Hello, young learners! Welcome to our lively music classroom. Today we watch tiny creatures march. We explore the ants went marching. This fun song teaches counting and has a silly surprise.
The song tells about ants marching one by one. They march to get out of the rain. Little things stop them along the way. One little ant stops to do something funny.
Let us follow the ants. Let us count them as they march. The ants are waiting to teach us numbers and fun.
What is the Rhyme? The ants went marching is a classic children's song. It has been sung for many years. Children love the marching rhythm and the counting pattern.
The song starts with one ant marching. Then two, then three, all the way up to ten. Each verse follows the same pattern. The ants are marching to get out of the rain.
In each verse, a little ant stops to do something. The first ant stops to suck his thumb. The second ant stops to tie his shoe. Each number rhymes with an action.
The song ends with the ants marching to get out of the rain. The little one stops to take a nap. Then they all march again. It is a playful, repetitive song that children enjoy.
The Lyrics of Nursery Rhymes Let us read the ants went marching lyrics together.
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching one by one, The little one stops to suck his thumb, And they all go marching down to the ground, To get out of the rain. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching two by two, The little one stops to tie his shoe, And they all go marching down to the ground, To get out of the rain. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching three by three, The little one stops to climb a tree, And they all go marching down to the ground, To get out of the rain. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The ants go marching four by four, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching four by four, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching four by four, The little one stops to shut the door, And they all go marching down to the ground, To get out of the rain. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching five by five, The little one stops to take a dive, And they all go marching down to the ground, To get out of the rain. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The ants go marching six by six, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching six by six, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching six by six, The little one stops to pick up sticks, And they all go marching down to the ground, To get out of the rain. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The ants go marching seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching seven by seven, The little one stops to pray to heaven, And they all go marching down to the ground, To get out of the rain. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The ants go marching eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching eight by eight, The little one stops to shut the gate, And they all go marching down to the ground, To get out of the rain. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The ants go marching nine by nine, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching nine by nine, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching nine by nine, The little one stops to check the time, And they all go marching down to the ground, To get out of the rain. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The ants go marching ten by ten, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching ten by ten, hurrah, hurrah! The ants go marching ten by ten, The little one stops to say "The End," And they all go marching down to the ground, To get out of the rain. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
Vocabulary Learning The ants went marching teaches many useful words. Let us look at each important word.
Ants: Ants are small insects that live in groups. They work together and march in lines. They are very strong for their size.
Marching: Marching means walking in a steady rhythm with a group. Soldiers march. Ants march in lines too.
Hurrah: This is a cheer or shout of excitement. People say hurrah when they are happy or celebrating.
Little one: This means the smallest or youngest ant. The little one stops to do things in each verse.
Suck his thumb: This means putting the thumb in the mouth like a baby does. The first little ant does this.
Tie his shoe: This means fastening shoelaces. The second little ant stops to do this.
Climb a tree: This means going up a tree. The third little ant stops to climb.
Shut the door: This means closing a door. The fourth little ant does this.
Take a dive: This means jumping into water. The fifth little ant stops to dive.
Pick up sticks: This means gathering small sticks from the ground. The sixth little ant does this.
Pray to heaven: This means talking to God. The seventh little ant stops to pray.
Shut the gate: This means closing a gate. The eighth little ant does this.
Check the time: This means looking at a clock or watch. The ninth little ant stops to see what time it is.
Say "The End": This means announcing that something is finished. The tenth little ant does this.
Rain: Rain is water falling from clouds. The ants are marching to get out of the rain.
Boom: This sound represents thunder or the ants marching. The boom repeats ten times.
Phonics Points Now let us practice some sounds from the ants went marching. Phonics helps us read and say words correctly.
Listen to the beginning of "ants." It starts with the short "a" sound. Open your mouth wide. Say "a-a-a." Now say "ants."
Listen to the "m" sound in "marching." Press your lips together. Let sound come through your nose. Say "m-m-m." Now say "marching."
Listen to the "h" sound in "hurrah." Open your mouth and breathe out. Say "h-h-h." Now say "hurrah." Feel the air moving.
Listen to the "th" sound in "thumb." Put your tongue between your teeth. Blow air out. Say "th-th-th." Now say "thumb."
Listen to the "sh" sound in "shoe." Put your lips forward a little. Let air flow out. Say "sh-sh-sh." Now say "shoe."
Grammar Patterns The ants went marching teaches us some useful grammar. Grammar is how we put words together in sentences.
We see the past tense throughout. "Went" is the past of go. "Stopped" is the past of stop. The song tells a story that happened before.
We see counting words. One by one, two by two, three by three. This pattern shows how the ants are grouped.
We see the phrase "to get out of the rain" showing purpose. The ants are marching for a reason. They want to escape the rain.
We see the exclamation "hurrah!" showing excitement. The ants are happy as they march.
We see repetition for emphasis and rhythm. "Hurrah, hurrah" repeats. "Boom, boom" repeats ten times. This makes the song fun to sing.
We see rhyming words. One with thumb. Two with shoe. Three with tree. Four with door. Five with dive. Six with sticks. Seven with heaven. Eight with gate. Nine with time. Ten with "The End."
Learning Activities Let us do some fun activities with the ants went marching. These help us remember the words and enjoy the song.
Activity 1: Ant Finger Puppets Make small ant puppets from paper or felt. Put them on fingers. Children use them to act out the marching. Each finger can be a different ant.
Activity 2: Marching Parade Children line up and march around the room. They can march one by one, then two by two, then three by three. Practice counting while marching.
Activity 3: Rainstorm Sounds Make rain sounds together. Rub hands for light rain. Snap fingers for medium rain. Pat legs for heavy rain. Add thunder sounds with voices. Use these sounds with the song.
Activity 4: Ant Actions Practice the actions from each verse. Suck thumb, tie shoe, climb tree, shut door, take dive, pick up sticks, pray, shut gate, check time, say "The End." Do each action at the right time.
Printable Materials We can make printable materials for the ants went marching. These are sheets to print at home or in class.
Lyric Sheet Print all the words of the song on one page. Use large, clear letters. Add small pictures of ants for each number. Children follow along while singing.
Coloring Page Draw simple pictures of ants marching. Add a cloud with rain. Children color the picture. Below, write the words "ants" and "rain" for tracing.
Ant Counting Sheet Draw lines of ants in groups. One group of one, one group of two, up to ten. Children count the ants in each group and write the number.
Number and Action Cards Make cards with numbers 1-10. Make cards with the actions from each verse. Children match the number to the action. 1 with suck thumb, 2 with tie shoe, etc.
Word Cards Print cards with words from the song. Ants, marching, rain, thumb, shoe, tree, door, dive, sticks, heaven, gate, time. On the back, draw simple pictures. Practice matching words to pictures.
Educational Games Games make learning with the ants went marching even more fun. Here are some games to play.
Game 1: Ant Marching Line Children line up in groups according to the number called. "March two by two!" Children form pairs and march. "March three by three!" Children form groups of three.
Game 2: Number Action Match Call out a number. Children do the action for that number. "Number one!" Children suck thumb. "Number two!" Children pretend to tie shoes. This builds listening and recall.
Game 3: Ant Bingo Make bingo cards with numbers 1-10 or with action pictures. Call out numbers or actions. Players cover the matching square.
Game 4: What's Missing? Place number cards 1-10 in order. Let children look for one minute. Remove one card. Ask what number is missing. This builds number recognition.
Game 5: Memory Match Make pairs of cards. One card has a number. One card has the action for that number. Players match numbers to actions.
Game 6: Ant Race Give each child an ant cutout. Have a race track. Children move their ants forward when they answer a question about the song correctly.
Game 7: Freeze March Play the song. Children march like ants. When the music stops, they freeze. The last to freeze sits down. Continue until one winner remains.
Game 8: Rhyming Word Match Make cards with words from the song. Find rhyming pairs. One with thumb. Two with shoe. Three with tree. Players match the rhymes.
Game 9: Ant Counting Jar Fill a jar with small ant toys or pictures. Children guess how many ants are inside. Then count together. Write the number.
Game 10: Ant Song Puzzle Print the lyrics and cut them into separate verses. Mix up the verses. Children put them in the correct order from one to ten.
Game 11: Ant Action Charades Act out an action from the song without speaking. Tie shoe, climb tree, shut door. Others guess which number it goes with.
Game 12: Rain or Shine Sort Make two signs. Rain and Sunshine. Give pictures of activities from the song. Children decide if the ants would do that in the rain or in sunshine.
Game 13: Ant Parade Children make ant headbands with antennae. They march around while singing. They can stop and do the actions at the right times.
Game 14: Number Line Game Place numbers 1-10 on the floor in a line. Children walk along the line. When they step on a number, they say the action for that number.
Game 15: Ant Story Time Make up a story about the ants. Where were they going? Why was it raining? What did they do after the rain stopped? Children add ideas.
Game 16: Ant Counting Snack Give children small snacks like raisins or crackers to represent ants. They count out groups. One raisin, two raisins, up to ten. Then they eat them.
Game 17: Ant Art Give children paper and stamps or stickers. They make ant pictures showing different numbers. One ant, two ants, three ants. Write the numbers.
Game 18: Ant Question Game Ask questions about the song. "What did the first ant do?" "How many ants marched nine by nine?" Children answer using complete sentences.
Game 19: Ant Pattern Game Create patterns with ant pictures. One ant, two ants, one ant, two ants. What comes next? Children continue the pattern.
Game 20: Ant and Rain Craft Make a picture with ants marching and clouds raining. Use cotton balls for clouds. Use blue paper for raindrops. Use black fingerprints for ants.
The ants went marching teaches children counting from one to ten. Each number has a rhyming action that makes it easy to remember. The marching rhythm gets children moving.
Every time children sing this song, they practice numbers and actions. They learn new words like hurrah and march. They make rain sounds and boom sounds.
The little ant who stops to do things makes children laugh. Sucking thumb, tying shoes, climbing trees. These are things children do too.
Keep marching and counting. Keep making rain sounds. The ants will always be ready to march again.
Happy singing and marching, everyone