit or stand in a circle. One child chosen
to be the 'cat' outside the circle turns away as the teacher chooses a mouse
from the circle. The cat then walks around the outside of the circle. On the
word ‘Run!’ the mouse jumps up and runs around the circle. The cat chases the
mouse and tries to catch it before the mouse gets back in place. Places are
then reversed and the game begins again with a new cat. |
Mouse, mousie, little mousie, Hurry, hurry do, Or the kitty in the housie, Will be chasing you. Run! |
My little boat turned over 🔊 This song possibly comes from
Brazil; It is best played in small circle groups so the game doesn’t go on
too long! Children walk around the circle to the left singing the first verse;
as each child’s name is called out they turn round to face the outside of the
circle. The second verse is then sung as the children move to the right and
the children turn back to face the centre each time their name is sung. |
My little boat turned over
when the wind began to blow. It was all because of _____
who had never learned to row. Now if I were a fishy and
could swim down in the sea, I would rescue little
_______ and I'd take him / her home with me. |
My little dog Buff 🔊 I found this counting out rhyme, a variation of ‘Drop the handkerchief’, in the Ladybird book of ‘Dancing rhymes’ published 1976. It is from a book of ‘Dorsetshire children’s games’ published in 1889 which has words less acceptable for modern sensibilities! I had a little dog and his name was
‘Buff,’ I sent him after a penn’orth of
snuff, He broke the paper and smelled the
stuff, And that’s the end of my dog
‘Buff.’ “He shan’t bite you, he shan’t bite
you etc. he shall bite you all over.” Find out more at: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:The_Folk-Lore_Journal_Volume_7_1889.djvu/237 Music arranged by Dany Rosevear. Children stand in a circle, one skips around the outside and on the
last line taps each child on the shoulder. After the last ‘you’ the child
tapped and the tapper run in opposite directions to attempt to reach the
empty space first. The child who succeeds stays there while the other is
ready to skip round the outside for a new game. |
I had a little dog and his
name was ‘Buff,’ I sent him up the street
for a pennyworth of snuff, He broke the box and spilt
the stuff, I think my story’s long
enough. It isn’t you, it isn’t you… But it’s you! |
My pigeon house (2) 🔊 This delightful song was a very
popular one in my infant classes as an end of the day hand play: Video details -
YouTube Studio So I was
delighted to find there was also a version,(though the words differ) recorded
in 1947 played as a circle game. Sung by Mrs. Martha N. Drisdale,
Shefield, 10 June 1947 Children stand in a ring holding hands to make a pigeon house; a
second group, the pigeons, settle inside the circle. On the words ‘open wide’
the children in the ring lift hands high to allow the pigeons to fly out and
about. On their return to the pigeon house those in the ring raise then lower
hands as the ‘pigeons’ settle and place hands on cheek to sleep. Children
then swap roles and play once again |
My pigeon house I open wide And set all my pigeons
free. They fly o’er the field on
every side, And light on the roof you
see. And when they return from
their airy flight, You’ll hear them sing and
say, 'Good night'. Coo-oo coo, coo-oo coo,
coo-oo coo, coo-oo coo, Coo-oo coo, coo-oo coo, coo coo. x 2 |
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