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How to Extend Learning Using Baa Baa Black Sheep

How to Extend Learning Using Baa Baa Black Sheep

wild sheep grazing on dry grass in countryside
Photo by ArtHouse Studio on Pexels.com

Nursery Rhymes are a great way to add learning into your everyday life. They can teach language and vocabulary skills, math concepts, and creativity. Nursery rhymes and short songs can be incorporated into the small gaps of time during your day- they don’t need to take up a huge block of your time. This Nursery rhyme is easy for little ones to memorize, and teaches them new vocabulary, rhyming, and math skills. 

Lyrics to Baa Baa Black Sheep

Baa Baa Black Sheep, have you any wool?

Yes sir! Yes sir! Three bags full!

One for my master.

One for the dame.

One for the little boy who lives down the lane.

Baa Baa Black Sheep, have you any wool?

Yes sir! Yes sir! Three bags full!


If you don’t know the tune, check out this video.

How to extend learning using Baa Baa Black Sheep

One of the beautiful things about nursery rhymes is that they are simple and relatively easy to memorize. This makes them perfect for filling in time when a full on activity is impractical.

Here are some examples:

  • Pass the time by singing it: like while you are waiting for dad to finish his conversation and get in the car. 
  • Sing it in the car: this makes drives go by faster without needing to prepare anything extraordinary. 
  • Make chores fun by singing along: chores are always more fun with music, plus this can count as part of your at home learning plan. 
  • Sing it in the tub: repetition is key to helping children memorize nursery rhymes, so singing it often will help them learn it, and once they have it memorized, it will be easy to expand on the concepts in the song. 
  • Use it to link new and familiar experiences if you have an opportunity to learn more about sheep/ the wool industry. 

Here are some concepts you can introduce or expand on using this rhyme:

  • Counting: specifically that numbers have a value and each number means one more than the next. For more advanced learning of this concept, make up your own version of the song where the sheep has 4,5,6 or more bags of wool. 
  • Rhyming: for younger children, just being exposed to rhyming will help their brains begin mapping the concepts. But as this mapping gets more extensive, you can take the time to point out what words rhyme and discuss what rhyming is. This can lead to more fun learning such as making up your own rhymes. 
  • Project: This rhyme can be a really fun introduction for taking a deep dive into learning about the sheep/wool industry. Learn this song, then keep building by visiting a sheep farm, buying something made out of wool, watching a video about how wool is made, or maybe even raising a sheep. 

For more on how you can create learning in your everyday life, check out these resources:

29 Things Parents do that Predict School Readiness

How to Create Learning From Everyday Moments: One Simple Formula

The Rural Moms Guide to Learning at Home

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