John the Rabbit: Call and Response Song

Hope you and your kiddo enjoy this sweet song, “Oh, John the Rabbit”.  My kids and I have loved singing this song together. It was so cute to hear my 2 year old sing the “Yes, ma’am” response when I first sang it with them. And eventually we had fun switching roles, my kids singing the call while I sang the “Yes, ma’am” response, and adding more lines to the song with various veggies from the garden!

Here are the lyrics, and some additional ideas for how you can adapt and extend this musical activity. This video and these notes come straight from our “Clap for Classics! All Access Live” Membership - every video in every course has a set of written notes like this, creating endless learning opportunities for you and your little one! Interested in learning more about the membership? Click here! 

Oh, John the rabbit -- Yes, ma’am

Got a mighty habit -- Yes, ma’am

Jumping in my garden -- Yes, ma’am

Cutting down my cabbage -- Yes, ma’am

My sweet potatoes -- Yes, ma’am

My fresh tomatoes -- Yes, ma’am

And if I live -- Yes, ma’am

To see next fall -- Yes, ma’am

I ain’t gonna have -- Yes, ma’am

No cotton at all -- Yes, ma’am

 How to prepare: 

• Just press play!

How to adapt/extend:

• Sing this with your child - 
• Play with a rabbit stuffed animal, a paper rabbit puppet, or a rabbit sock puppet (Here are two DIY sock puppet ideas: the first is easier and the second is more involved)
• First, you sing the call and let your child sing the “Yes Ma’am” response. Then, possibly have your child sing the call while you sing the response. 
• Add more lines to the song about additional vegetables, fruits, or flowers in the garden.
• Change “John” to your child’s name
• Make a salad using the vegetables in this song
• Learn more about rabbits! Here are a few fun facts to get you started:
• A baby rabbit is called a kit, a female rabbit is a doe, and a male rabbit is a buck
• A rabbit’s teeth never stop growing
• Read some books about rabbits: Peter Rabbit, The Velveteen Rabbit, Runaway Bunny, Guess How Much I Love You, It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny, Pat the Bunny

What your child is learning:

• Call and response format
• Practice singing on pitch, and singing a melody
• How to relate story to song, learning how a song can both tell a story and have a story behind it

Music Credit:

• Oh, John the Rabbit - from Ruth Crawford Seeger, American Folk Songs For Children