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Baa Baa Black Sheep


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Can I ask if any of you sing baa baa black sheep in your settings or if infact it has been band. I would be very interested to here what the current stand is. Thanks

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Surely not!

We sing this with a couple more verses - baa baa white sheep, ..... one for the badger, one for the fox, one for little girl with holes in her socks

baa baa brown sheep, ..... one for the donkey, one for the pig, one for the crocodile who's dancing a jig

 

Did you know that it had to do with taxation in the middle ages? one for the master a third going to the crown, one for the dame, a further third going to the Church (mother Church) and one (and sometimes none) for the little boy who lives (or cries) down the lane.

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Surely not!

We sing this with a couple more verses - baa baa white sheep, ..... one for the badger, one for the fox, one for little girl with holes in her socks

baa baa brown sheep, ..... one for the donkey, one for the pig, one for the crocodile who's dancing a jig

 

Did you know that it had to do with taxation in the middle ages? one for the master a third going to the crown, one for the dame, a further third going to the Church (mother Church) and one (and sometimes none) for the little boy who lives (or cries) down the lane.

 

Cait, I love your extra verses, they are great!

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It certainly shouldn't be banned anywhere - it is a traditional nursery rhyme and has no racial connotations. There were a couple of perhaps well meaning but extremely misinformed nurseries a few years back that took this step and of course the media decided to completely sensationalise the whole incident. However, as Marion says the urban myth persists!

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Phew!! Don't want to go into too much detail but I had an incident in my setting on friday regarding the singing of this song/rhyme. When I delved a little deeper I was told by a colleague who works in our borough that some settings had banned it due to it not being PC. Apparently some are told in training that it is about slavery!!!

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Certainly not banned at all, no more than those lovely black sheep out in the fields in Lancashire.

We sing Baa Baa white sheep as well but ...

'One for the kittens and one for the cats, and one for the guinea pigs to knit some woolly hats.

Thank you said the kittens, thank you said the cats, thank you said the guinea pigs we love our woolly hats.

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I am so glad to hear that you all feel the same way as I do. I think the incident was completely out of hand and I am sure there will be further repercussions. I will use your support to help me keep my cool :o

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Guest Wolfie
Apparently some are told in training that it is about slavery!!!

 

I'm sorry but that is absolutely ridiculous! :o

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Fun that this should come up!!

 

A collegue was saying on Friday that her mother had come back from playgroup with my collegues 2 years old daughter with a similiar tale. At singing time when the children were asked what they would like to sing my friends daughter had requested Baa, Baa Black sheep to be told the group couldn't sing about the black sheep but they would sing the other colours!!

 

She was enquiring what our nursery's policy was on this issue.

Edited by Guest
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I'm sorry but that is absolutely ridiculous! :o

But you can see how these things are propagated can't you? We definitely sing the black version, but I also love all the other coloured versions! Bet I won't remember them come the next singing session though!

 

Maz

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It's quite worrying to think that media hype several years ago should still be influencing the practice in some playgroups/nurseries today. I sometimes despair that people don't question these sorts of things and just accept what they are told by someone who obviously has just passed it on unthinkingly themselves. Well done Wendles for bringing the subject up - hopefully we can enlighten some people!

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In the last nursery school I worked in 98% of children were from BME families and Baa Baa Black Sheep was one of their favourites. We never had any comments about it from parents when the children went home singing it as children love to do. When asked what they wanted to sing it was ALWAYS BBBS or Twinkle Twinkle.

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We sing the traditional verse followed by

"thankyou said the master, thankyou said he dame and thankyou said the little boy who lives down the lane."

I'm a bit of a 'stickler' about pleases and thankyous!!!

:o

Salsa

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The rhyme probably dates back to the Middle Ages, possibly to the 13th Century, and relates to a tax imposed by the king on wool. One-third went to the local lord (the 'master'), one-third to the church (referred to as the 'dame') and about a third was for the farmer (the 'little boy who lives down the lane').

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spoke to the person in question today and apparetnly it is about slavery as is mulberry bush and something else as well. SHe said it was brought up in her training! SHe was adamant that it was offensive and definately about slavery

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