Jelly on a Plate Nursery Rhyme

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Jelly on a Plate is our skipping song! As children we sang Jelly on a Plate when we were skipping or jumping rope. The two children turning the rope sang the nursery rhyme. The child skipping performed the song’s actions, i.e. wiggling and wobbling like jelly on a plate, blowing out candles a cake, flipping from back to front like sausages in the pan, gobbling up sweeties, and tipping the ground as if picking up money. If there was a group of children playing then the skipping privilege would pass from child to child; each child would only skip for one verse. Then all the children in the group would jump in to skip together at the end.

The Speks recreate this idea of a group of children skipping by having a different singer sing each verse. We also introduce the sounds of four melody instruments individually: timber flute, fiddle, banjo and accordion. An instrument plays the melody of the song’s verse on its own after each singer. To represent the group of children skipping in unison, all instruments play together for the finale. Throughout the song, the rhythm of the guitar is the same as the jumping rhythm of the skipper.

If you don't have Spotify, Apple Music, etc, go to our Skippin' Song page on Bandcamp where you can listen to the full version of our nursery rhyme set to Irish music for free, share it with your friends, and/or buy the MP3 download.

Download our colouring sheet for Jelly on a Plate. It was created for us by Sheena from Me and the Moon and it contains the text and illustrations of Jelly on a Plate that appear in our book of nursery rhymes.

Lyrics for Jelly on a Plate

Jelly on a plate jelly on a plate
With a wibbley wobbley wibbley wobbley
Jelly on a plate

Candles on a cake candles on a cake
Blow them out puff, puff, puff
Candles on a cake

Sausages in the pan sausages in the pan
Flip them over flip them over
Sausages in the pan

Sweeties in the jar sweeties in the jar
Gobble them up gobble them up
Sweeties in the jar

Money on the ground money on the ground
Pick it up pick it up
Money on the ground

Youtube Video of Jelly on a Plate

Click on the arrow below to watch our youtube video clip of "Jelly on a Plate"

Classroom Ideas for Jelly on a Plate

Physical Education: Bring your class skipping. All that is required is a rope. It’s fun and great exercise! Encourage your pupils to compose other verses and help them with the actions.

Art: Illustrate subject items in each verse, e.g. jelly on a plate, sausages in a pan, etc. If your pupils have composed other verses then get them to also illustrate the subject items.