Poems for Kids

“The Itsy Bitsy Spider crawled up the waterspout.

Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.

Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,

And the Itsy Bitsy Spider went up the spout again.”

This rhyme describes the adventures of a spider when it gets washed out of a gutter system! I find it really cute when kids recite it mainly because it is accompanied by a sequence of gestures that mimic the words of the song. For the first (and last) line, alternately touch the thumb of one hand to the index finger of the other. For “Down came the rain” hold both hands up and wiggle the fingers as you lower the hands (the rain). For “washed the spider out” sweep the hands to the side. For the third line bring both hands up and then to the sides to sweep out a semicircle (the sun). Then wiggle the fingers upwards (to show the rain drying in the sun), and repeat the thumb/index finger movement to indicate the spider climbing up the spout. Overdose of sweetness indeed !!