I’m a Little Teapot

Whether it’s songs or rhymes, children love dancing to them! It’s understood why the I’m a Little Teapot song is so popular with children. It is one of the most widely sung English nursery rhymes and was written for students to master the “Waltz Clog” tap dance routine. Children can dance to the rhyme as they enact a teapot. The rhyme talks about the heating and pouring of a teapot. The song was recorded and published in 1941 by Bluebird Records.     

The lyrics of I’m a Little Teapot poem are below: 

I’m a little teapot  Short and stout  Here is my handle  Here is my spout 

When I get all steamed up  Hear me shout  “Tip me over  and pour me out!” 

I’m a clever teapot,  Yes it’s true  Here let me show you  What I can do

I can change my handle  And my spout  Just tip me over and pour me out!  

Your child can learn how teapots function and how heat causes the teapot to make a whistling sound. You can also teach them the dance which accompanies the song and have a blast! You can also introduce them to dancing by starting off with this rhyme.   

The rhyme is narrated from a teapot’s point of view. The teapot is calling out and telling the reader that it is short and stout. It then shows where its handle and spout are. When the teapot gets steamed up, it shouts, asking for the contents to be tipped over and poured out. Then the teapot calls itself clever and shows that it can change its handle and spout. The rhyme doesn’t have much of a theme; it is pretty straightforward and talks about a teapot as if it were a human.   

The rhyming scheme of each paragraph is:  Para 1: ABCB  Para 2: ABCB  Para 3: ABBB Para 3: ABCB

The words your child can learn are:  Adjectives: Little, short, stout, steamed, and clever  Nouns: Teapot, handle, and spout  Verb: Hear, tip, and pour  Preposition: over   

Here are the steps:  Here is my handle  (One hand on your hip)  Here is my spout  (Your other arm out straight) 

and pour me out!”  (Lean over towards spout)  

 And my spout  (Switch your arm positions)  Just tip me over and pour me out!  (Lean over towards spout)  

2.  If you have a white teapot or can buy one, allow your child to paint the teapot with acrylic colours as they sing the rhyme. Show them the different teapot parts and describe what is happening in the rhyme as they paint!   

You can teach your little one the song anytime you find suitable! There’s no age to learn. Even if you have a 1-year-old, you can still sing the rhyme to them.

Adults may not find the rhyme appealing, but little ones love it as it is easy to sing along with and comes with steps!