Is 'Jack and Jill' a super simple or complex rhyme?
We sing this wee rhyme all the way up the scale, then all the way back down (to fit the words).
The rhythmic pattern in this nursery rhyme is actually quite complex – think of the words and now say “skipping skipping skipping”. It uses that “skipping” rhythm over and over.
Because it is used so repetitively, children can really start to feel and respond to this pattern.
Children are able to sing this long before they can actually skip – but it lays the foundation for deeply understanding the required pattern for when they are ready to move in this tricky way.
Singing scales in this non-threatening way is a means of tuning children into scales in a way that makes sense. Jack and Jill go UP the hill!
We love this little nursery rhyme for babies (lift them high in the air!) and even older children on their chime bars.