Winter Preschool Songs and Rhymes

Read about the Benefits of Preschool Songs and Nursery Rhymes

More Winter Preschool Activities

Extensive Nursery Rhyme List

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Little Polly Flinders

Dr. Foster Went to Gloucester

Rain, Rain Go Away

The North Wind Doth Blow/The Robin

Cold and Raw, the North Wind

Christmas is Coming

Little Jack Horner

Pease Porridge Hot

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush

Little Polly Flinders
Sat among the cinders,
Warming her pretty little toes.
Her mother came and caught her,
And whipped her little daughter
For spoiling her nice new clothes.

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Doctor Foster Went to Gloucester

Doctor Foster went to Gloucester
In a shower of rain,
He stepped in a puddle,
Right up to his middle,
And never went there again.

The origins of "Doctor Foster” date back to the 13th century when King Edward 1 ("Doctor Foster") was thought to have visited Gloucester in England and fell from his horse into a large, muddy puddle! Apparently he was so humiliated by this accident that he refused to ever visit Gloucester again! This rhyme was a warning to children in days of old, before modern roads, that what may seem to be a shallow puddle could in fact be much deeper!

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Rain rain go away,
Come again another day.
Little Johnny wants to play;
Rain, rain, go to Spain,
Never show your face again!

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The North Wind Doth Blow / The Robin
The North wind doth blow and we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then, poor thing?
He'll sit in a barn and keep himself warm
and hide his head under his wing, poor thing.

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Cold and raw the north wind doth blow
Bleak in the morning early,
All the hills are covered with snow,
And winters now come fairly.

Snowflake activity

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Christmas is Coming

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat
Please to put a penny in the old man's hat;
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do,
If you haven't got a ha'penny then God bless you!

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Little Jack Horner
Sat in a corner
Eating a Christmas pie
He put in his thumb
And pulled out a plum
And said "Oh, what a good boy am I!"

Legend has it that Little Jack Horner was actually Thomas Horner, steward to the Abbot of Glastonbury during the reign of King Henry VIII. When it was heard that the king would soon be reaching for some Glastonbury holdings, the Abbot, hoping to appease him, sent the king a special gift: a pie containing twelve deeds to manor houses. On route to London, the not-so-loyal courier Horner stuck his thumb into the pie and removed the deed for Mells Manor, a “plum” piece of real estate, where his descendants live to this day.

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Pease porridge hot!
Pease porridge cold!
Pease porridge in the pot
Nine days old.

Some like it hot,
Some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot
Nine days old!

The pease pudding hot is a dish which is still enjoyed in Britain today. It is a smooth, thick, dark yellow sauce, referred to as a pudding or porridge in the rhyme. Pease pudding is a hot dish made from dried peas which can be re-heated as often as required. It is traditionally served hot with boiled bacon or a form of sausage called a saveloy.

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Here we go round the mulberry bush

Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
On a cold and frosty morning.

This is the way we wash our clothes,
Wash our clothes, wash our clothes.
This is the way we wash our clothes,
On a cold and frosty morning.

This is the way we iron our clothes,
Iron our clothes, iron our clothes.
This is the way we iron our clothes,
On a cold and frosty morning.

This is the way we scrub the floor,
Scrub the floor, scrub the floor.
This is the way we scrub the floor,
On a cold and frosty morning.

This is the way we mend our clothes,
Mend our clothes, mend our clothes.
This is the way we mend our clothes,
On a cold and frosty morning.

This is the way we sweep the house,
Sweep the house, sweep the house.
This is the way we sweep the house,
On a cold and frosty morning.

This is the way we bake our bread,
Bake our bread, bake our bread.
This is the way we bake our bread,
On a cold and frosty morning.

This is the way we go to church,
go to church, go to church.
This is the way we go to church,
On a cold and frosty morning.

Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
On a cold and frosty morning.

This well-known children's nursery rhyme may have started as a song or chant by inmates of Wakefield prison (England) as they exercised around a mulberry bush within the prison grounds. The mulberry bush (or more accurately, tree) still thrives at the prison today.

There are some variations to the rhyme. One common one is the changing of the last line of each verse from 'On a cold and frosty morning' to 'So early in the morning' or 'So early Monday morning' (through to Sunday - one verse for each day of the week)

The last verse is often sung as:- This is the way we get dressed up, get dressed up, get dressed up, This is the way we get dressed up, so early Sunday morning.

The repetitive structure of the rhyme allows for endless variation, and as such lets children can add their own everyday activities….eg. This is the way we brush our hair, brush our teeth, fold our clothes etc.

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