Dance to Your Daddy and Fishy, Fishy in a Brook Nursery Rhymes

Here is our colouring sheet for Dance to Your Daddy and Fishy, Fishy in a Brook. It was created for us by Sheena from Me and the Moon and it contains the text and illustrations of Dance to Your Daddy and Fishy, Fishy in a Brook that appear in our book of nursery rhymes.

The first nursery rhyme in our song is derived from "When the Boat Comes In" which is a Northumbrian folk song. There are many versions of this song. Most are called "Dance to Your Daddy" and have been simplified for children.

We combine our version of "Dance to Your Daddy" with an adaptation of another children's nursery rhyme "Fishy, Fishy in a Brook" to demonstrate the ways that fish can be caught: by fishermen casting their nets from a boat or by a lone angler. We call this medley "Baby's Dish."

Click on the play arrow above to listen to our version of Dance to Your Daddy and Fishy, Fishy in a Brook set to Irish music for kids. Go to our Baby's Dish page where you can share our nursery rhyme with your friends and/or get it as a free MP3 download.

Dance to Your Daddy Lyrics

Dance to your daddy
My little laddie/lassie
Dance to your daddy
My little lamb

You shall have a fishy
On a little dishy
You shall have a fishy
When the boat comes in

Fishy, Fishy in a Brook Lyrics

Fishy fishy in a brook
Daddy caught him on a hook
Mammy cooked the little fish
And served it up in Baby’s dish

Classroom Ideas for Dance to Your Daddy and Fishy, Fishy in a Brook

Art: Create this fishing game with your class. Draw five fish on cardboard. Colour them in different colours and number them from one to five. Cut them out, attach paper clips to them and put them in a large clear bowl. Tie a magnet to a piece of string and attach the string to the end of a chop stick. Take turns using the fishing rod to catch the fish. Your pupils will learn about colours and numbers.

Physical Education: “Baby’s Dish” is like a slow waltz and is ideal for introducing children to ballroom dancing. Ballroom dancing develops left and right coordination, e.g. boy leads with his left foot and girl leads with her right.

Social, Environmental and Scientific Education: Name the species of fish found in your country’s waters. Are they freshwater or saltwater fish? What do they eat? Can we eat them? Explore the life cycle of salmon and eels if you have a class of older children. Read "Think of an Eel" by Karen Wallace.

Social, Personal and Health Education: What are the health benefits of eating fish? Who catches them for us? Explore the lifestyle of a commercial fisherman. What about fishing as a sport?