Everyone has heard of the children’s song ’10 green bottles’, but do we all actually realise how mathematical the song is? Especially from the perspective of a child?
Nursery rhymes are used as a technique to teach children maths but in a fun and engaging way. It was not until I looked into maths within music that I remembered the amount of childhood nursery rhymes which I sang as a child, that involve mathematics. Such as ‘Ten in a Bed’, ‘Five Little Speckled Frogs’, ‘Five Little Ducks’, ‘One, Two Buckle My Shoe’ and ‘Round and Round the Garden’. The nursery rhyme which sticks in my head most is ’10 Green Bottles’,
10 Green Bottles video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0ooQv7oHvw
The song follows the format of;
Ten green bottles hanging on the wall,
Ten green bottles hanging on the wall,
And if one green bottle should accidently fall,
There’ll be nine green bottles hanging on the wall.
Nine green bottles hanging on the wall,
Nine green bottles hanging on the wall,
And if one green bottle should accidently fall,
There’ll be eight green bottles hanging on the wall.
(Continue singing until only one green bottle is left)
One green bottle hanging on the wall,
One green bottle hanging on the wall,
And if that one green bottle should accidently fall,
There’ll be no green bottles hanging on the wall.
No green bottles hanging on the wall.
It is obvious that the song involves subtracting and the ability to be able to count backwards. However, children may find this very difficult. As adults we take for granted our ability to perform basic maths and can sing these nursery rhymes easily and without hesitation. But for most children they will have to continuously work on remembering what number comes next in the countdown, whilst also placing it into its literate context within the song. This is difficult for children and should be remembered next time you hear a young child singing a nursery rhyme as they pass you.
The repetitive nature of the song is catchy and young children feel comfort in the fact that the verses are the same bar the decreasing number. It is only one variable in each verse compared to popular pop songs which may contain several different verses. Early years children will also appreciate the actions which accompany the songs, as they help them to remember the words in the songs.
