Counting Songs
23 counting songs and number rhymes for children — One Two Buckle My Shoe, Ten Green Bottles, Five Little Ducks, and more. Free audio and full lyrics.
23 songs
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One Finger, One Thumb
Keep moving! The happiest cumulative action song in the nursery
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Five Little Ducks
The gentle countdown song about a mother duck whose ducklings swim further and further away
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Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
The irresistible bedtime countdown with bouncing monkeys and a very patient doctor
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One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Counting from buckled shoes to big fat hens and back again
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One, Two, Three, Four, Five
Once I caught a fish alive — the small cost of letting go
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Ten Green Bottles
Hanging on the wall, and accidentally falling one by one
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Ten Green Speckled Frogs
One by one they jump into the cool pool — then there were none
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Three Blind Mice
The three blind mice who ran after the farmer's wife — two versions in one
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One Man Went to Mow
A counting meadow song that builds from one man to ten
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Three Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree
Three monkeys taunt Mr Alligator and pay the price one by one
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Two Fat Gentlemen
A finger play song with fat gentlemen, thin ladies, tall policemen and little babies
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Five Currant Buns
The classic countdown counting song set in a baker's shop
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Five Fat Sausages
The satisfyingly explosive counting-down song with a sizzle and a bang
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Five Little Frogs on a Lily
A splashy counting-down song about five frogs diving one by one into a pond
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Five Little Men in a Flying Saucer
A cosmic counting-down song about five tiny aliens who don't like what they see
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Inchworm
Two and two are four — counting marigolds while missing their beauty
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Number Bonds to Ten
Zero and ten, one and nine — learning to add up to ten through song
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One Potato, Two Potato
A medley of counting rhymes and playground dips
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Peter Hammers
Hammering along with Peter, one hammer at a time
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Six Little Ducks
The one with the feather on his back leads the quacking
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Ten Little Indians
Counting up to ten and counting back again
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There Were Ten in a Bed
Ten in a bed and the little one says roll over — until there's just one left
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Three Wise Men of Gotham
Three wise men sail to sea in a bowl — and the bowl was not strong enough
About This Collection
Counting songs are among the most useful songs in the nursery rhyme repertoire — they teach number recognition and counting skills through repetition and melody in a way that feels entirely natural to young children. Long before anyone thought to make the process educational, these songs existed simply because numbers lend themselves so well to musical patterns.
Twenty-three songs are gathered here, covering numbers in almost every imaginable configuration. "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" counts from one to ten with a rhyming action. "Ten Green Bottles" counts down in satisfying increments. "Five Little Ducks" practices subtraction by degrees. "One Man Went to Mow" builds upward with gleeful repetition. "This Old Man" has been teaching children to count to ten with a knick-knack paddywhack for longer than anyone can reliably trace.
These are songs that children absorb effortlessly and often keep with them for life. The recordings in this collection are bright, energetic, and clearly enunciated — exactly what you want when a child is learning both the words and the numbers simultaneously. Parents and early-years practitioners alike will find them invaluable.