Some classic Mother Goose rhymes every child should know

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye;
Four and twenty blackbirds,
Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing;
Wasn't that a dainty dish,
To set before the king?

The king was in his counting house,
Counting out his money;
The Queen was in the parlor
Eating bread and honey.

The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes,
When along came a blackbird
And pecked off her nose.


Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn,
The sheep's in the meadow,
The cow's in the corn.
Where is the boy
Who looks after the sheep?
He's under the haystack
Fast asleep.


Here's another good bouncing rhyme--
Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,
To see a fine lady upon a white horse;
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
And she shall have music wherever she goes.

Some short rhymes that are good to know:

                I.
Jack Sprat could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean,
And so between the two of them,
They licked the platter clean.

               II.
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea.

Sukey take it off again,
Sukey take it off again,
Sukey take it off again,
They've all gone away.

               III.
Hey diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such a sport,
And the dish ran away from the spoon.

This one is also a classic song:

Baa, baa, blck seep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir,
Three bags full;
One for my master,
And one for my dame,
One for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

Some good lap-sit Mother Goose rhymes

Use these rhymes with your child sitting on your lap. Bounce the child up and down to the rhythm of the rhyme. You can also lift the baby up in the air, clap, or tickle his toes. A good rhythm is to do each rhyme twice.


Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Use this with your child on your lap, bouncing him/her to the rythm of the rhyme.
Dramatize the words "had a great fall" by pretending your child will fall from your lap.


Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such a sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon!

Another good rhyme to use bouncing with your child on your lap.
When you get to "the little dog laughed," quickly go "ha ha ha" and the young will probably smile.


Pease porrige hot!
Pease porrige cold!
Pease porrige in the pot
Nine days old.

Some like it hot,
Some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot
Nine days old!

This rhyme is also good as a lap rhyme. It is also great as a clapping rhyme, or with a Pat-a-cake motion. In the public library I used a tamborine with this. Add a sound after the end of each rhyming verse to give it more rhythm.


Hickory, dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The moue ran down.
Hickory, dickory dock.

In the public library I added 3 more verses, which aren't really part of this rhyme,  to give it a counting function.

Hickory, dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck two
and away he flew!
Hickory, dickory dock.

Hickory, dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck three
and he did flee!
Hickory, dickory dock.

Hickory, dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck four
and he was out the door!
Hickory, dickory dock.

Why Mother Goose?

Young children love rhyming words and it is often the first thing they notice about a story. Much of the appeal of Mother Goose rhymes lies in the musical quality of the phrases. The rhythm and rhyme of the verses make for a very joyful introduction to language. In fact, Mother Goose is a learning experience. What young children learn when they hear and recite Mother Goose rhymes is the rhythm of the language. That rhythm of the language, when it is mastered at an early age, will help them later when they begin to read. 

Charlotte Huck, children's literature expert, sites a study done on nursrey rhymes which found that their early experience with rhymes develops "phonemic awareness." "Children's ability to manipulate the sounds of words as they sing and chant nursery rhymes is a necessary foundation for understanding relationships between letters and sounds and contributes to their emergent literacy development." (Kiefer,Barbara; Charlotte Huck's Children's Literature, 10th edition, NY:McGraw Hill, p. 114).   

Nursery rhymes also allow young children the opportunity to actively participate and respond. They love to clap hands with "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man," or to be bounced on a parent's knee in "Ride a Cock Horse." Songs such as "London Bridge" or "Ring around the Roses" are circle games that involve an action from the child. Other verses are counting rhymes such as "1, 2, buckle my shoe." What child doesn't enjoy "This little piggy went to market," when the parent has the piggy squeal all the way home, usually to the child's chin or ear.

Another appeal of many Mother Goose rhymes is their ability to tell a story quickly. "Little Miss Muffet" is only six lines. Yet in those six lines there is a story, some action and a conclusion. This could also be said for "Old Mother Hubbard" and "The Old Woman in the Shoe." How quickly things resolve, making these rhymes memorable for the young child.

Children should be exposed to the rhythm and rhyme of Mother Goose. For many children, this is their first introduction to world of literature. In addition, it is a way of parent and child to interactwith each other.