The Farmer in the Dell is one of many popular children’s nursery rhymes that incorporates game-style singing. The group performing this rhyme stand in a circling holding hands with an individual playing the part of the farmer in the center of the circle. The farmer sings the first verse of the song while moving around the inside of the circle. When the verse is over, the farmer “chooses a wife”, and they join the farmer in the center of the circle for her verse of the song. This continues until there is only one person left, who will become the farmer for the next round.
Origin
This rhyme was first recorded in Germany in the late 1820’s. Its original purpose was a courtship game of choosing a wife. The original title of the song was Es fuhr ein Bau’r ins Holz. It is assumed that the song made its way to America by German immigrants, where it made its first appearance in New York in the early 1880’s. However, it was turned into its modern form along to the tune of “A hunting we will go”. Since then, it has been adopted by the United States as a fun and entertaining nursery rhyme for children.
Educational Benefits
Many kids songs aid in children’s education. Educators are fully aware that music boosts intelligence in children; it’s also very fun to have in the classroom! These musical experiences stimulate the development of listening skills, boosts vocabulary, evoke emotional and creative responses, and test memory skills.
During the early years of life up until around two-years-old, is the most crucial time to begin teaching listening skills. These kids songs such as the farmer in the dell with the animal noise, promote said listening skills. Sometimes, when children are observed listening to these rhymes and songs, it may be noted that some children will move their bodies intuitively to the beat of the music. This is a form of emotional and creative response that is a major benefit from music. Therefore, music is commonly referred to as “a universal language” because, without any words, music can make positive impacts on children and leave them more alert.
Children’s songs also boost vocabulary and memory skills. Most songs contain a lot of rhyming, which promotes vocabulary development. Nursery rhymes have been proven to be a vital learning tool for language development because rhymes allow children to hear vocabulary in an entertaining and memorable way. Which brings us to the memory aspect of nursery rhymes; the constant repetition of verses strengthens children’s memory. Repetition offers developing children the opportunity to tune into words many times and aids them in remembering what they have just heard. A rhyme’s repetition can also help children become aware of the multiple sounds within words.
The majority of these kid songs can be found just about anywhere, especially on media sites like YouTube. A simple search with the keywords kids songs download can bring you an array of choices.