This is a great song for practicing counting, especially counting down from 10. There is plenty of time between verses to ask the students what comes next.
Lyrics & Gestures
(Start with everybody seated)
Here we go!
There were ten in the bed and the little one said, (Hold up 10 fingers.)
"Roll over, roll over" (Roll hands around each other.)
So they all rolled over and one fell out. (Everyone rolls to the right.)
Nine! (Hold up 10 fingers and then take one away, leaving 9.)
There were nine in the bed and the little one said, (Hold up 9 fingers.)
"Roll over, roll over" (Roll hands around each other.)
So they all rolled over and one fell out. (Everyone rolls to the left.)
Eight! (Hold up 9 fingers and then take one away, leaving 8.)
There were eight in the bed and the little one said, (Hold up 8 fingers.)
"Roll over, roll over" (Roll hands around each other.)
So they all rolled over and one fell out. (Everyone rolls to the right.)
Seven! (Hold up 8 fingers and then take one away, leaving 7.)
There were seven in the bed and the little one said, (Hold up 7 fingers.)
"Roll over, roll over" (Roll hands around each other.)
So they all rolled over and one fell out. (Everyone rolls to the left.)
Six! (Hold up 7 fingers and then take one away, leaving 6.)
There were six in the bed and the little one said, (Hold up 6 fingers.)
"Roll over, roll over" (Roll hands around each other.)
So they all rolled over and one fell out. (Everyone rolls to the right.)
Five! (Hold up 6 fingers and then take one away, leaving 5.)
There were five in the bed and the little one said, (Hold up 5 fingers.)
"Roll over, roll over" (Roll hands around each other.)
So they all rolled over and one fell out. (Everyone rolls to the left.)
Four! (Hold up 5 fingers and then take one away, leaving 4.)
There were four in the bed and the little one said, (Hold up 4 fingers.)
"Roll over, roll over" (Roll hands around each other.)
So they all rolled over and one fell out. (Everyone rolls to the right.)
Three! (Hold up 4 fingers and then take one away, leaving 3.)
There were three in the bed and the little one said, (Hold up 3 fingers.)
"Roll over, roll over" (Roll hands around each other.)
So they all rolled over and one fell out. (Everyone rolls to the left.)
Two! (Hold up 3 fingers and then take one away, leaving 2.)
There were two in the bed and the little one said, (Hold up 2 fingers.)
"Roll over, roll over" (Roll hands around each other.)
So they both rolled over and one fell out. (Everyone rolls to the right.)
One! (Hold up 2 fingers and then take one away, leaving 1.)
There was one in the bed and the little one said, (Hold up 1 finger.)
"I'm lonely...[sigh]" (Droop your shoulders....then everyone hugs!!!)
Activities
If you have a Ten in the Bed book (try this one), try reading it as you sing the song together. The teacher or parent can sing, "There were ten in the bed and the little one said..." and the children sing "Roll over, roll over!"
If you have a class with 10 or more students, have 10 of the students act out the song while the other students sing! You can also use stuffed animals to act out the song, or try using finger puppets!
More Videos
Val from Daddy Ross Preschool in Buenos Aires, Argentina sends along this amazing video of a great way to sing "Ten in the Bed."
Val also suggests, if you have less than 10 kids in your classroom, you can put stuffed animals on the chairs between the children. The children handle the stuffed animals so that first the stuffed animal falls out of bed, and then the child.
Or, you can fast forward song to the number of children you have in class. So if you have 7 kids in your class or at your party, start the song from "There were seven in the bed...".
