Farmer in the dell

Farmer in the dell is a classic sing-along kids birthday party game that will have your children wanting to play again and again. Get your kids moving to the music and enjoy this timeless party classic today!

What you need:

Number of players:
10+

Activity:

Arrange all of the children standing in a circle.

One person is chosen as the farmer and stands in the middle.

Everyone sings, "The farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell, High ho, the Derry-oh the farmer in the dell" and walk around in the circle.

The next verse is "The farmer takes a wife . . .," which is sung as the first person chooses another person from the circle to come to the inside.

The next verse is "The wife takes a child . . .,"

The second person inside the circle chooses a third person to be the child.

This continues with "The child takes a dog . . .,"

"The dog takes a cat . . .,"

"The cat takes a rat . . .," and

"The rat takes the cheese . . .."

The final verse is "The cheese stands alone . . ."

When all people on the inside of the circle go back to the outer edge of the circle and sing as the last person chosen "stands alone" in the circle.

Full lyrics to this song are:

The farmer in the dell
The farmer in the dell
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer in the dell

And the farmer takes a wife
The farmer takes a wife
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer takes a wife

And the wife takes the child
The wife takes the child
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The wife takes the child

And the child takes the nurse
The child takes the nurse
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The child takes the nurse

And the nurse takes the dog
The nurse takes the dog
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The nurse takes the dog

And the dog takes the cat
The dog takes the cat
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The dog takes the cat

And the cat takes the mouse
The cat takes the mouse
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The cat takes the mouse

And the mouse takes the cheese
The mouse takes the cheese
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The mouse takes the cheese

And the cheese stands alone
The cheese stands alone
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The cheese stands alone