Baa Baa Black Sheep Lyrics & Activities

Baa Baa Black Sheep is one of the first nursery rhymes toddlers will sing.

It has a steady beat and an easy memorable tune which is almost exactly the same as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. 

It is also brilliant for introducing the interval of a fifth and then singing down the descending scale. At this point, children tend to be too young for the theory but it’s a great introduction nonetheless!

Baa Baa Black Sheep Activities

Actions & clapping game

Although it doesn’t have much of a story it can be sung with simple actions expressing the words and counting the 3 bags of wool.

You can also try it as a patting and clapping song with a partner.

Clapping on the beat is the best way for toddlers to feel the steady pulse in the music and patting a partners hands is great for building confidence.

Introducing intervals

Some children who might be too young to manage all the words will be able to join in by humming the interval of the fifth (Do – So) shown below. They can then join in singing down the descending scale in steps. This is great for learning to pitch the notes in tune. It is so enjoyable for a little one who might be struggling to articulate the words but can still join in.

Playing on the piano

Finally, you can’t go wrong with playing the tune on the piano and the children singing along! You can find the free piano sheet music for teachers here.

Craft activities

There are all sorts of craft activities that you can tie in to this first nursery rhyme to build out a lesson. If you are looking to do a whole lesson on this theme, check out my “Sheep” lesson plan.

You can make handprint sheep like on Learning Puddles

You could play a counting game using these free printables from I Heart Crafty Things

My favourite activity is from Craftulate: make a yarn wrap sheep. Brilliant for developing those fine motor skills!

What your child will learn from this activity

• Rhythm recognition and developing a steady beat. For more on this, check out my post on how to tell the difference between the rhythm and the beat
• Pitching notes and remembering the tune
• Counting and numbers – especially if you count out the 3 bags of wool
• Practicing the fifth (Do-So) and the descending scale. For more on teaching Do Re Mi, check out this post here.
• Rhythmic movement and clapping on the beat