Twenty Little Snowflakes Lyrics
Twenty little snowflakes climb up a wire although their mother tells them not to go higher, because the sun will catch them. They do not listen, and the sun turns every one of them into a drop of water.
Twenty Little Snowflakes
Twenty little snowflakes climbing up a wire.
"Now, listen," said their mother, "don't you climb up any higher.
The sun will surely catch you, and scorch you with his fire."
But the naughty little snowflakes didn't mind a word she said,
Each tried to clamber faster than his fellow just ahead;
They thought that they'd be back in time enough to go to bed.
But they found out that their mother wasn't quite the dunce they thought her,
The sun bobbed up - remember this, my little son and daughter -
And turned those twenty snowflakes into twenty drops of water.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/twenty-little-snowflakes/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Leroy F. Jackson
- Tune
- A quick, bouncy chant that slows down for the mother's warning and ends with a flat, funny stop
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| climbing up a wire. | Walk the fingers of one hand up the other arm. |
| into twenty drops of water. | Flutter your fingers down like falling flakes, then let them drop into your lap. |
What Does Twenty Little Snowflakes Mean?
This is a little cautionary tale with a science fact folded in. Twenty snowflakes ignore their mother and climb a wire, each racing the one in front. They think they will be back in time for bed. Their mother, who is not quite the dunce they thought, which means she is not a fool, was right: the sun comes up and turns them into twenty drops of water. A snowflake really does melt into water when it warms up.
The poem is told in nine long lines that run on quickly and rhyme in threes: wire, higher and fire, then said, ahead and bed. The ending is a surprise, because the reader learns that the sun is not a villain; it simply does what it always does. The line remember this, my little son and daughter sounds like a teacher stopping to give a lesson.
History and Origin
This poem comes from The Peter Patter Book of Nursery Rhymes by Leroy F. Jackson, published in 1918. All the rhymes in the book are Jackson's own.
Learning Activities
- Melt test: on a cold day, catch a snowflake or hold a little snow in a cup indoors and watch it turn to water.
- Ice cube race: put one ice cube in the sun and one in the shade and see which melts first.
- Paper snowflakes: fold and cut a few paper snowflakes and count how many you have made, aiming for twenty.
- Finish the story: ask the child what the snowflakes should have done instead of climbing higher.