The Pumpkin Eater
Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her
Put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well.
Nursery Rhymes, Songs, and Fingerplays for Kids
Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her
Put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well.
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake
{clap hands}
Baker’s man
{clap hands}
Bake me a cake
{clap hands}
As fast as you can.
{clap hands}
Roll it and pat it
{roll hands, pat stomach}
And mark it with a B
{draw letter “B” with finger}
And throw it in the oven
{throw hands in the air}
For baby and me.
With newborns and infants, hold their hands while you do the actions so their arms move too. As children get older and become more familiar with the actions, they’ll begin to do them on their own. My little ones loved to clap their hands and roll their arms.
This rhyme usually ends with kisses all over baby’s face, neck and stomach. It’s a great bonding rhyme.
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.
Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a rail,
Niddle, naddle went his head,
Wiggle, waggle went his tail.
The man in the moon
Came down too soon
And asked his way to Norwich
He went by the south
And burnt his mouth
With supping cold plum porridge
The man in the moon looked down from the moon
Looked down from the moon and said,
“Tis time for all children on the earth
To think about going to bed.”
“The bunnies now must go to bed,”
The furry mother bunny said.
“But I must count them first to see
If they have all come back to me.
One bunny, two bunnies, three bunnies dear,
Four bunnies, five bunnies; yes, they’re all here.
They are the prettiest things alive,
My bunnies, one, two, three, four, five.”
Pitter-patter, pitter-pat
The rain goes on for hours.
And though it keeps me in the house
It’s very good for flowers.
Wee Willy Winkie runs through the town
Upstairs, downstairs in his nightgown
Rapping on the window and crying through the lock,
“Are your children in their beds? For now it’s eight o’clock!”
Interactive idea: Run your fingers up and down the child’s back as Willy goes up and down the stairs. Knock on a hard surface then put had around mouth to emphasize crying through the lock.