Little Tee Wee Lyrics
Six short lines send Little Tee Wee out to sea in an open boat, and then the story stops as soon as the boat bends.
Little Tee Wee
Little Tee Wee,
He went to sea
In an open boat;
And while afloat
The little boat bended,
And my story's ended.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/little-tee-wee/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken quickly, with a pause before the last line
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| He went to sea | Make waves with both hands moving side to side. |
| In an open boat | Cup your hands together like a boat and rock them. |
| And my story's ended | Clap once and open both hands wide. |
What Does Little Tee Wee Mean?
The rhyme tells a very small story with a very quick ending. Little Tee Wee goes to sea in an open boat, meaning a boat with no deck or cover. While he is afloat, the boat bends, and the speaker announces that the story is ended.
The fun is in the sudden stop. The pairs of words that chime, Wee and sea, boat and afloat, bended and ended, make the lines easy to remember, and children often like to add a longer story of their own after the last line.
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell prints the rhyme in The Nursery Rhymes of England, where it is numbered CCCCX, which is 410, in the long numbered run of rhymes that make up the book.
Learning Activities
- Finish the story: ask children to say what happens next to Little Tee Wee, and tell a longer tale.
- Paper boat: fold a paper boat and float it in a bowl of water.
- Rhyme pairs: find the pairs of rhyming words in the six lines and say them aloud.
- Open or closed: look at pictures of boats and sort them into open boats and boats with a roof.