As Baby’s grasp on language grows, they probably isn’t shy about showing off their new skills – and why should they be? They have made huge strides towards being fluent in a whole new language in less than a year! One of the best ways to show your appreciation for Baby’s growing linguistic excellence is to give them plenty of fun ways to show off their new skills and expand their vocabulary – and what better way is there to do both of those things than in a silly song?
Miss Mary Mack
Baby can get the jump on their future classmates with this classic, since it usually makes its way into children’s lives as a playground game, and Baby is still a few years away from playing nicely with other children on the jungle gym. The rhyming and repetition of the song make it great for catching Baby’s attention, and since they have either recently mastered the fine art of clapping or is just about to, it’ll be a great chance for them to show off. And what toddler doesn’t love a song about elephants?
It isn’t clear where or when Miss Mary Mack started, though the first recorded version of the rhyme goes back to 1846, and has been part of children’s clapping games throughout the English-speaking world.
Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack,
all dressed in black, black, black
with silver button, button, buttons
all down her back, back, back,
She asked her mother, mother, mother
for fifteen cents, cents, cents
to see the elephants, elephants, elephants
jump over the fence, fence, fence
They jumped so high, high, high
they touched the sky, sky, sky
and they didn’t come back, back, back
till the fourth of July, ly, ly.
Apples and Bananas
Whether Baby has had the chance to sample ay-ples and ba-nay-nays for themself or not yet, there’s no harm in doing a little early influencing in the direction of healthy eating, is there? And with songs like this one, Baby can learn about rhyming, and even eventually do a little improv to add their own verses.
I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas,
I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas.
I like to ate, ate, ate ay-ples and ba-nay-nays,
I like to ate, ate, ate ay-ples and ba-nay-nays.
I like to eat, eat, eat eep-ples and be-nee-nees,
I like to eat, eat, eat eep-ples and be-nee-nees.
I like to ite, ite, ite i-ples and bi-ni-nis,
I like to ite, ite, ite i-ples and bi-ni-nis.
I like to ote, ote, ote o-ples and bo-no-nos,
I like to ote, ote, ote o-ples and bo-no-nos.
I like to oot, oot, oot oo-ples and boo-noo-noos,
I like to oot, oot, oot oo-ples and boo-noo-noos.
If You’re Happy and You Know It
Imitating you is Baby’s favorite activity already, so why not officially turn it into a game? Okay, so as music goes, If You’re Happy and You Know It may not have the most sophisticated melody or hauntingly beautiful lyrics, but it definitely has a certain something that appeals to toddlers the way symphonies don’t tend to.
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.
(clap clap)
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.
(clap clap)
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.
(clap clap)
As the song goes on, clapping your hands turns into ‘stomp your feet,’ ‘nod your head,’ ‘shout hooray,’ and any other action you can think of to keep the game going for as long as you and Baby want.
