 |
| Drawing by the other Emily, 2009. |
Cinderella, dressed in yella,
Went downstairs to meet her fella,
Made a mistake, kissed a snake,
How many doctors did it take?
Cinderella dressed in pink,
Went downstairs to the kitchen sink.
The kitchen sink was full of ink,
How many mouthfuls did she drink?
Cinderella dressed in yella,
Went downtown to buy some mustard.
On the way her girdle busted,
How many people were disgusted?
Cinderella in the cellar,
Making love to Rockefeller,
Cinderella dressed in yella turns around like this!
From Cinderella Dressed in Yella, "a unique collection of Australian playrhymes", (1978) Turner, Factor, & Lowenstein. Heineman Educational Australia Cinderella Dressed in Yella
Notes: Interesting to see that this rhyme is heard in Australia; I grew up jumping rope to it in California. Also interesting to note the snake. Why a snake? Maybe snakes carry the same symbolic meaning here which they carry when they appear in other kinds of literature. Or, maybe a snake is just a snake...
Montessori Connection: Children's Play-rhymes/Games
1. Read this rhyme, and see if you can jump rope while you say it.( Each place where the poem asks, "How many....did it take?" is where a player takes a turn jumping until she misses. The rhyme continues, but the player changes)
2. Think of all the rhymes that you already know, and use when you jump rope.
3. Start a notebook and gather stories, songs, rhymes, etc. that you and your friends know — but that teachers did not teach you!
4. Learn that this kind of game, song, etc. is part of children's culture, and found all over the world. Try Sidewalk Games Around The World
or Hopscotch Around the World
or The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
or Hopscotch Around the World or The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
