Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Nursery Rhymes gone wrong

In the process of raising children, you rediscover nursery rhymes, songs and playground chants that you forgot long ago. I can't tell you how many times I end up singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", "Ring Around the Rosies", or "The Ants Go Marching" in a day.

If I sing one song, I am instantly inundated with requests for other songs my son is familiar with. The other day I caught Jonah sing "Rock-a-bye Baby" to Eli. It was the most precious thing I have ever seen!

Jonah is pretty good with things that rhyme. He can (mostly) recite "Jack be nimble" and "Humpty Dumpty" as well as some others. But sometimes it seems that these rhymes get lost in translation. Either that, or they get deliberately changed. For example, in the past week I taught my son this rhyme that I remember from playing on the playground:

Teeter totter, bread and water
Wash your face in dirty water.

Remember that one? Jonah thought it was hilarious. He has been reciting it over and over. Then he came up with his own version:

Teeter totter, bread and water
Wash your face and dirty french fries.

Then he giggles hysterically, like he has just told the funniest joke ever. What a nut! I don't know where he came up with the dirty french fries part!

Ok, gotta go. I have had to sing "the ants go marching" up to "six by six" while typing this and it is starting to make my brain hurt. Although it is amusing to watch Jonah march around the coffee table!

5 comments:

  1. Dirty french fries...that should get you some interesting go*gle searches, hee hee.

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  2. I love it that you are teaching those nursery rhymes and songs. You would be surprised how few parents teach them anymore. They are so good for preliteracy. Happy singing!

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  3. My son's favorite "rewrites:"
    London Bridge is falling down, became "under the bridge is falling down."
    My Bonnie Lies over the ocean became "my body lies over the ocean."
    From the Wise Man song, The rain came down and the flood came up became "the rain came down and the flies come up."
    And the itsy bitsy spider became "the ditsy, ditsy spider!"
    Kids are always good for a laugh!

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  4. I've never heard the "dirty water" rhyme, but my sons would love it!

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  5. That's so cute - dirty french fries! When my son was little, he would sing twinkle twinkle little star, and when it got to the "up above the world so high" he would sing it "uppa bubba world so high." :) Of course, I thought it was so cute!

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