Tag: Rhymes

Icky Sticky and Ooey Gooey

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“Icky Sticky and Ooey Gooey” was a song I didn’t hear until I became a parent, but I immediately fell in love.

Here’s a video so you can hear the song.  By the lack of videos on the Internet, I see “Icky Sticky” isn’t as popular as others, but I think it’s just swell.  It teaches rhyming and body parts, but it’s just cute and fun, whatever age/stage your kids are.  I love singing this one on car trips and having my younger fill in the rhyming word or my older helping me think of a new verse.

Icky Sticky and Ooey Gooey
They went out one day.
Said Icky Sticky to Ooey Gooey,
“Won’t you come and play?”
So Icky Sticky and Ooey Gooey
They played on a ______
But Icky Sticky got stuck to Ooey Gooey’s ______.

 

So maybe they play in a TREE and Icky gets stuck to Ooey’s KNEE
Or they play in the SKY and Icky gets stuck to Ooey’s EYE

Get the idea?  Part of the fun is coming up with the rhymes.  I have usually heard it using body parts as the “answers,” but really you could pick a theme and they could get stuck to each other’s clothing or furniture or toys, etc.

Here are some examples for the body parts:

with a HOSE /  NOSE

in the SAND / HAND

on a FARM / ARM

at the FAIR / HAIR

on the DECK / NECK

on the TRACK / BACK

…and so on

    Have fun with this one!

 

Chester van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme

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2022
words by Avery Monsen
pictures by Abby Hanlon

This is a great book for teaching rhyming, but it’s also just a darling read.  Chester van Chime spends his day forgetting how to rhyme.  So, for each set up, there’s a silly alternate word instead of the expected rhyming one.

He walked past the butcher and walked past the baker.  
He passed Mr. Waxler, the candlestick…guy.

The kids get such a kick out of these missed rhyming opportunities and the friendly fox who always seems to be pointing to the correct ending.  The accompanying illustrations are so clever.  In the background of what’s going on in the story, you can spot many fun rhyming pictures – a troll holding a bowl, a whale on a pail, etc.  This book is definitely getting promoted from library copy to one on our shelf.

Resources for Songs, Rhymes, and Finger Plays

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Online Resources of Song, Rhyme, and Finger Play Collections

–Alina Celeste
Alina’s YouTube channel has an incredible assortment of songs and finger plays.  Many of them are in Spanish as well!  Her cute quirkiness and fun interactions make these entertaining for kids and adults.

–Jbrary
Dana and Lindsey are children’s librarians who have posted a very generous number of videos that might be found at a StoryTime circle.  There are songs, rhymes, finger plays, and more all organized by theme.  They are so darling to watch, and they remind me of some of the enthusiasm I used to have with children before becoming a mom.  =D  Check out their website too for wonderful book recommendations and felt board activities.

–Singing Games for Children
Dany Rosevear has an amazing collection of songs and resources on here, as well as links to her singing them on YouTube!  So sweet and so organized.  I want to sit and have tea with her on a weekly basis!

–Mamalisa
MamaLisa has a beautiful collection of children’s songs from around the world.  Most of the songs have an audio of the song, lyrics in multiple languages, sheet music, and links to multiple YouTube videos of the song.  The blog also has incredible links and information.  If you’re looking a multi-cultural approach to your children’s song collection, you must visit this site.

–Molly Whuppie
Ack! Just found Molly, and I love her so much!

Children’s Songs and Musicians that Aren’t Annoying

In this post I talk about how often I walk into a kids’ shop and hear either completely sappy ‘kid’ tracks that seem to belittle our kids’ tastes or pumping club music that seems to rob our kids of childhood with every bass thump.  Here’s the thing.  There’s PLENTY of kid-geared music in between these two extremes.  I’m just not sure why the shops I’ve visited can’t seem to find it.

So, here’s a(n ongoing) list of some of the songs and musicians who (I think) find the wonderful balance of gearing their music towards children, without trying to “sing down” to them and without trying to make their music into a dance club.  Bonus is that it’s all music we adults can enjoy too.

–Emily Arrow
We found Emily on her YouTube channel where she sings songs based on children’s picture books.  But she also teaches ukulele, writes books, and runs a podcast, among other things.  She’s darling, and I adore her.

–Okee Dokee Brothers
I only recently found the Okee Dokee Brothers.  Joe and Justin sing Nature-themed songs that are so much fun.  Love these guys.

–Minnutes
I can’t find a lot of information on Minnutes, nor can I tell if they’re geared solely towards children’s music, but I’ve heard some of their songs on Spotify and they’re fun and happy.

–Elizabeth Mitchell
I “found” Elizabeth Mitchell when I was pregnant with my first.  I immediately fell in love with her gentle and soulful interpretations of children’s folk songs.
You can also find some music videos on YouTube for some of her songs that always make me yearn to run through meadows and picnic under the stars.

YouTube kid songs:

–Lily on Adventure Sandwich has wonderful songs like: Just the Way You Are, New Friends Make You Feel Special, and Happy Father’s Day

Polly, Put the Kettle On

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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.

The nursery rhyme “Polly Put the Kettle On” dates back to the early 1800s, and the tune dates back to the late 1700s.  It’s one of my favorites for some reason.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that when my youngest was a baby, I felt like I was constantly having a little dance with making tea where I’d start the water and then have to turn it off again before I could actually get around to making a cup.  As much as I love this little song, but I’ve struggled to find (bearable) versions of it online.  I rather like this one I did find, but the video quality isn’t great:

Polly Put the Kettle On

Mostly I found these bluegrass-y/folksy versions, which are a lot of fun, even if they aren’t quite the little nursery rhyme I had set out to find:

Fiddle and banjo

This one has more adult lyrics (nothing bad, just not kid) and is a lot of fun.

I’m going to continue my search for more versions of this rhyme and post them here if I find them.

Two Little Friends

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This is one of my favorite finger plays and one we turn to often.  It’s a great one for learning opposites and reinforcing rhyming words.  We often leave out the finger play part and just do just the lyrics of this one while on a car ride.  We take turns coming up with rhymes.  I had always heard it as “Two Little Birds,” but I like “Two Little Friends,” since it allows for various finger puppets or little painted faces on fingers.

Lyrics:
Two little friends, sitting on a hill
One named Jack and one named Jill.
Run away, Jack!
Run away, Jill!
Come back, Jack!
Come back, Jill!

After that, you can start having fun with the lyrics.  If the friends are sitting on a cloud, one can be named “quiet” and one named “loud.”

Or they can be sitting on a pot, with one named “cold” and one named “hot.”  Sometimes the places get rather silly as I search for rhyming words.  When I do “young” and “old,” these poor friends always seem to end up sitting on some mold.  But, I think the silliness adds to the fun.  It’s a good brain exercise for me as I try to keep it going, and it usually holds the kids’ attention as they try to guess the rhyming opposite word.

Alina Celeste has a great example of just how fun this rhyming finger play can be!