I know that many schools have the children perform harvest / thanksgiving poems and songs at their harvest celebration, so this one is a little bit of both. The nursery rhymes provide the narration for the main poem, and I have simply amended them to be appropriate to harvest-time.
Feel free to make up your own too ; it’s surprising how many nursery rhymes include the mention of food!
The refrain is then sung to the tune of Oranges and Lemons, and goes through the whole range of foods that we general think about at our harvest and thanksgiving celebrations.
If you would like to listen to how it is meant to be performed I have provided a very apologetic demo of me singing it, as well as an option to download the words for free. The music is very simple and can be obtained for free from the internet as it is a public domain tune.
Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard
To get her pet doggie a treat
But when she got there
She’d so much to share,
She’d food for us all to eat
She had……
Apples and oranges, strawberries too,
So many choices for me and for you;
So many treats, like puddings and sweets.
Thank God that we’re able to fill our table.
Simple Simon met a pie-man
Going to the fair
Said Simple Simon to the pie-man
What have you got there?
I’ve got………
Beef pie and chicken, and shepherds pie too
So many choices for me and for you
So many foods my menu includes
How blessed are we to have all that you see.
Jack Sprat could eat no fat
His wife could eat no lean
But fortunately healthy foods
Are somewhere in between.
There are :
Cereals and yoghurts and poultry meat too
So many choices for me and for you
So many cheeses and food made to please us
Luckily we can eat regularly.
Mary Mary, quite contrary
How does the harvest thrive?
With lots of love from God above;
The sun and rain help it survive.
So……..
Thank God now at harvest and all the year through
Thank God for the choices he gives me and you
Thank God for His love sent down from above
Thank God that He cares and sends blessings to share.
Click here to LISTEN TO A NURSERY RHYME HARVEST.
As I know that most schools have very little time to learn and practice new thanksgiving songs I have used lots of repetition in this one, as well as the familiar tune, but you could add as much interest as you have time for.
CLICK HERE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DOWNLOAD MY NURSERY RHYME POEM
Maybe you could use it as a full performance poem, and cast the nursery rhyme characters individually so that it can be ‘acted out’.
I imagine the refrains being sung by a separate group of children to those who perform the nursery rhymes, but just play with it and have fun. I hope it contributes to a very successful harvest festival / thanksgiving celebration.