The lyrics to Mary Had a Little Lamb Nursery Rhyme have been used with children for centuries. There is some dispute about where they originated. However, most believe the original poem was written by Sarah Hale and based on a girl named Mary Sawyer from Sterling, Massachusetts.

As a part of “The Mother Goose Meets Mother Nature” books, we’ve designed a resource that uses the lyrics to Mary Had a Little Lamb to teach about animals. In addition, it helps children to grow spiritually, socially, and academically and allows them to become produce the fruit of the Spirit.

These three areas are more specifically described in the whole child approach and the holistic education model.

Mary Had a Little Lamb Rhyme

In the new nursery rhyme created with Mary and her lamb, Mary had one lamb, two snakes, and three birds. The “Mary Learns About Animal Coverings” printable guided reading book extends children’s knowledge of different types of animals and their body coverings. You can read more about this resource in another post. Additionally, teachers and students can use this new nursery rhyme to grow in three ways with our book and the: “Teach About Animal Coverings with Mary and Her Lamb” (available as a bundle on Teachers Pay Teachers)

1. Spiritual Growth using Mary Had a Little Lamb

In the lyrics to our version of the Mary Had a Little Lamb Nursery Rhyme, children are learning about different animal coverings. They explore fur or lamb’s wool. Likewise, they learn that snakes have scales and birds have feathers. When children gain an understanding that God made animals with different coverings, it opens up a world of curiosity.

Our God is so creative and each and everything He creates is unique and different. He gives us what we need to survive and thrive within the roles He has created for us. This is not just true for humans, it is also true for animals. A wonderful verse to share with them as they learn about animal coverings is Genesis 3:21. In this verse, God creates coverings for Adam and Eve from animal skins. Adam and Eve had already tried to cover themselves but God provided a better means.

Older children can begin to understand that if God made clothes from the animal, He must have killed it, and therefore, the animal’s blood was shed. This act covered their sin as well as the skins covering their nakedness. God provided just what was needed. You might ask the children to share how God provides clothes for them. Maybe they have an older sibling or cousin who gives them hand-me-down clothes.

From this discussion, you can talk to the students about why animals don’t wear clothes. Adam and Eve did not need them until they had sinned and learned to be ashamed of themselves. Animals are not ashamed of their bodies. In the teaching resource, students get to create clothes for Adam and Eve.

2. Social Growth with Mary Had a Little Lamb

Allowing students to work on an activity as a team promotes social growth. Have children search for pictures of animals in magazines, on the internet, and even in their toy boxes. Then create areas where children can sort the animals according to the coverings they have. You should have groups for fur, scales, and feathers. In addition, you can have groups for shells and skin. Children might discover that some animals could go into two different categories. This is a great time to create Venn Diagrams. In the teaching resource, students are provided labels and animal pictures to create posters or interactive journals.

3. Academic Growth with the Lyrics to Mary Had a Little Lamb Nursery Rhyme.

Extending the learning beyond science will allow students to grow their knowledge of math and reading too. Therefore, the lyrics to Mary had a Little Lamb Nursery Rhyme within this resource purposefully move in a sequential counting pattern. Mary has one lamb, two snakes, and three birds. The children should then test their knowledge by continuing the pattern with additional types of animals. What animal could Mary have four of? If Mary lives on a farm, what animals might she have? If she visits the jungle, what animals would she find? How does an animal’s covering help it survive within the climate that it lives in? During this study, it is a great time to visit a zoo and record the many animals and their coverings.

In conclusion, you can find other creative teaching resources that use different Nursery Rhyme Lyrics each month. And, because Little Pot believes that spiritual, social, and academic growth produce the fruit of the Spirit, each guide contains these three sections. Sign up below to get notified when a new resource has been released.

The Mother Goose meets Mother Nature Recommended Timeline

• September: (Routines and Schedules) “Hickory, the Mouse Learns About Time” and “Teach About Time with Hickory, the Mouse”.

• October: (Pumpkins) “Peter-Peter Learns About Decay and Growth” and “Teach About Decay and Growth with Peter-Peter”.

• November: (Healthy eating habits) “Jack Sprat Learns About Food” and “Teach About Food with Jack Sprat”.

• December/January: (Snow and ice, States of Matter) “Jack and Jill Learn About Water” and “Teach About Water with Jack and Jill”.

• February: (Shadows) “Jack B. Nimble Learns About Shadows“ and “Teach About Shadows with Jack B. Nimble”.

• March: (Animals and Habitats) “Mary Learns About Animal Coverings” and “Teach About Animal Coverings with Mary”.

• April: (Insects and Spiders) “Little Miss Muffet Learns About Spiders” and “Teach About Spiders with Little Miss Muffet”.

• May: (Life Cycles and Positional Words) “Humpty Dumpty Learns About Positions” and “Teach About Positions with Humpty Dumpty”.

Sign up for the 7 steps to become fruit-bearing vessels and we will notify you each month when a new teacher’s guide is released.

If you want to read more on this topic, check out the Helpful Professor.