Animals Essential Activities for Preschool

Old MacDonald Had a Farm is a popular nursery rhyme and kids’ favorite song about the farmer who keeps different animals on his farm. Old MacDonald song includes 5-6 verses, each related to a specific animal and its respective noise. Kids will be delighted to imitate sounds, while learning all the farm animals with this fun, lively Old MacDonald video. Lyrics: Old MacDonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o, And on his farm he had a duck, ee-i-ee-i-o. With a quack quack here and a quack quack there, Here a quack, there a quack, everywhere a quack quack. Old MacDonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o. Old MacDonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o, And on his farm he had a cow, ee-i-ee-i-o. With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, Here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo. Old MacDonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o. Old MacDonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o, And on his farm he had a sheep, ee-i-ee-i-o. With a baa baa here and a baa baa there, Here a baa, there a baa, everywhere a baa baa. Old MacDonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o. Old MacDonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o, And on his farm he had a horse, ee-i-ee-i-o. With a neh neh here and a neh neh there, Here a neh, there a neh, everywhere a neh neh. Old MacDonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o. Old MacDonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o, And on his farm he had some chickens, ee-i-ee-i-o. With a cluck cluck here and a cluck cluck there, Here a cluck, there a cluck, everywhere a cluck cluck. Old MacDonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o.

It has been suggested that the song may have originally arisen out of American minstrelsy. The earliest printing of the song is from 1852 when the lyrics were published with similar lyrics to those used today, but with a very different tune. It was reprinted again two years later with the same lyrics and another tune. The modern tune was first recorded with the lyrics in 1881, mentioning Eliphalet Oram Lyte in The Franklin Square Song Collection but not making it clear whether he was the composer or adapter.