Over in the Meadow Lyrics: A Fun and Educational Children’s Song

Introduction

The English counting rhyme song “Over in the Meadow” has been a beloved and well-known children’s song for many years. This traditional poem-based song is a useful teaching tool for young children as well as fun. Kids can sing along to this song while learning about numbers, animals, and their habitats. It has a catchy tune and rhythmic repetition that can be easily used with children to help them learn and understand.   

Although there are many different versions of the song’s lyrics nowadays, but the original one was written by Olive A. Wadsworth in 1870. This song has been revised to music and utilized as the text in numerous picture books. With the help of this entertaining song, parents can make their kids learn. Not all children are enthusiastic about studying but this song can make it easier to help them learn math and numbers from an early age. This can serve as the ideal way for parents to begin teaching their children numbers in English.

Now, let us know more about this song in details and see what education fun it can bring in your kid’s life. 

Lyrics of “Over in the Meadow”

Over in the meadow

In the sand in the sun,

lived an old mother turtle

and her one baby turtle.

“Dig!” said the mother,

“I dig!” said the one,

and they dug all-day

in the sand in the sun.
   

Over in the meadow,

Where the stream runs blue

Lived an old mother fish

And her little fish two

“Swim!” said the mother;

“We swim!” said the two,

So, they swam, and they leaped

Where the stream runs blue.
     

Over in the meadow,

In a hole in a tree

Lived an old mother bluebird

And her little three birdies

“Sing!” said the mother.

“We sing!” said the three

So, they sang and were glad

In a hole in the tree.
     

Over in the meadow

in a hole in the tree,

lived a mother chameleon

and her three chameleons.

“Wink,” said the mother,

“We wink,” said the three,

and they winked all-day

in the hole in the tree.
   

Over in the meadow,

In a snug beehive

Lived a mother honeybee

And her five little bees

“Buzz!” said the mother;

“We buzz!” said the five

So, they buzzed, and they hummed

In the snug beehive.
     

Over in the meadow

by the big barn door,

lived an old mother snake

and her four little snakes.

“Squeak!” said the mother,

“We squeak!” said the four,

and they squeaked all-day

by the big barn door.
   

Over in the meadow,

Where the quiet pools shine

Lived a green mother frog

And her nine little froggies

“Croak!” said the mother;

“We croak!” said the nine

So, they croaked, and they splashed

Where the quiet pools shine.
    

Over in the meadow

in a cozy, wee den,

Lived an old mother beaver

and her ten little beavers.

“Beave,” said the mother,

“We beave,” said the ten,

and they beaved all-day

in their cozy, wee den.

A Quick Summary of the Song

The poet describes an ancient mother turtle and her baby living in an open field in the song Over in the Meadow. The newborn turtle was instructed to dig in the sand by its mother. The young turtle answered, “I dig,” and they all spent the entire day digging in the sand beneath the sun. The next paragraph describes an elderly mother fish and her two young fish dwelling in open blue water. The two young fish remarked, “We swam and leaped where the stream runs blue,” after their mother fish said they had swum to their two offspring. Like this with each paragraph, there is a new story to learn for kids, counting in numbers and about the new animals.  

Over in the Meadow – Educational Fun and Learning 

To keep their young ones interested, parents can teach them to count using this age-old song. It will be simpler for your child to begin doing math later if they begin to become familiar with numbers at an early age. Basic math is based on numbers; counting, adding, and subtracting numbers comes first. The younger children must master the simpler activities before moving on to the more difficult ones.

Kids can pick up basic number counting from one to nine with the help of this song. In the above song lyrics, the lives of several animal families that reside in the meadows are described. In addition to teaching numbers, this is a wonderful way to teach children about animals in English, particularly for those who are learning the language for the first time. It covers many animal families. Encourage your child to name the various animals they observe after counting them while singing to learn more about this.

Now, let us see how we can use the “Over in the Meadow” song for educational fun:   

1) Counting and Numbers   

Each paragraph in this song focuses on a different number which helps kids learn counting in a natural and engaging way. They can practice counting from one to ten as they sing along.  

2) Animal Identification

Through this song, kids are also introduced to several animals in each paragraph, such as fish, turtles, snakes, etc. This helps children learn about and identify animals as well as their habitats and the way they live.

3) Interactive Play

Adding hand motions, animal toys, or visual help to the song will make it more engaging. For instance, children can copy your digging actions while singing about the little turtle.  

4) Rhyming and Language Development

The rhyme scheme’s repetition helps with language development. As a result of learning to read the rhymes, kids create phonemic awareness, a crucial reading ability.  

5) Memory and Sequencing

The structure of this song helps children improve their memory by helping them recall the order of the animals and numbers. With all these things, it becomes easy for them to remember and learn.

6) Sing and Play Together   

You can have a group of kids sit together, and then you can sing together with them to encourage them by using hand motions and showing them the animals or animal toys mentioned in the song.  

7) Animal Activities   

Introduce each animal mentioned in the song. You can extend learning by discussing more about the animal’s habitat, sounds, and characteristics to make them learn more and better.   

8) Art and Crafts    

Let kids draw pictures of the animals in the song or even colour the animals featured in the song, which will make this a more fun and creative art learning.  

Conclusion   

Beyond being a delightful children’s song, “Over in the Meadow” serves as a multipurpose educational resource that teaches counting, animal identification, language skills, and more. The poem has a periodic format that introduces the reader to a variety of animal families, each with their own distinct behaviour, living in various meadow environments. Action verbs like “swim,” “dig,” “sing,” and “squeak” are used in the clear-cut, basic language to highlight the animals’ and creatures’ movements.   

Whether you are a teacher, educator, or parent, including this song in your everyday routine will help your young kids have life-long learning experiences. Always remember, to help children catch the full poetry and develop a strong vocabulary, parents/teachers should explain to their kids the meaning of each word, the numbers counting and about the animals used in it.

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