to be irritated by people's inability to sing a decent version of sleeping bunnies?

[ajamore]

This is standard fare at the toddler groups I have been going to for some years now. It seems to me that the success of this song is the gentle "ssshhhh! shushes while the little ones are lying on the floor, followed by (and I believe this is an absolute ESSENTIAL element) the suspenseful "ohhhhh" (getting louder and louder) that then erupts into an enthusiastic clambering upright of the children and a jolly "hop little bunnies, hop hop hop etc.."

So,

"See the sleeping bunnies sleeping till it's nearly noon, come and let us wake them gently with our merry tune"

Oh how still: Ssshhhhh, Shhhhhh (finger to lips action by all mothers/fathers/nannies/childminders etc.)

Are they ill? (always find that bit a bit disturbing to be honest): Shhhh Shhhhh

Wake up soon, Wake up soon

BIT OF A PAUSE then a very slowly building Ohhhhhhhhh and then,

Hop little bunnies hop hop hop; Hop little bunnies hop, hop, hop; Hop little bunnies hop hop hop; Hop then stop.

I am fed up of being at groups where it is all rushed and there are no shushes after the "oh how still, are they ill" bits but then there are a few uncoordinated shushes after the "wake up soon, wake up soon" bit if you're lucky. There are awkward glances from all the mothers/fathers/nannies/childminders etc. with this misappropriation of the shushing part because everbody is looking to someone else to come in with the "Hop little bunnies, hop hop hop" and the children are confused too. The shushes have their place in this song but NOT in this bit!!

I would like to know what the Mumsnet consensus is on this VERY important issue.

Thank you.

[hanaboo]

(with hands cupped together)
i'm taking home my baby bumble bee
won't my mummy be so very proud of me
i'm taking home my baby bumble bee
ow! it stung me

(squishing hands together now)
i'm squishing up my baby bumble bee
won't my mummy be so very proud of me
i'm squishing up my baby bumble bee
eeeeww, its all sticky!

(licking the hand now)
i'm licking up my baby bumble bee
won't my mummy be so very proud of me
i'm licking up my baby bumble bee
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm tasty

dunno if its the one u were thinking of but my daughter gets some v. startled looks from old ladies when singing it on the bus lol

[juneybean]

Oooh I wanted to know the words to that one Hanaboo can't wait to teach my charge lol

[inveteratenamechanger]

PMSL at this thread, and I have never sung sleeping bunnies in my life. DD's CM tries to teach me the songs when I pick her up - I have mastered Wind The Bobbin up with the help of You Tube, and will now have to turn to the bunnies.

LOLOL at 'are they real' though! That turns it into a postmodern questioning of 'truth' and 'reality' - toddler group as simulacrum?

[BellaBear]

the next verse was:

'I'm throwing up my baby bumble be, won't my ...' etc etc

with actions, obviously

then

'I'm mopping up my baby bumble bee ...' etc

can't remember any more

[FlamingoDuBeke]

what's the tune?

I like Quarter Master Stores too - we did that when on HE camp too. I have a feeling that was another one of my contributions . Everyone else was offering very earnest Steinery type stuff, and there I was silling very silly things - the kids liked mine best though

[hanaboo]

ooooh bella bear... a whole two more verses! yay i can't wait to teach her those tommorrow morning

[BellaBear]

there were rats, rats, big as bloomin' cats, in the stores, in the stores

[hanaboo]

flamingo, i don't kno of any other songs with the same tune so don't kno how to tell u, i'l see if its on utube

[BellaBear]

I'd like to apologise, hana, in advance of the strange looks you will no doubt get

[BellaBear]

btw, the last line of the throwing up verse was ' oo ee, it's all messy'

and of the mopping verse: 'oo ee no more bee!'

[FlamingoDuBeke]

bella bear - we only used to do a couple of the proper verses, and then quickly moved onto rhyming things with people's names. My favourite as a child was my mum's friend 'Sue' who would always be 'doing a poo'

[BellaBear]

We had a Tabby (Tabitha) sitting on the lavvy

[hanaboo]

found one its here

[hanaboo]

ok, not a link
i'l try again

[hanaboo]

ok, failing miserabley to share a link lol but if u go to utube u can find it quite easily
sorry

[Aranea]

The sad end to the bumblebee song, following the vomit incident, is 'I'm lonely!' So then you go right back to the beginning again, which is, 'I'm looking for a baby bumblebee...'

But back to the important bunny issue:

In my opinion ssshh-ing is superfluous, but I am frankly incredulous that you people are all apparently satisfied with a single bout of hopping. Round here we carry on while la-la-ing along to the Banana Splits tune.

[LilianGish]

My favourite thread for ages - thanks ladies!!
Just for the record it should be:
See the bunnies sleeping though it's nearly noon
Shall we wake them gently with a merry tune?
They're so still
Are they ill?
PAUSE (for as long as poss)
WAKE UP BUNNIES (as loud as poss)
Hop little bunnies etc
Though actually quite like the sshhing idea for added drama (sadly both mine are past that now - still I can dream ...)

[UniS]

We tend to do a 2nd verse of "Roar little lion". Tho sometimes its been dinosaurs... really doesn;t scan then, but keeps teh 4 yr old boys happy.

[FleeBee]

I love sleeping bunnies!!!

It's the best thing about having kids IMHO!!! When

DD1 sings "sleeping teddies" and lies on the floor with her teddy and then we have to do hop little teddies hop hop hop. Doesn't make sense, do teddies hop?? but she's happy with it. We definitely do the shushing as she calls it the shush song.

We did the shushing at the toddler group I went to in Bolton, have now moved and not found any toddler groups who sing songs here. I miss it. Now I've admitted this what a weirdo!

[FlamingoDuBeke]

mixomatosis

[BellaBear]

next time I hear that song, all I am going to able to think of is mixamatosis, oh dear!

[TheMysticMasseuse]

we don;t do the wake up bunnies round here- we go straight from are they ill? to a very energetic NOOOOOOOO

and absolutely no shushing.

I believe we do it right. so YABU

(ps loving this thread!)

[TheMysticMasseuse]

ehhhr what is mixomatosis????

[MammyT]

I'm with TheMysticMasseuse - a big NOOOOO then lots of hopping.