Preschool and Kindergarten Music: How to Play London Bridge is Falling Down

Many people have forgotten how to play this old, but fun, musical game for children. So put your skipping shoes on and let’s review this classic children’s game.

You need at least eight children to play London Bridge Is Falling Down. You will need two bridge keepers, who will lock hands with each other over their heads to make an arc or a bridge. Line up the other children in pairs. Then you will have the children sing the song. While the song is being sung, the pairs of children will run or skip under the “bridge” and back to the end of the line. When the children get to the lines in the song that say, “Take the keys and lock them up,” the two children who are bridge keepers should lower their arms around the pair of children passing under the bridge. When the pair of children passing under the bridge begins to feel the bridge coming down on them, they should try to hurry through without being caught. If the bridge keepers are successful in catching the pair of children, those two children will come out of the line and stand behind the two bridge keepers, one child behind each bridge keeper. At this point, the children would begin singing the song again and keep playing until all the children have been caught under the bridge. This leaves two even teams of children. They should then play tug-of-war to finish the game. The winning team is the winner of the game.

Following are the words for London Bridge Is Falling Down:

London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down.

London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.

How shall we build it up again, up again, up again?

How shall we build it up again, my fair lady?

We will build with wood and clay, wood and clay, wood and clay.

We will build with wood and clay, my fair lady.

But wood and clay will wash away, wash away, wash away.

Wood and clay will wash away, my fair lady.

We will build with silver and gold, silver and gold, silver and gold.

We will build with silver and gold, my fair lady.

But silver and gold will be stolen away, stolen away, stolen away.

Silver and gold will be stolen away, my fair lady.

We’ll put a man to watch all night, watch all night, watch all night.

We’ll put a man to watch all night, my fair lady.

Suppose the man should fall asleep, fall asleep, fall asleep.

Suppose the man should fall asleep, my fair lady.

Take the keys and lock him up, lock him up, lock him up.

Take the keys and lock him up, my fair lady.

For more information on the history of London Bridge, check out this article.

For another article on preschool/kindergarten music, check out this article on how to make your own rhythm band instruments.

Reference:

• voices.yahoo.com/history-london-bridge-fire-nursery-26790.html?cat=16
• voices.yahoo.com/preschool-music-own-rhythm-band-instruments-7759882.html?cat=4