Sunshine
pie
songs written by Dany
Rosevear
Down the garden
path
Bees, knees and
thrushes ankles
Busy little bees
Can you step, can you hop?
Georgina’s garden
Good evening, hungry hedgehog
Here comes the little centipede
Here comes trouble!
If a bee is buzzing round you
Rob Webb and the cobweb
Little sparrow
Look up, look down
Snails lunch
The yellow digger
Last updated: 19/05/2019
15:09
The songs below are part of ‘Sunshine pie’
written and illustrated by Dany Rosevear
Return to
the ‘Singing games for children’ home
page
To
listen to music from these songs click on
O
To watch the author sing a song click on the title at:
© Dany
Rosevear 2012 All rights reserved
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.
Bees’ knees and
thrushes ankles O In answer to my persistent query
‘What’s for dinner?’ my grandmother would often reply ‘Bees, knees and thrushes ankles’. You can find many more delightful replies in different parts of the country by asking friends: ‘wait and see’,
‘sheep’s socks and cauliflower’ are other replies. To make this game more complicated place arms on shoulders. |
Chorus Bees’ knees and thrushes ankles, thrushes ankles, thrushes ankles, Bees’ knees and thrushes ankles, A funny little song! BOOM! Fleas hop and spiders wriggle, spiders wriggle, spiders wriggle, Fleas hop and spiders wriggle, As they move along. BOOM! Chorus Frogs jump and ducklings dabble, ducklings dabble, ducklings dabble, Frogs jump and ducklings dabble, As they move along. BOOM! Chorus Jellies shake and wibble wobble, wibble wobble, wibble wobble, Jellies shake and wibble wobble, As they move along. BOOM! Chorus |
Children stand in a circle
holding hand. Bend knees each time they are mentioned. The circle moves to
the left. Step left with left foot, cross right foot in front of left, step
left and so on. On ‘BOOM!’ jump to turn right Drop hands and turn to the
right. Hop once then step and wriggle three times. Hop and wriggle once. On ‘BOOM!’ jump to turn left. Chorus as before. Drop hands and move right. Jump
once then step and flap elbows three times. Jump and flap elbows once. On ‘BOOM!’ jump to turn left. Chorus as before. Drop hands and move right. Shake
once then wobble three times. Shake and wobble once. On ‘BOOM!’ jump to turn left. Chorus as before. |
Busy little bees O Get moving in the garden just like the busy
bees. Children can
choose whether to buzz, hum or sing during the verses. The chorus is very
fast for younger children but they will enjoy moving quickly to this song;
the leader can sing alone if this is a difficulty and then more confident may
very well join in. If safety is an issue when children move to the fast music they can run
on the spot. |
Busy little bees like buzzing, buzzing, Busy little bees like buzzing, buzzing, Busy little bees like buzzing, buzzing, Here and there round the garden. Chorus Busy, busy, busy, no time for thinking, Busy, busy, busy, no time for blinking, We’re getting tired and the sun is sinking, Now it’s time to STOP! Busy little bees like dancing, dancing, Busy little bees like dancing, dancing, Busy little bees like dancing, dancing, In and out the flowers. Chorus Busy little bees like humming, humming, Busy little bees like humming, humming, Busy little bees like humming, humming, Making us lots of honey. Brown bread and butter with lots of honey, Brown bread and butter with lots of honey, We’re getting full and feeling funny, Now it’s time to ... ... SIT! |
Run slowly round the room
flapping elbows, in and out of each other – no bumping! Move as before but faster –
safety will need stressing; warn children that on the word STOP! you will look to
see if each child has a space of its own. Find a partner cross hands and
skip round. Chorus: Skip round with partner
ready to stop immediately on the last word. Skip round in a large circle or
in fours. Stop and rub tummy on last line. In the circle run on the spot
with high knees rubbing tummy. Pass back of hand across
forehead. Sit and fold arms. |
Can you step, can you hop? O Learn to skip with a step and a hop, outside preferably! Words by Dany Rosevear © and set to a
traditional tune. Verse 1: Put the left foot down and hop, do the same with the right
foot, continue with this sequence; hooray you are skipping! Verse 2: As before then find a partner and either skip alongside each
other holding inside hands. Children who find skipping easy could face their
partner holding crossed hands and skip round on the spot. |
Can you step,
can you hop and go skipping on your toes, Out in the
garden where the grass and daisies grow? Step and hop and
step and hop and step and hop like so, Out in the
garden where the grass and daisies grow. We can step, we
can hop, watch us skipping as we go, Out in the
garden where the grass and daisies grow. Skipping,
skipping, skipping, skipping; we could skip all day, Take my hand,
we’ll skip together, off and away! |
Good evening, hungry hedgehog O
A song for Autumn. Hedgehogs are the gardener’s friend eating all sorts of
garden pests and foraging on the lawn, in hedges and the undergrowth. They are also in trouble, hedgehog numbers have fallen by
30% in the last ten years; find out what you can do to help reverse this: http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/hedgehogs. Also visit: www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk
. You can also sign and share the #hedgehogpetition calling for greater legal
protection of hedgehogs https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/121264
|
Good evening, hungry hedgehog, My little garden friend, There’s snails and slugs and many bugs, To forage without end; Beetles, aphids, other pests, Are there for you to munch, The fallen fruits of Autumn Make such a lovely lunch. So glad to see you hedgehog, You’re welcome here to dine, My garden is your garden too, This garden’s yours and mine! This garden’s
yours and mine! |
Here comes the little centipede O A ‘centipede’ is a misnomer as it has legs rather than feet and can
have between 30 and 350 of them. It is possible to find one with one hundred
legs but as one Wikipedia blogger remarked they're so ticklish, it's
very hard to count! Make lines of at least six children; place hands on the
shoulder of the child in front. Practice synchronizing the movement of first
right and then left feet before setting off. |
Here comes the little centipede, With a hundred feet, with a hundred feet, Here comes the little centipede, And his head flew away to the beat! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! |
The leader walks the line around
the room. Stop and waggle first right then
left feet. Walk as before. The head of the line makes three
or more jumps in time to the music to join the tail. The new leader then takes the
line off once again to continue the game. |
Here comes trouble! O The dark is not
always as peaceful as it seems and many predatory daytime activities continue
through the night. Introduce and investigate words and ideas such as nocturnal,
predators and food chain. You will find several of the
creatures in this song move about in both the day and the night time. Children can sit to make the movements
below or move around in a space. |
1.
Make hands open and close like a mouth. Roll arms and clap.
x3
Rub
tummy. Repeat first movement. Make hands open and close like a mouth
2.
Cross hands and make them fly all around. Shake finger. Flutter hands.
Place
palms together and open and shut them on GULP!
3.
Place one hand on top of the other with thumbs out and make swimming movements.
Mime
as before.Continue making appropriate actions with hands and arms.
Chorus Uh oh! Here comes trouble, gobble gobble slurp, Gobble gobble slurp, gobble gobble slurp, I’m hungry! Here comes trouble, gobble gobble slurp, Who’s out a-hunting for a dinner in the dark? Blue moth flutters in the evening sky, In the evening sky, in the evening sky, Watch out moth! Blue moth flutters in the evening sky, As a goldfish hunting spies a dinner in the dark... GULP! Chorus Goldfish burbles, bubble bubble pop, Bubble bubble pop, bubble bubble pop, Watch out fish! Goldfish burbles, bubble bubble pop! As a green frog hunting spies a dinner in the dark... GULP! Chorus Green frog jumps high, hippy hippy hop, Hippy hippy hop, hippy hippy hop, Watch out frog! Green frog jumps high, hippy hippy hop, As a grass snake hunting spies a dinner in the dark... GULP! Chorus Grass snake wriggles, wiggle wiggle squirm, Wiggle wiggle squirm, wiggle wiggle squirm, Watch out snake! Grass snake wriggles, wiggle wiggle squirm, As a hedgehog hunting spies a dinner in the dark... GULP! Chorus Hedgehog rustles, rustle rustle rake, Rustle rustle rake, rustle rustle rake, Watch out Spike! Hedgehog rustles, rustle rustle rake, As a badger hunting spies a dinner in the dark... GULP! Badger scampers, all the way back home, All the way back home, all the way back home, It’s bedtime! Badger scampers, all the way back home, Listen! It’s the lark - no more dinners in the dark.
|
If a bee is buzzing round you O What do you
fear when a bee comes near? – This song suggests the safest option for
avoiding a nasty sting. Doing nothing, however, in such circumstances is
often harder than the alternatives. Stand facing a
partner. |
If a bee is
buzzing round you just keep still, If a bee is
buzzing round you just keep still. For he thinks you
are a flower, You must whisper
“Please go now sir!” Then the bee will
fly away, oh yes he will. Do not flap and
stamp and shout with voices shrill, Do not flap and
stamp and shout with voices shrill. If you shoo that bee away, Then the little chap will say, “I’ll sting before you hurt me, yes I will!” If a bee is
buzzing round you just keep still, If a bee is
buzzing round you just keep still. When that bee
flies away, You can shout
“Hip, hip hooray!” And watch him
find a flower for he will. Perhaps he’ll
find yellow daffodil! |
Link arms with a partner and skip round. Stand like a statue on the
word ‘still’.ake flower shape
round head. Put finger to lips. Skip round with arms linked. Flap hands and
stamp. Move finger from side to side. Swipe bee away. Wag finger. Repeat as for the first verse. Cross hands and make them flap. Put hands to mouth and shout. Put hand to eyes. Skip round with arms linked the other way. |
Little sparrow O
A song for Winter. Sparrow numbers have fallen drastically in the UK in the
last four decades, I remember seeing large populations in towns and cities
when I was young. There has however been a reversal in recent years in
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland though the decline continues in England;
find out more at the RSPB: http://www.rspb.org.uk/forprofessionals/science/research/details.aspx?id=198323
. |
Sparrow in the winter, Pecking in the street, Have you got a place to rest And enough to eat? Hop into my garden And on a table spread, You’ll find a feast of mealworms, Seeds and crumbs of bread. Little sparrow, hungry sparrow, Nod your tiny head; Sing a song of springtime And warmer days ahead. Sing a song of springtime And warmer days ahead. Sparrow in the springtime, Feathered little friend; If you need a place to nest I can recommend The hedgerow in my garden, It is so thick and wide, Where you can lay a clutch of eggs, Secretly inside. And here your fluffy fledglings, Can grow and safely hide And sing their songs of summertime Until it’s time to fly. And sing their songs of summertime Until it’s time to fly. |
Look up, look down O
We walk along with blinkers on for much of the day, not
even noticing what is in front of us. We need to make time and a conscious
effort to see and appreciate what is happening in our vicinity. Encourage young children to notice, to be excited by and
name flora and fauna around them. |
Chorus Look up, look down, Look everywhere around! LOOK UP… I can see a seagull fly, Way up in the big blue sky. Chorus LOOK DOWN… I can see a golden worm, Hiding underneath a stone. Chorus LOOK LEFT… I can see a small sunflower, Growing taller by the hour. Chorus LOOK RIGHT… I can see a busy bee, Making honey for my tea. Chorus LOOK ALL AROUND… I can see a world of things, If I use my
eyes and sing… Chorus |
Rob Webb and the cobweb O Weave a web like spider in this game. Children stand
in a circle holding hands. One child ‘spider’ stands in the middle. As more
children become spiders the circle will need to step further back before
reforming to give plenty of space to those skipping. |
My son Rob Webb saw a cobweb, With a spider sitting in it. ‘Wow!’ said Rob Webb to that mop head, ‘Did you spin it in a minute, did you spin it in a minute, did you
spin it in a minute?’ Then said Rob Webb so politely, ‘Could you
spin a web for me?’ |
The circle walks round the
spider who sits in the middle. The children drop hands and step
back so spider can skip in and out of the circle. On the last ‘minute’ spider
stops to face the nearest child and holding hands they skip round on the
spot. Both sit in the circle to begin
the game again. The two then skip in and out round the circle and choose a
partner as before. There are then four in the
middle and the game continues until everyone is holding hands and skipping
round. |
Snails lunch O Any gardener who has lost their young
wallflowers to snails only hours after planting will appreciate this one. A striking
change of tempo characterizes this song and this would make a good finger
play up and down a toddler’s arm – first on one arm then the other. The simple game
below will help develop a sense of space. |
Snails, snails, snails, snails, In our garden crawl, Oh my goodness, how those snails run, Up the orchard wall! Snails lunch, munch, munch, Hear them cry and call, “Oh my goodness, so delicious, Flowers big and small!” |
Creep slowly around the room in
and out of each other. Run quickly in and out – no
bumping! As before but moving hands in a
biting movement. Rub tummy when running in and
out. Stretch high and then crouch low to finish. |
The
yellow digger O
What sound does a digger make? This one sings as it works. |
The digger is yellow; it’s shiny and strong; It’s out in my garden and singing this song: “I’ll dig here and dig there and make a big mound, Just see how my bucket digs deep in the ground.” The driver is ready, the lever is pulled, It’s strong arm is moving, the bucket is full: “I’ll dig here and dig there ‘cos digging is fun, I’ll never stop working until the job’s done.” The digger is yellow; it’s shiny and strong; It’s out in my garden and singing this song: “I’ll dig here and dig there to build a fine
drive, And when the job’s over I’ll wave you goodbye.” |
Return to the
‘Singing games for
children’ home
page