Chucks Lyrics
Five small stones in one hand, and a Scottish jingle that sets the pace: sweep, lift, cream the milk, spread the butter thick.
Chucks
Sweep the floor, lift a chair,
Sweep below it, and lay it down.
Cream the milk, cream the milk,
Quick, quick, quick,
Spread a piece and butter on it thick, thick, thick.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/chucks/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- Chanted, one move per line
- Best for ages
- 6 to 11 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Sweep the floor, lift a chair | Brush your hand across the ground, then lift one stone. |
| Cream the milk, cream the milk | Skim your hand across a pretend bowl, twice. |
| Quick, quick, quick | Speed up the lifting and catching. |
| Spread a piece and butter on it thick, thick, thick | Pretend to spread butter, three big swipes. |
What Does Chucks Mean?
Chucks is a tossing-and-catching game played with five small pieces, either pebbles, which the Scots called chuckie-stanes, or sea-shells. It is closely related to five-stones and to modern jacks. The rhyme was said while lifting one stone each time, and its words read like a list of kitchen chores: sweeping, moving a chair, taking the cream off the milk, and spreading butter on a piece, which in Scotland means a slice of bread. The rhythm is the point, and the speed picks up with every quick.
History and Origin
Alice Bertha Gomme prints the rhyme in the second volume of The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1898). It came from Perth, sent in by Dr. Gregor, and she points readers to her longer entries on Five-stones and Huckle-bones. In her first volume she quotes Jamieson on how Chucks was played: pebbles are spread on a flat stone, one is tossed up, and the player must gather a certain number and catch the falling one with the same hand.
Learning Activities
- Play along: use five smooth pebbles or counters and lift one on each line of the rhyme.
- Safety first: pick stones too big to swallow, with no sharp edges, and keep the game for children who no longer put things in their mouths.
- Kitchen mime: act out sweeping, lifting a chair, skimming cream and buttering bread.