Hickory Dickory Dock…Crash!

Uh oh.

Hickory Dickory Dock is a popular English nursery rhyme about a mouse that goes up and down a clock. It’s simple. It’s fun. And it introduces some basic concepts like up and down, simple counting, and telling time. We love it!

But we also thought it was so simple that it provided an opportunity to introduce more language. “Why just a mouse?” we thought.  We also thought it would be interesting to play with the idea of “What happens when bigger and bigger animals climb up the clock?” Our version, “Hickory Dickory…Crash!” is a little bit silly, but a lot of fun.

We recommend this song for children 4 and over. Most kids at every age enjoy the song, but very young children haven’t yet made enough sense of the world to see the absurdity or humor of an elephant climbing a clock. Some children may be upset or scared when the elephant falls. As always, we encourage you to watch the video with your children or students and discuss it. Use that pause button! Ask, What animal do you think is next? What time is next? Can an elephant really climb up a clock? Why does the clock break? Have fun acting out the different scenes.

Try giving children something to make noise with like pots and wooden spoons, tambourines, bells, or triangles. Sing Hickory Dickory Dock (with our without the music), and whenever you sing, “The clock struck one/two/three/etc.” the children can make the clock noise by banging on their pots.  Challenge them with bigger and bigger numbers!

On the Super Simple Songs – Animals enhanced CD, you’ll find the song, an instrumental sing-along version (so you can introduce new animals and times if you like), and a bunch of printable worksheets for reviewing the animals and telling time. Enjoy the song, sing along, and let it lead you into time telling practice!