This action song is a great way for children to learn to count backwards from 5. It's about 5 monkeys teasing Mr Alligator before Mr Alligator comes and SNAPS each monkey out of the tree! The actions are easy for even toddlers to learn and is a fun way to introduce numeracy.
Five little monkeys swinging in the tree
Teasing Mr Alligator can’t catch me…you can’t catch me
Along came Mr Alligator quiet as can be
And snapped that monkey out of that tree.
Four little monkeys swinging in the tree
Teasing Mr Alligator can’t catch me…you can’t catch me
Along came Mr Alligator quiet as can be
And snapped that monkey out of that tree.
Three little monkeys swinging in the tree
Teasing Mr Alligator can’t catch me…you can’t catch me
Along came Mr Alligator quiet as can be
And snapped that monkey out of that tree.
Two little monkeys swinging in the tree
Teasing Mr Alligator can’t catch me…you can’t catch me
Along came Mr Alligator quiet as can be
And snapped that monkey out of that tree.
One little monkey swinging in the tree
Teasing Mr Alligator can’t catch me…you can’t catch me
Along came Mr Alligator quiet as can be
And snapped that monkey out of that tree.
Hints and Tips
- Encourage children to do this song with the actions.
- Let the kids say the word snap with a snap sound made using their hands.
- If possible, you can arrange for a hand/finger puppet of an alligator.
- Make the fingers count their fingers out while counting the number of monkeys.
- For an action game, you can make 5 kids stand up as though they are standing on a tree and then another child pretends to be an alligator. Now he needs to catch a child while making the snap sound.
- Even you can play the alligator’s role!
