One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four: 165 Chants for Children

One potato, two potato, three potato, four, Five potato, six potato, seven potato, more! Young children have an innate ear for the use of language. They delight in good verse, meter, and rhyme. And they love to hear and repeat familiar chants. The true work of childhood is play, for this is where children learn. And the play of language is both fun in itself, and preparation for later speaking, listening, reading and writing. Using chants with young children will stimulate imagination, help the development of memory, extend knowledge and vocabulary, and will promote a love of the language. Here are old and familiar chants, and some you may not have heard before. They have all been selected because small children love them, and will enjoy them over and over again.

About the Author

Mary Lou Colgin, the author and collector of these chants, is a storyteller, teacher, mime, and painter. She is also active as a consultant to the New York State Department of Education and conducts workshops for teachers. She lives in upstate New York. She also produced It’s Your Story, a personal history workbook.