Nancy Stewart

traditional (ages five and up)

This traditional song is a favorite with older children (five and over) and adults! I always
start my teacher and librarian workshops with it because it's a perfect example of how
singing builds memory, put us in the present, and builds early literacy (phonological
awareness through rhyming), and vocabulary, all at the same time! And movement is
great for building executive function, too! Try starting your next staff meeting with it, or
when you need to get the wiggles out with older kids.

INSTRUCTIONS: Leader sings each line, and group echoes. Actions are accumulative.
So as each new verse is sung, the new actions is added to the others. By the time
you finish every part of your body is moving, and everyone is laughing and having
fun! When singing with younger children, limit actions (verses) to three, or how ever
many the children can do without becoming frustrated.

Oh my aunt came back (group echoes) from old Japan (group echoes)
And she brought me back (group echoes)
A paper fan (group echoes, right hand open, fanning back and forth)

Oh my aunt came back (group echoes) from old Algiers (echo)
And she brought me back (group echoes)
A pair of shears (group echoes, left hand makes scissors that open and
close)

Oh my aunt came back (group echoes) from Holland too (group echoes)
And she brought me back (group echoes)
A wooden shoe (group echoes, stamp one foot in rhythm)

Oh my aunt came back (group echoes) from old Chile (group echoes)
And she brought me back (group echoes )
An itchy flea (group echoes, scratch body all over while continuing to do
other motions!)

Oh my aunt came back (group echoes) from the county fair (echo)
And she brought me back (group echoes)
A rocking chair (group echoes, lean forward and back as if rocking)

Oh my aunt came back (group echoes) from the city zoo (echo)
And she brought me back (group echoes)
a monkey like you! (group echoes, emphatically point to others)