Sieve My Lady's Oatmeal Lyrics
Sifting oatmeal, grinding flour and waiting an hour, then everyone rushes under the bush. A six-line game rhyme from the old kitchen and the mill.
Sieve My Lady's Oatmeal
Sieve my lady's oatmeal,
Grind my lady's flour,
Put it in a chesnut,
Let it stand an hour;
One may rush, two may rush,
Come, my girls, walk under the bush.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/sieve-my-ladys-oatmeal/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- Chanted game rhyme
- Best for ages
- 4 to 9 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Sieve my lady's oatmeal | Shake your hands as if sifting through a sieve. |
| Grind my lady's flour | Turn your fists in circles like a millstone. |
| Let it stand an hour | Freeze and wait. |
| Come, my girls, walk under the bush | Two children make an arch and the others walk under it. |
What Does Sieve My Lady's Oatmeal Mean?
To sieve oatmeal is to shake it through a mesh to take out the lumps, and to grind flour is to crush grain into powder. "Chesnut" is an old spelling of chestnut. After the kitchen work, the players rush, one, two, and walk "under the bush", probably an arch made by two children's arms.
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell printed the rhyme with a note that it seemed to belong to a game, but was usually found on its own in small books of children's rhymes. Many old games acted out household work, like Oats and Beans and Barley Grow.
Learning Activities
- Kitchen actions: mime sifting, grinding and waiting on each line.
- Real sieve: sift some flour together and watch the lumps stay behind.
- Arch game: finish by walking under an arch made of two players' arms.