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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Primary education

Poem for a 5-year old to learn

29 replies

Azure · 27/10/2006 13:58

DS1 had some optional yr1 homework to learn a poem. Can anyone recommend a suitable (short!) poem for him to learn, or point me in the right direction. Many thanks.

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HumphreyComfrey · 27/10/2006 14:12

Something from Captain Beaky?

eg:

Search around the garden, you're bound to find a snail.
Perhaps you've always wondered why they leave a sticky trail?
The answer's plain, they cannot see an inch beyond their noses,
Or recognise the rockery from a bed of roses.
And snails have no memory, which gets them in a mess.
That's why they wear their houses - to remember their address!

(I think that's right; I learnt it when I was very small! )

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HumphreyComfrey · 27/10/2006 14:13

DS1 has just told me that I've missed a few lines out!

Let me know if you want me to add them.

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Azure · 27/10/2006 14:17

I haven't heard of Captain Beaky - I'll have a look now, thanks.

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gladbag · 27/10/2006 14:18

I would go for an 'action' rhyme, which can be easier to remember and good fun.

Something like...

There was a wise old owl (fingers circle eyes)
With a pointed nose (fingers make upside-down v on nose)
And pointed ears (stick fingers up by ears)
And claws for his toes (hold out hands with hooked fingers)
He sits in a tree (cross arms)
And he looks at you (circle eyes again)
And he flaps his wings (flap arms)
And he says "Twit TwoOOOOOO"

(too simple perhaps? Let me know!)

Thanks

Orlando · 27/10/2006 14:26

I have a stegasaurus
He's really rather sweet
But he's very very fussy
About the food he'll eat

I offered him a burger
A plate of egg and chips
A dish of chicken curry
But none would pass his lips

I said 'what would be tasty?
I'll get it if I can.'
He said, 'I'd better tell you
I'm a vegetarian!'

I can't remember who wrote this, but know it off by heart since dd 1 learned it years ago.

Thanks

lemonAIIEEE · 27/10/2006 14:26

Celery (by Ogden Nash)

Celery, raw
Develops the jaw,
But celery, stewed,
Is more quietly chewed.

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lemonAIIEEE · 27/10/2006 14:28

Boa Constrictor (by Shel Silverstein)

Oh, I'm being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I don't like it--one bit.
Well, what do you know?
It's nibblin' my toe.
Oh, gee,
It's up to my knee.
Oh my,
It's up to my thigh.
Oh, fiddle,
It's up to my middle.
Oh, heck,
It's up to my neck.
Oh, dread,
It's upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff . . .

Thanks

Orlando · 27/10/2006 14:30

Good one lemon. V easy to memorise too.

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lemonAIIEEE · 27/10/2006 14:31

On the Ning Nang Nong (by Spike Milligan)

On the Ning Nang Nong
Where the Cows go Bong!
and the monkeys all say BOO!
There's a Nong Nang Ning
Where the trees go Ping!
And the tea pots jibber jabber joo.
On the Nong Ning Nang
All the mice go Clang
And you just can't catch 'em when they do!
So its Ning Nang Nong
Cows go Bong!
Nong Nang Ning
Trees go ping
Nong Ning Nang
The mice go Clang
What a noisy place to belong
is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!!

Thanks

juuule · 27/10/2006 14:35

From Spike Milligan, Silly Verses for Kids.

Said the General of the Army
'I think that war is barmy'
So he threw away his gun:
Now he's having much more fun.

Or....

Can a parrot
Eat a carrot
Standing on his head?
If I did that my mum would send me
Straight upstairs to bed.

Or......

On the Ning Nang Nong
Where the cows go Bong!
and the Monkeys all say Boo!
There's a Nong Nang Ning
Where the trees go Ping!
And the tea pots Jibber Jabber Joo.
On the Nong Ning Nang
All the mice go Clang!
And you just can't catch 'em when they do!
So it's Ning Nang Nong!
Cows go Bong!
Nong Nang Ning!
Trees go Ping!
Nong Ning Nang!
The mice go Clang!
What a noisy place to belong,
Is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!!

Thanks

alligator · 27/10/2006 14:35

Today I saw a little worm,
Wiggling on his belly,
Perhaps he'd like to come inside,
And see whats on the telly.

Spike Milligan

Short and sweet

Thanks

juuule · 27/10/2006 14:35

Oooooh Lemon beat me to it

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Azure · 27/10/2006 14:43

Oooh, what great suggestions. I hope DS1 likes them just as much.

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Nixz · 27/10/2006 15:30

Not last night but the night before,
3 wee monkeys came to the door,
one with a fiddle,
one with a drum
and one with a pancake stuck to his bum!!!

By My DP!!!

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Azure · 27/10/2006 16:02

That will definitely appeal to DS1!

OP posts:

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TwigTwoolett · 27/10/2006 16:06

anything by spike

I like

There are holes in the sky
Where the rain comes in
but they're terribly small
That's why rain is thin

DS seems to remember poems really easily so maybe you'd want a longer one

He's just fallen in love with one is his red nose reader .. something like

"I have a little brother
His name is Tiny Tim
I put him in the Bathtub
To teach him how to swim

He drank up all the water
He ate up all the soap
He went to bed
With a bubble in his throat

In came the doctor
In came the nurse
In came the lady with the alligator purse

'Dead' said the doctor
'Dead' said the nurse
'Dead' said the Lady with the alligator purse

But he isn't"

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scotlou · 27/10/2006 16:19

You're lucky getting a choice! Every year ds has to learn a set Buns poem for a school competition - ever heard a 6 year old recite "My Love is Like a Red Red Rose"?!!

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suzywong · 27/10/2006 16:23

good idea about Spike
I feel a weekend project coming on

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ludaloo · 27/10/2006 16:26

I have just read a few to my 5 year old...she likes the worm watching telly one!!!!!

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Loshad · 29/10/2006 00:46

think that ning nang nong one is actually v. hard for five year olds to learn - the number of times i've heard kids stumble and get stuck on it during poetry reading sessions is telling - perhaps it's the very similarity that makes it hard to remember properly.

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californifright · 29/10/2006 01:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

hovely · 30/10/2006 20:08

1-2-3
mother found a flea
she put it in the teapot to make a cup of tea
the flea jumped out
mother gave a shout
in came father with his shirt sticking out

4-5-6
father's in a fix
he tried to get the billy goat to hatch some chicks
the chicks hatched out
father gave a shout
in came grandma with her hair sticking out

7-8-9
granma's doing fine
she washed all the children and hung them on the line
the line gave way
granma shouted 'hey!'
'WOW!'cried the children and they all ran away

Thanks

spooxooky · 03/11/2006 21:24

anything by pam eyres, esp I wish I'd looked afetr my teeth.

Thanks

southeastastra · 03/11/2006 21:31

auntie mary had a canary up the leg of her drawers
when she farted it departed to a round of applause

Thanks

wrinklytum · 03/11/2006 21:46

This has brought back memories of my mum teaching us funny rhymes when small.Off the top of my head

I must go down to the sea again
The lonely sea in the sky
I left my vest and socks there
I wonder if they are dry?

Think its Milligan!

also

I think mice
Are rather nice
Their tails are long
Their faces small
They haven't any chins(?) at all
They nibble things they shouldn't touch
No one seems to like them much
But I think mice
Are nice!!!

Thanks

Flip

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