Rounds

Golden Rules for Leading Rounds Successfully

  1. Choose a song that is really well known.
  2. Keep out of it yourself if you can; it is ever so much easier to lead a round if you are not also trying to maintain a part.
  3. Sing the whole song through twice with everyone before dividing into parts.
  4. Know the four different entry points.
  5. Divide into two first, starting at the first and third entry points.
  6. Make sure everyone else knows the entry points, too.
  7. Sing the first part over and over, using eye-contact to bring in each group at their entries.
  8. Now you’re ready to divide into four. Make sure everyone knows the new entry points and lead in the same way as for rounds in two.
  9. Try some different songs. And once you know what you’re doing, you can be more ambitious. “Algie and the Bear” with actions, in four is fabulous fun!

Twinkle, Twinkle

Twinkle, twinkle little star how I wonder what you are.

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.

Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are.

Below is a popular variant…

Twinkle, twinkle chocolate bar, my Dad drives a rusty car.

Start the engine, pull the choke.

Off he goes in a cloud of smoke.

Twinkle, twinkle chocolate bar, my Dad drives a rusty car.

Open Shut Them

The actions pretty much speak for themselves. Open and close your hands twice then clap three times. Open and close your hands twice more and place them on your lap three times. Then walk your pointer and middle fingers up your body towards your mouth. It is hard to sing keeping your mouth open so you need to exaggerate the open part. Right at the end you move your fingers as quickly as possible to behind your back.

Open shut them, open shut them

Give a little clap, clap, clap.

Open shut them open shut them lay them in you lap, lap, lap.

Creeping crawling, creeping crawling right up to your chin, chin, chin.

Open wide, open wide…

But do not put them in.

One, Two, Three Four, Five Once I Caught a Fish Alive

Use your fingers as you would for counting on them and indicate the right-hand little finger with the last line

One, two, three, four five.

Once I caught a fish alive.

Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

Then I let it go again. Why did you let it go?

Because it bit my finger so.

Which finger did it bit?

This little finger on the/my right.

One Little Finger

Use a pointer finger to tap on the palm of your other hand and point to the different parts of your body. I tend to work from top to bottom, but it doesn’t really matter. At the end you touch all the body parts in reverse.

One little finger, one little finger,

One little finger tap, tap, tap.

Point your finger up, point your finger down

And put it on your head, HEAD.

Repeat this verse form for…

Nose, chin, arm, leg then at the end you touch all the body parts in reverse.

One little finger, one little finger,

One little finger tap, tap, tap.

Point your finger up, point your finger down

And put it on your leg, LEG

And put it on your arm, ARM

And put it on your chin, CHIN

And put it on your nose, NOSE

And put it on your head, HEAD

Tommy Thumb is Dancing

Using both fingers as named, up, down, round and round in front of you, then tucked into closed fists. You can use “your” rather than “my” to do the actions on your child.

Tommy Thumb is up and Tommy Thumb is down.

Tommy Thumb is dancing all around the town.

Dancing on my shoulders, dancing on my head,

Dancing on my knees and I tuck him into bed.

Repeat with…

Peter Pointer, Toby Tall, Ruby Ring, Baby Small and All the Fingers

Roly Poly

This is a rhyme with a nice, strong rhythm. Once through boldly, actions as described

Roly poly, roly poly up, up up.

Roly poly, roly poly down, down,down.

Roly poly, roly poly clap, clap, clap.

Roly poly, roly poly hands behind your back.

Sh!

Repeat at a whisper, then…loudly:

Roly poly!

Incey, Wincey Spider

Always seems to go hand in hand with Hugey Wugey and Teeny Weeny currently. The actions are the same, but exaggerated, so for Hugey Wugey you imagine a tarantula-sized spider with your whole hands and for Teeny Weeny you use the tips of thumb and pointer finger. Voices can be correspondingly low and high.

Incey Wincey spider climbed up the water spout.

Down came the rain and washed the spider out.

Out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain.

Incey Wincey spider climbed up the spout again.