Songs for Shakers

We're preparing for a ten hour car trip with the children and hoping to stop as little as possible.  One of the things I've packed in my newly created Fidget Basket are our little egg-shakers, plus the lone maraca I once picked up at a thrift store.  I'm planning to go through my shaker-song list with the kids as part of our in-car entertainment. (Well, entertaining for the children; possibly not so much for my husband.)

Over the years, I've made note of shaker songs whenever I came across them at various story-times, and I've built up quite a little collection now.  I've never had much luck googling for them though, so this seems like a good time to share my research with the internet.

Ingredients for a Good Shaker Song

While you can use shakers to any song with an obvious rhythm, children love the ones that get them moving their shakers in different ways.  Most shaker songs tend to get them putting shakers on parts of their body or going through up and down and side to side, usually to the tune of a familiar nursery rhyme.  I've also come across a few with original tunes which tend to be more popular with the children I've sung to.  Pro-tip: anything with a 'stop!' in the song is a big highlight.

Actions are usually self-explanatory.  I learned most of these at the Baby Garden storytime, at the Mary D Pretlow Anchor Branch Library.

This is the way we start our day
(tune: Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush)
This is the way we start our day,
Start our day, start our day.
This is the way we start our day,
So early in the morning!

First we go side to side…

Next we go up and down…

Then we go all round…

This is the way we start our day...


Shake your bells
(tune: Frere Jacques)
Shake your bells,
Shake your bells,
High and low,
High and low.
Shake them really fast,
Shake them really fast,
Just like this,
Just like this.

Shake your bells,
Shake your bells,
Side to side,
Side to side,
Shake them really slow,
Shake them really slow,
Just like this,
Just like this.

For the next pair of songs, any body part can be used.  I generally work up the body, so the second verse picks something of the lower half, the third verse something from the upper half, and the fourth has something on the head.  Ending on the head means that we're tapping more gently, winding down to a peaceful rather than exuberant finish.

I Shake My Bells Today
(tune: Farmer in the Dell)
I shake my bells today,
I shake my bells today,
I shake them all around the room,
I shake my bells today.

I tap them on my toe…

I tap them on my chest…

I tap them on my cheek…


Can you shake along with me?
(tune: London Bridge is Falling Down)
Can you shake along with me,
Along with me, along with me?
Can you shake along with me?
It’s as easy as can be!

Place the shaker on your knee…

Place the shaker on your arm…

Place the shaker on your nose…

The remaining songs have original tunes.  You can find videos of Bell Horses being sung on Youtube, but I didn't want to embed somebody's home video just for the sake of sharing the tune!  I can't find Shake Your Shaker online at all, I'm afraid, so you'll have to make it up!

Shake Your Shaker
Shake, shake, shake your shaker,
Shake, shake, shake your shaker,
Shake, shake, shake your shaker,
And now we stop!

Roll, roll, roll your shaker…

Tap, tap, tap your shaker…

Bell Horses

Bell horses, bell horses,
What’s the time of day?
Bell horses, bell horses,
What’s the time of day?
One o’clock,
Two o’clock,
Three o’clock I say!

I shake my bells up high!
I shake my bells down low!
I shake them, shake them, shake them, shake them
Then I make them stop!

Bell horses, bell horses,
What’s the time of day?

I’m Going to Kentucky
 
I’m going to Kentucky,
I’m going to the fair,
To see a señorita,
With flowers in her hair.
Shake it, baby, shake it,
Shake it while you can.
Shake it like a milkshake,
And pour it in a can.
Shake it to the bottom,
Shake it to the top,
Shake it round and round and round,
Until I tell you… stop!

Finally, here's another on Youtube, though the lyrics are hard to make out. Shake Your Shakers, Shake, Shake, Shake