My Aunt
Came Back
Traditional (five and up)






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This traditional song is a favorite with older children (five
and over) and adults! I always start my teacher and librarian
workshops with it because it’s a perfect example of how singing
builds memory, put us in the present, and builds early literacy
(phonological awareness through rhyming), and vocabulary, all at
the same time! And movement is great for building executive
function, too! Try starting your next staff meeting with it, or
when you need to get the wiggles out with older kids.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Leader sings each line, and group echoes. Actions are
accumulative. So as each new verse is sung, the new actions is
added to the others. By the time you finish every part of your
body is moving, and everyone is laughing and having fun! When
singing with younger children, limit actions (verses) to three,
or how ever many the children can do without becoming
frustrated.
Oh my aunt came back
(group echoes)
From old Japan
(group echoes)
And she brought me back
(group echoes)
A paper fan
(group echoes)
(right hand open, fanning back and
forth)
Oh my aunt came back
(group echoes)
From old Algiers
(group echoes)
And she brought me back
(group echoes)
A pair of shears
(group echoes)
(left hand makes scissors that open and
close)
Oh my aunt came back
(group echoes)
From Holland too
(group echoes)
And she brought me back
(group echoes)
A wooden shoe
(group echoes)
(stamp one foot in rhythm)
Oh my aunt came back
(group echoes)
From old Chile
(group echoes)
And she brought me back
(group echoes )
An itchy flea
(group echoes)
(scratch body all over while continuing
to do other motions!)
Oh my aunt came back
(group echoes)
From the county fair
(echo)
And she brought me back
(group echoes)
A rocking chair
(group echoes)
(lean forward and back as if rocking)
Oh my aunt came back
(group echoes)
From the city zoo
(echo)
And she brought me back
(group echoes)
A monkey like you!
(group echoes)
(emphatically point to others)
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