Nursery Rhymes or Songs with Lyrics and Actions

I really take my hat off my mum. She can play with my one-year old niece for hours on end. For me, I run out of things to do with her after half an hour.

Given that babies love songs and actions, I decided to learn some nursery rhymes to “entertain” my niece and future baby. I learnt some of these songs as a child, but I can’t remember all the lyrics and definitely not the actions.

Here’s some good ones I found. Watch the youtube videos if you can’t remember the actions like me.

For those experienced mummies who use nursery rhymes to bond with your baby, care to share your experience with us new mummies?

This Little Piggy
This little piggy went to market (touch and wiggle thumb)
This little piggy stayed home (touch and wiggle index finger)
This little piggy had roast beef (touch and wiggle middle finger)
This little piggy had none (touch and wiggle ring finger)
And this little piggy cried,
“Wee, wee, wee!” (touch and wiggle pinky)
All the way home.

The Itsy, Bitsy Spider
The itsy, bitsy spider
Went up the water spout (put finger to opposite thumb and pretend to crawl up)
Down came the rain (wiggle fingers from top of “spout” down to lap)
And washed the spider out (move hands/arms across lap)
Out came the sun (move hands in large circles to show sun coming out)
And dried up all the rain.
And the itsy, bitsy spider (show spider again going up)
Went up the spout again.

If You’re Happy and You Know It
If you’re happy and you know it,
Clap your hands.
If you’re happy and you know it,
Clap your hands.
If you’re happy and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it,
If you’re happy and you know it,
Clap your hands.

Suggestions for other verses:
stamp your feet
pat your legs
wiggle your ears

I’m a Little Teapot
I’m a little teapot, short and stout (bend knees)
Here is my handle, here is my spout (put hand on hip with elbow out;the other hand should go out to be a spout)
When I get all steamed up,
Hear me shout,
“Tip me over and pour me out.” (pretend to tip over)

The Wheels on the Bus
The wheels on the bus go round and round, (bend your arms and make them go around like wheels)
Round and round, round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
All through the town.

The doors on the bus go open and shut, (open and shut your hands as if clapping)
Open and shut, open and shut
The doors on the bus go open and shut,
All through the town

Other verses:
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish. use your hands as wipers back and forth
The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep. pretend to beep a horn
The money on the bus goes clink, clink, clink. pretend to put money in
The driver on the bus says, “Move on back.” hand-motion your thumb over your shoulder
to move on back
The people on the bus go up and down, sit up and down