Mother Shake the Cherry Tree Lyrics
Mother shakes the cherry tree, Susan catches a cherry, and the cherries are shared out: one for brother, one for sister, two for mother and six for father, who arrives hot and tired. Eight lines with a built-in sum, by Christina Rossetti.
Mother Shake the Cherry Tree
Mother shake the cherry-tree,
Susan catch a cherry;
Oh how funny that will be,
Let's be merry!
One for brother, one for sister,
Two for mother more,
Six for father, hot and tired,
Knocking at the door.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/mother-shake-the-cherry-tree/
- Type
- Poems for Children, Counting Rhymes
- Written by
- Christina Rossetti
- Tune
- Quick and bouncing, like a clapping game, slowing for the last line
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Mother shake the cherry-tree | Hold both fists up high and give them a small shake. |
| Susan catch a cherry | Cup your hands together in front of you to catch. |
| Knocking at the door | Tap three times on a table or on the air. |
What Does Mother Shake the Cherry Tree Mean?
The poem has two halves. In the first four lines Mother shakes the tree and Susan is told to catch a cherry: "Oh how funny that will be", and the last line of the half is a call to be merry. The second half hands out the cherries. They are shared by name: one for brother, one for sister, two for mother more, six for father.
The numbers make a sum a child can do on fingers: 1 + 1 + 2 + 6 = 10 cherries given out, after the one that Susan catches. Father's share is the biggest, and the poem says why: he is "hot and tired" and "knocking at the door", arriving at the house just as the cherries are shared out.
Some words sound the same at the end of lines: tree rhymes with be, cherry with merry, and more with door. That lets a child guess the last word before it is read.
History and Origin
The rhyme comes from Rossetti's Sing-Song, the nursery-rhyme book she published in 1872. The beat is bouncy and regular, so it reads like a clapping or skipping rhyme even though a poet wrote it down.
The household in the poem is a mother, a father, a brother, a sister and a girl called Susan. Susan may be the sister herself or another child of the house.
Learning Activities
- Cherry sum: use ten buttons or pom-poms and share them out as the poem says: one, one, two, six. Count what is left.
- Catch the cherry: toss a soft pom-pom gently up for a child to catch in both hands, always up and never at anyone.
- Change the names: let a child put their own family members in the poem and decide how many cherries each gets.
- Rhyme finder: read the poem and stop before each rhyming word, so the group can say it.