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.