Allons chercher l’herbette
J’aime la galette
La danse des legumes
Pomme de reinette et pomme
d’api
Rondin picotin
Trempe ton pain Marie
À la Monaco
La Bigue Biguette
Mademoiselle voulez-vous
danser?
Tous en rond dansez
Last updated: 1/13/2015
3:14 PM
The songs below are part of ‘Allons-y!’ The French collection
compiled, adapted, translated and illustrated by Dany Rosevear
To watch the
author of this website sing a song click on the title at:
Return to the ‘Singing
games for children’ home page
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.
Allons chercher
l’herbette O Feeling hungry? Let’s make
an omelette. What will we need? Make a list of ingredients, in French of
course! This game can be played in a
circle or with couples dispersed about the room.
|
J’aime la galette
O Galettes des Rois (King’s cake or Twelfth Night
cake) has been eaten in France since the Middle Ages in celebration of the
Epiphany. It is also eaten in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Galettes
des Rois a puff pastry pie is filled with
frangipani made from almond paste and eggs. A ‘fève’,
a lucky charm, is hidden inside: a bean, coin or small trinket. The one who
finds it wears a paper crown and becomes king or queen for the day. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKFy1znidUU&feature=related You can find a recipe and
further information at www.mamalisa.com. Make simple paper crowns for
the children to wear during this game. Those left over from Christmas crackers
would be timely at Epiphany.
|
La danse des lègumes
O What do the vegetables get
up to in the moonlight? Find out in this circle game and learn the French
names of vegetables. Add others with suitable movements. Names of more fruits
and vegetables can be found at www.annuaireemareva.com . Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ3Fj06X-5Q and at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr0fu-cv8HI&feature=related Not an easy tune to memorise
but worth persevering, it’s lots of fun.
|
The refrain is a great
favourite with French toddlers as they roll arms, beat fists and hide them
behind their backs to be tapped. Pomme de reinette is a pippin apple ‘apple of the
little queen’. Pomme d‘Api
or Lady’s apple has been cultivated in Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2wiLOV-Y2I&NR=1 Choose four or five apple
farmers who walk round picking apples off the ground.
|
Translated as ‘Knead your
bread’ or ‘Eat your bread’, the literal ‘Dunk your bread’ is used here.
Nankeen, a yellow or pale buff cotton cloth was originally made in Nanking in
China. Nankeen also refers to trousers made of this material. Bazin is another type of prestige cloth from West Africa
also known as damask and often hand decorated. The refrain can be sung as a
round. A more energetic and complex dance can be found on video at www.dancilla.com .
|
Throughout the regions of
France many games traditionally centre on food, especially cake and bread.
Sing this song while making of bread. Enjoy the wonderfully sensual
experience, feeling and smelling the warm dough and learn about the effect of
yeast as the dough rises. Listen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg-l-psRWYU This is one of several
French ring games where the finale is a sudden squat. Great fun!
|
À la Monaco O La Monaco is a traditional
song of war from the Ile de France. In England ‘la chaine
anglaise’ is known as ‘the French chain’! Label each child A or B in
sequence round the circle. Children hold hands or alternatively for more
challenge, place hands on their neighbour’s shoulders.
|
La Bigue Biguette O Are you smart, have you got
agile legs and nimble feet? You’ll need all of these to perform this miller’s
dance from Begin in a circle holding
hands. Once the dance is familiar find different ways to jump.
|
Mademoiselle voulez-vous danser?
O Known as ‘La Bastringue’ this dance belongs to the musical legacy of
both Cajun and French-Canadian folk. Watch a circle version of this dance at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rM3tjSCMLw&feature=related . In the game below the
children stand in two facing lines, girls on one side boys on the other.
|
Tous en rond
dansez O Dance first as a whole class
then in ones, twos and more. Finally gather together once again as a large group.
It will be difficult for some children to organise themselves into groups of
three for example but this is an opportunity for children to learn to be
flexible in their groupings in order for the game to run smoothly. It is not
easy deferring to the choices of others when you are inexperienced! A less
contentious version would be to double up each time – one, two, four, eight
etc.
|
Return to the ‘Singing
games for children’ home page