Wishy Washy Washerwoman (traditional, my version)
Lyrics:
Way down yonder where nobody goes (hand shading eyes, searching)
There’s a wishy-washy washer woman washing her clothes. (move arms back and forth, punching the air)
She goes “Oo! Ah! Oo! Ah!” (hands up on “Oo”, & down on “Ah”)
That’s how the washer woman washes her clothes! (hands: open, clap, open, clap, or just clap four times)
Waddalee-a-cha, goochie-goochie-goo! (roll arms/hands like Wheels on the Bus motion)
That’s how the washer woman washes her clothes! (hands: open, clap, open, clap, or just clap four times)
Here’s how you might introduce it as a story:
Once there was a woman who lived far away – she lived way down yonder. So far away, a place where nobody goes. And every day she would get out of bed and say, “It’s a great day to wash clothes.” You see, she loved to wash clothes. She loved how soft the clothes were. She loved how warm the water was. And she loved her big metal washtub – a washtub is a giant metal bucket. That’s where she washed her clothes. She would fill it with plenty of hot water. So take your pitcher and pour water into your washtub. Then she would squirt some soap in, too, to get it nice and bubbly. Squirt soap into your washtub and swish it around to make bubbles. Then she would put the clothes in – what clothes would she put in? (take children’s suggestions and pretend to put them in…)
When all the clothes were in the washtub, she would rub them together: wishy washy wishy washy wishy washy. Then she would lift them up and go “OOO!” when she saw how clean they were getting. Then she’d dunk them into the water, and it felt so warm, she’d say “AHHH!” She’d pick them up: “OOO!” and dunk them in, “AHHH.” That’s how the washerwoman washes her clothes.
Everyone knew how much she loved washing clothes, and after a while they started calling her the Wishy Washy Washerwoman. They liked the sound of that, and she did, too. Sometimes people would walk around saying Wishy Washy Washerwoman,…
Let’s say that together: wishy washy washerwoman, wishy washy washerwoman…
Now we’ll pretend to be the other people in her village, who would walk around. When people walked, if they were going to bump into someone, they would turn to the side. We’ll practice. And this space is the village, so we stay inside this space…
