The Itsy Bitsy Spider is an extremely popular children's song that's sung in different languages around the world. It's a nice little song that has actions that go with it.

Game Instructions

Hand Motions:

On lines 1 and 2: Touch your left thumb to your right pointer finger and then your right thumb to your left pointer finger, like a spider climbing up. Continue action to show the spider keeps climbing up.

On lines 3 and 4: Wiggle fingers downward like the rain coming down.

On lines 5 and 6: Open both fists outwards like the sun coming out.

On lines 7 and 8: Once again touch your left thumb to your right pointer finger and then your right thumb to your left pointer finger, like a spider climbing up. Continue action to show the spider keeps climbing up.

Comments

A version of "The Eensy Weensy Spider" was published in 1948 by Ruth Crawford Seeger in "American Folk Songs for Children". The song can also be found in a book from 1910 called "Camp and Camino in Lower California." It calls it "the classical spider song" which means it was most likely much older since they considered it "classical" at that time.

Here's the version in the book from 1910:

Oh, the blooming, bloody spider went up the spider web,
The blooming, bloody rain came down and washed the spider out,
The blooming, bloody sun came out and dried up all the rain,
And the blooming, bloody spider came up the web again.

Ann Bacon sent this version:

Incey, Wincey Spider
Climbed the water spout
Out came the rain
And washed the spider out,
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
So Incy Wincy spider climbed the spout again…

Download

Many thanks to Dale Durdunas for singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider for us in the mp3 recording!

Download MIDI Tune

Thanks and Acknowledgements

Thanks to Ann Bacon for sending a version of this song! Thanks to Monique Palomares for the illustration.