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When I Was One

Song type: Actions, Active, Counting
Language: English
Genre: Maths
Age group: 0-2, 3-5
Audience: Baby, Children, Pre-school, Toddler
Topics: Bookbug

How to use this song with babies

Small babies will enjoy hearing you sing this song as you make eye contact and smile.

How to use this song with toddlers

Model the actions for toddlers to follow or help them out by taking their hands and assisting them to sway or jump. In pairs on the floor, they can hold hands to sway sideways, forwards and back (rowing action).

How to use this song with 3 to 5-year olds

In a group, sing this standing up. Use the full range of actions to keep children on their toes! Increase speed for even more of a challenge!

When I Was One lyrics

Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho,

When I was one I’d just begun,

The day I went to sea.

I jumped aboard the pirate ship

And the captain said to me –

‘We're going this way, that way,

Forwards and backwards,

Over the Irish sea.

A bottle of milk to fill my tum

And that's the life for me.

Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho

When I was two I lost my shoe…

The day I went to sea.

I jumped aboard the pirate ship

And the captain said to me –

‘We're going this way, that way,

Forwards and backwards,

Over the Irish sea.

A bottle of milk to fill my tum

And that's the life for me.

Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho,

When I was three I climbed a tree…

The day I went to sea.

I jumped aboard the pirate ship

And the captain said to me –

‘We're going this way, that way,

Forwards and backwards,

Over the Irish sea.

A bottle of milk to fill my tum

And that's the life for me.

Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho,

When I was four I knocked at the door…

The day I went to sea.

I jumped aboard the pirate ship

And the captain said to me –

‘We're going this way, that way,

Forwards and backwards,

Over the Irish sea.

A bottle of milk to fill my tum

And that's the life for me.

Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho

When I was five I learned to dive,

The day I went to sea.

I jumped aboard the pirate ship

And the captain said to me –

‘We're going this way, that way,

Forwards and backwards,

Over the Irish sea.

A bottle of milk to fill my tum

And that's the life for me,

Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.