One, Two, Buckle my Show – And The Moral
One, Two, Buckle my Show – And The Moral
One, two, Buckle my shoe;
Three, four, Knock at the door;
Five, six, Pick up sticks;
Seven, eight, Lay them straight:
Nine, ten, A big fat hen;
Eleven, twelve, Dig and delve;
Thirteen, fourteen, draw the curtain,
Fifteen sixteen, the maid’s in the kitchen,
Seventeen, eighteen, she’s in waiting,
Nineteen, twenty, my stomach’s empty.
What about this Rhyme? 🙂 🙂 🙂
I personally had a special fascination with this rhyme. Do you know why? In my memory, the poem is still echoing. And I still remember how my mom made me understand this rhyme as a kid. It was pure action with pronunciation. It made it easy for me to go with this rhyme. Ask me anytime, and I can recite the rhyme even today. It was the first poem that I taught my son, and I followed the same pattern as MA. I read in a magazine that before bedtime, parents should tell stories to their kids. It helps them memorize and visualize better. I did it with this rhyme and with action…. AHAAAAAA!!!! The outcome was so magical. Ani enjoyed and memorized. Then I shared the lessons of the rhyme, and his eyes showed that he understood. The actions he gave to this rhyme were far better than mine. His favorite line is ” Nine, ten, A big fat hen.” 🙂 🙂 🙂
Well Jane Cabrera is the author of this rhyme. How many of you know about her?
Lesson 1: Learning Numbers In a Fun Way
This rhyme helps us learn to count from one to twenty while singing and smiling! When we say the numbers again and again, our memory gets stronger. So, learning can be just as much fun as playing!. Whatever we learn in a playful manner helps us in memorizing fast.
Lesson 2: Do Small Things by Yourself – Be Self-dependent
When we hear ‘buckle my shoe,’ it reminds us that we can try to do little things on our own — like tying our shoelaces, packing our bag, or closing the door carefully. It feels good to do things without always asking for help! So this lesson is not just for kids but for the adults too. Mumma and Papa should also do small things on their own. It will make them more confident in life and following that the child will also be confident in life.
Lesson 3: Be Clean and Tidy– After all Its your Hygiene
Pick up sticks and lay them straight teach us to keep our toys, books, and clothes in the right place. When our room is clean and neat, it looks beautiful, and we can find everything easily. For the parents too they should keep their personal things and the household things in the right place and in right way too. Remember your kids observe you and adapt your actions in their lives.
Helping Hands Make Happy Homes
When the rhyme says ‘the maid’s in the kitchen,’ it tells us that everyone can help at home. We can help by putting our plates away, folding our clothes, or watering the plants. Helping makes us kind and caring. Specially for the Papa of the house, understand its not just the mom’s job to be in the kitchen. You can help her too and with time the child will observe and grow up as a caring and sensible human being.
Take Care of Your Health
At the end, it says ‘my stomach’s empty,’ which means we should eat on time and take care of our body. Eating healthy food gives us energy to play, study, and grow strong! Everyone should follow a routine and take care of meal time, healthy eating, exercise and rest.
As a parent, when explaining this rhyme, you can follow the lessons I mentioned above. Or, if you wish, you can do it your way too. But, if you prefer to share it as a summary, then what can you say? Each pair of numbers has a small action or story — like buckling shoes, knocking on a door, picking up sticks, or helping in the kitchen. It guides us to count, stay neat and tidy, help at home, and take care of ourselves every day! If they follow the lessons, they will become good human beings whom everyone will love and appreciate.
Dear Parents, these lessons are applicable for you too. You are the idols of your child when you embrace these lessons in life, you help your child to embrace a healthy, wealthy and caring lifestyle.
This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla
in collaboration with Ratna Prabha.
I did not know about the creator of this nursery rhyme Jane Cabrera and also knew it only till Big Fat Hen so another learning gained.Subconsciously these rhymes though apparently for fun or just learning aids instill so much about helping each other, self reliability and self care.
The rhyme holds such beautiful.lessons for the kids and the adults too. Your way of secoding the rhyme is brilliant. I got something to play to my daughter today!
The way you connected each line to practical teachings—like self-reliance, cleanliness, shared responsibilities and health was enlightening. It’s evident that these rhymes, often taken lightly, carry deeper meanings that shape character.
Such a practical, doable approach to harmonious living from a children’s nursery rhyme. I enjoy the way you pick a single topic and build a series out of it.
Such a thoughtful take on a classic rhyme! You’ve beautifully connected each line to real-life lessons—self-reliance, tidiness, shared responsibilities, and health. It’s a wonderful reminder that even the simplest nursery rhymes can teach us valuable life skills. I’ll definitely be sharing this with my little nieces and nephews!
I am learning my rhymes again. I never knew this rhyme beyond Eleven, Twelve dig and delve. Your interpretations of these simple rhymes are very insightful. Your son is very lucky to have you teaching him.
This rhyme must’ve helped so many kids learn numbers as well as hygiene and independence. One of my kids’ favourites.
I love these blogs where you decode the poems. Also I’ll definitely read this to my nephew. Such a beautiful way to make kids learn!
I had forgotten this rhyme. Truly, it is the best way to learn and you have explained it so nicely. You would be a perfect pre school educator. You have such a love for these things.
I love this series, where you interpret the rhymes with lessons. So much to learn, for kids and adults alike.
Truth be told, I have never heard of Jane Cabrera. And now after reading this, the poem makes so much sense. I’ve never given this a thought. Now, I feel so foolish. Every rhyme has a story, and I wonder why I never thought deeper.
Interesting take on the series! You balanced the moral insight with just the right amount of pop-culture flair. It’s refreshing to see a review that looks beyond the shock value and digs into what the story is actually trying to say.
The way you connected this rhyme to life is admirable. Shows that you think deep and reflect before you blog. Kudos to you
This brought back such warm memories! I love how you tied the rhyme to moments with your mom and now your son. The joy, actions, and learning across generations—so beautiful. “Nine, ten, a big fat hen” lives on! 🥰
Most of the nursery rhymes come with a dark undertone to it. But this is so clean!!!
What an amazing way to explain the rhyme. So true this is for adults too.