Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" |
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|---|---|
| Song | |
| Released | 1961 |
| Genre | Children's song |
"Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" is a popular children's song that helps young kids learn about their body parts. People have been singing this song since at least 1961. It often uses the tune of "There Is a Tavern in the Town", but sometimes you might hear it sung to the tune of "London Bridge Is Falling Down".
Contents
How to Play: Singing and Moving
This song usually has one main verse. As you sing, you touch the body parts mentioned in the lyrics. For example, when you sing "head," you touch your head! This makes the song a fun way to learn and move at the same time.
Original Lyrics
Here are the words for the main verse:
Singing Backwards
Sometimes, people sing the lyrics in reverse order. This can be a fun challenge!
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- Toes, knees and shoulders, head,
- shoulders, head
- Toes, knees and shoulders, head,
- shoulders, head
- And nose and mouth and ears and eyes
- Toes, knees and shoulders, head,
- shoulders, head.
The Omission Game
A common way to play this song is to repeat the verse, but each time you leave out one word. Instead of singing the word, you just touch the body part.
- First, you sing all the words and touch all the parts.
- Next, you might skip "head." So, you would just touch your head when it's time for that word, but not sing it. The lyrics would be like this:
::----, shoulders, knees and toes
- This continues until you are touching all the body parts but not singing any words!
- The very last part of the game is to sing all the words again, sometimes much faster!
Other Versions of the Song
Over the years, many different versions of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" have appeared. These new versions often teach different body parts or use a slightly different tune.
For example, on the TV show Blue's Clues, they sang a version that included "back" and "belly":
These different versions keep the song fresh and continue to help kids learn about their bodies in a fun, active way.
