Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Song of the Week: Ten in the Bed



There were ten in a bed
And the little one said,
"I'm crowded! Roll over!"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out

There were nine in the bed
And the little one said,
"I'm crowded! Roll over!"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out...

[Count down to one.]

There was one in the bed
And the little one said,
"I'm lonely! I'm lonely!"
So they all rolled over

And got back in
There were ten in the bed
And the little one said,
"Good night! Sleep tight!"

Ten in the Bed Midi File

Guitar chord: E
That's it! You only have to play one chord. I do alternate finger-picking, but still, all you need is this one chord (or whichever one is most suited to your voice).

I always plan to do this song for storytimes, and I've not yet gotten to it. I often have it on my song list, but because I always prepare more than I need, I haven't even tested it out on anyone except Lucia. I have the construction paper teddy-bears all cut out for a test run in which I'd have 10 children stand up in a single-file row, then sit down as each bear rolls out of bed. At the end, the plan is for all of them to stand up again. I don't know. Any ideas from the blogosphere?

9 comments:

Lone Star Ma said...

Sounds good to me!

abcgirl said...

it would be extra silly fun if when the "roll over, roll over" part came, they each spun around (if you weren't worried about dizzyness).

Lady K said...

I used to sing that song to my nieces when they were wee little. I still love it!

What if you just had them all shout in unison, "Don't let the bed bugs bite!" ... or do you think that would creep them out?

Liz said...

Couldn't the ten kids lay on the ground holding the bears and then actually roll away when it gets to that part? Kids love to roll around on the floor.

The felt bears are too precious!

Saints and Spinners said...

Yes, kids love to roll around on the floor! I think it would work well in a small group (with say, 5 kids), but any more than that and chaos ensues. I've noticed that kids in a group simultanenously want someone in charge and yet will exploit any opportunity to go wild. It's the primary reason why, when I hand out things for them to hold, I don't let them come up to choose: the assertive ones steamroll over the more cautious ones.

Anonymous said...

This was one of my favorite songs when I was a kid. I used to think it was *so* funny.

I love abcgirl's idea about having the kids all spin. I love having kids spin in storytime; it's always fun to watch them wobble around ("Spin Again" by Jim Gill is a favorite, and there is a *lot* of spinning in that song).

Saints and Spinners said...

I think I can make the spinning idea work if the children can do it while respecting their friends' space. I have this penchant for thinking of worst-case scenarios for everything!

Anonymous said...

You missed part out!

i.e.

There were ten in a bed
and the little one said
'roll over, roll over'
so they all rolled over
and one fell out
and bumped his head
and gave a shout:
'please remember,
to tie a knot in your pyjamas,
single beds are only made for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9' (then continue).

Saints and Spinners said...

Thanks, Jess! I'll have to remember that (and fortunately, since you just wrote it down, I will).