Let's Play Music

Kids music activities and free printable resources | Children's music, lesson plans and teaching resources for babies and children

  • Store
    • Digital Downloads Store
    • Lesson Plans
    • eBooks
    • My Account
    • FAQs
  • Activities by Age
    • Baby
    • Toddlers
    • Preschool
    • 5+
  • Activities by Season
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
    • Halloween
    • Christmas
    • Winter
  • Activities by Type
    • First Piano Lessons
    • Weekly Lesson Plans
    • Rhythm & Percussion
    • Musical Movement
    • How To Read Music
    • Literacy
    • Classical Music for Kids
  • Free Sheet Music
    • Free Sheet Music
    • Free Printables
    • Song Directory
  • Subscribe
    • Newsletter Sign-up
    • Contact
  • About
  • My Cart
You are here: Home / Musical Activities For... / 5+ / The Grand Old Duke Of York

The Grand Old Duke Of York

December 2, 2014 By Sara Mullett Leave a Comment

Children just love marching to music! The combination of  the movement, the strong, steady beat and singing along is irresistible to a small child. The Grand Old Duke Of York ticks all of those boxes so it’s not surprising that it is such an old favourite and a song that kids love so much.

The Grand Old Duke of York

The Grand Old Duke of York

Oh the Grand Old Duke Of York,

He had ten thousand men,

He marched them up to the top of the hill,

And he marched them down again,

And when they were up they were up,

And when they were down they were down,

And when they were only half way up,

They were neither up or down!

Grand Old Duke of York Music Theory Worksheet
Click here to download the free printable music theory worksheet for The Grand Old Duke of York.

Toddlers from around 2 years old will enjoy joining in with the traditional actions for this song, and happily march their fingers upwards to the top of an imaginary hill and march them down again. This is great for teaching the directions of up, down and half way and encourages movement in time to the music. We often change the last line to “The Soldiers All fell Down!”  which of course ends up with everyone tumbling all over the floor which also goes down very well!

If you are singing this with a group of slightly older children, you can get some of them beating drums to practice the steady beat while the others sing the song with the actions. This is excellent for learning to feel the difference between the rhythm and the beat, as they get a chance to switch between both activities while listening to each other at the same time.

Kids will also love marching around like soldiers to the beat of a drum as you all sing, and you can experiment with different tempos and different types of steps instead of marching, like jumping, hopping, skipping or tip-toeing.  This is fantastic for gross motor skills, co-ordination and imaginative movement. This simple traditional nursery rhyme offers plenty scope for exploring rhythm and movement and can be combined with our other soldier and marching activities for a fun Soldier themed music lesson.

Check out our Soldiers lesson plan for lots of lively Soldier  themed activities combined in a 30 min structured lesson, with step by step teaching notes and supporting resources.

If you enjoyed this post, come and join us on Facebook, Pinterest or subscribe for many more musical activities!

Filed Under: 5+, Action songs, Baby, Musical Activities For..., Musical Movement, Preschoolers, Toddlers Tagged With: First Nursery Rhyme Series, Soldiers

Please note, the posts on Let’s Play Music include affiliate links for your convenience.

Explore our digital downloads!

  • eBook Bundle Image – How to Read Music Made Easy & The Note Family! The Music Theory eBook Bundle
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $19.99
  • Kittens & Cats lesson Plan Kittens & Cats Lesson & Activity Plan $4.99
  • First Piano Lessons eBook Featured Image First Piano Lessons eBook
    Rated 4.83 out of 5
    $12.99

Follow Let’s Play Music

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Looking for something specific?

Cart

First Piano Lessons eBook

Discover our best-selling eBook, with over 2,000 copies sold. Our First Piano Lessons is a fun introduction to piano for your little one.

View Product

Copyright Let's Play Kids Music © 2023 · Privacy Policy