Nursery Rhymes

In our Village class this semester we are starting with Hickory Dickory Tickle and Bounce. Much of the material for this class comes from classic nursery rhymes. Our lap bounce for the first couple of weeks is.
Cackle Cackle Mother Goose
Have you any feathers loose?
Truly have I pretty fellow,
Quite enough to fill a pillow.
This was a nursery rhyme I was unfamiliar with so I decided to look it up. Google is a great thing. The actual nursery rhyme has a couple more lines at the end:Here are quills take one or two,
And down to fill a bed for you.
This is an interesting website that discusses the origins, history and lyrics of many nursery rhymes. Check it out for some fun background information.
In Fiddle Dee Dee, we are doing the lap bounce, The Dog Went To Dover. I also found an interesting poem by Arthur Guiterman (1871 - 1943) about the meaning of this nursery rhyme. It begins:
“Leg over leg
As the dog went to Dover;
When he came to a stile,
Jump he went over.”
1Perhaps you wouldn’t see it here,
2But, to my fancy, ‘t is quite clear
3That Mother Goose just meant to show
4How the dog Patience on doth go:
5With steadfast nozzle, pointing low, –
6Leg over leg, however slow, –
7And labored breath, but naught complaining,
8Still, at each footstep, somewhat gaining, –
9Quietly plodding, mile on mile,
10 And gathering for a nervous bound
11At every interposing stile, –
12 So traversing the tedious ground,
13Till all, at length, he measures over,
14And walks, a victor, into Dover.
To see the rest of the poem visit this site.
Isn’t it fun to know that while we are playing children’s songs and games there is so much for us as adults to learn as well. There are many videos on YouTube that have recitations of nursery rhymes and illustrations and or animations. Enjoy!