Literacy Tip

Hi, I’m Gigi and I’d like to share a rhyme with you. Toddlers especially love making the sounds that go with the animals in this rhyme.

Some of the old rhymes have great vocabulary that we don’t use as part of our everyday life. We might say field instead of meadow, and we don’t even have haystacks much any more. This traditional rhyme has unusual words and lots to talk about.

Transcript

Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn (hold one hand to face and pretend to blow on horn)
The sheep are in the meadow (stomp feet)
The cows are in the corn (stomp feet)
Where is the little boy who looks after the sheep (hold hand over eyes and look around)?
He’s under the haystack fast asleep (pretend to sleep).
Will you wake him? Oh no, not I (shake head).
For if I do, he’s sure to cry (pretend to cry).

Video Information

• Creator: Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy
• Performers: Gigi Pagliarulo
• Contributors: Rocky Mountain PBS
• Source: Public Domain