Making Butter Lyrics
Five short verses take cream from skimming to churning, pressing, patting and tasting, ending with butter spread on the children's bread.
Making Butter
Skim, skim, skim,
With the skimmer bright;
Take the rich and yellow cream,
Leave the milk so white.
Churn, churn, churn,
Now 'tis churning day;
Till the cream to butter turn
Dasher must not stay.
Press, press, press;
All the milk must be
From the golden butter now
Pressed out carefully.
Pat, pat, pat;
Make it smooth and round.
See! the roll of butter's done,
Won't you buy a pound?
Taste, oh! taste,
This is very nice;
Spread it on the children's bread,
Give them each a slice.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/making-butter/
- Type
- Poems for Children, Action Songs
- Written by
- Emilie Poulsson
- Tune
- Finger play, spoken or sung
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Skim, skim, skim | Hold one palm up with fingers slightly curved and move it back and forth. |
| Churn, churn, churn | Hold your fists as if holding a churn handle and move them up and down. |
| Press, press, press | Press one hand sideways, like a ladle, against the curve of your other arm. |
| Pat, pat, pat | Pat your fist with your other hand to make a roll of butter. |
| Spread it on the children's bread | Slide one index finger across your flat palm. |
What Does Making Butter Mean?
Each verse begins with a short repeated action word and describes one step in making butter. First the cream is skimmed from the milk, leaving the milk white. Next comes the churning, which goes on until the cream turns to butter. The milk is then pressed out of the golden butter, and the butter is patted into a smooth round roll. The last verse invites everyone to taste it and spread it on the children's bread.
The poem uses the words skimmer, churn and dasher, the stick that works in the churn. Children can say the repeated words, skim, churn, press and pat, as they move their hands.
History and Origin
Emilie Poulsson wrote the words, and the poem is printed in Finger Plays for Nursery and Kindergarten (1889) with music by C. C. Roeske. The book shows a hand movement for each step: a skimmer, a churn handle, a ladle for pressing, a bowl and a roll of butter.
It has five verses of four lines each, twenty lines in all.
Learning Activities
- Shake butter: shake cream in a closed jar until it turns to butter, then taste it on bread.
- Repeat the verbs: say skim, churn, press and pat and do a different action for each.
- Dairy talk: talk about where cream comes from.
- Spread and taste: spread butter on bread with a knife made for children.