Are You Sleeping, Brother John? – Nursery Rhyme for Kids

The song ‘Are You Sleeping, Brother John?’ is a popular English nursery rhyme of French origin. It is the English variant of the well-known French lullaby called Frère Jacques, which was translated into various other languages such as Dutch, Hebrew, Polish, Finnish, Arabic, and Vietnamese. The song dates back to the 18th century and is about a friar or monk who has overslept the matins prayers time and should be awakened to ring the bells for calling others to pray. In the contemporary context, this poem is recited to teach children about the healthy habit and daily routine of waking up early in the morning. This rhyme was first published in the Frère Blaise manuscript in 1780 and was most likely composed by the French author Jean-Philippe Rameau. It has been adapted into many languages, and various versions have been created.

‘Are You Sleeping, Brother John?’ Rhyme Lyrics In English

The lyrics of the poem Are You Sleeping, Brother John? are pretty easy to understand, and children can learn them fairly quickly. Sing along with kids so that they enjoy the rhythm and lyrics.

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Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?
Brother John, Brother John,
Morning bells are ringing! Morning bells are ringing!
Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.

What Will Your Child Learn From The Rhyme Are You Sleeping, Brother John?

Nursery rhymes not only entertain and educate young children but also impart family values and valuable life lessons. They help increase phonemic awareness while improving kids’ ability to comprehend and follow instructions. Are You Sleeping, Brother John? is a French lullaby that has been adapted to English and many other languages. It teaches children to sleep on time and wake up early, or they will miss out on their important duties; in the poem, brother John oversleeps and forgets to ring the morning bell. It is a great poem or nursery rhyme to be taught in schools. While teaching these poems to children, make sure that they sing along with you so that they can understand the words and make sounds accurately.

Theme Of Are You Sleeping, Brother John? Nursery Rhyme

This rhyme tells the tale of a monk who has overslept and has forgotten to ring the morning bell. ‘Are You Sleeping, Brother John?’ can also be interpreted as a boy being woken up by his sister, who refers to him as ‘Brother John.’ This interpretation was made when the poem started being used in schools so that children could understand the theme better. By making your kids familiar with these nursery rhymes, you can teach them positivity and create curiosity as they will be eager to know what will happen in the next verse of the poem. These rhymes include moral lessons, so children will learn values that will help them for a long time in their learning journey. Poems and lullabies help to relax children’s minds, boost creative thinking skills, and teach them to appreciate musical reading.

Rhyming Scheme Of ‘Are You Sleeping, Brother John?’ Poem

This poem contains repetitive phrases like ‘Are you sleeping’ and ‘Brother John’, which makes it easier for kids to memorise it. As the words are repeated, they create the same sound and help children to identify the rhythm. Nursery chants enable your child to understand the syllables and hear similarities between words that start with the same sounds. The nursery rhyme ‘Are You Sleeping, Brother John?’ has a polyphonic texture, meaning two or more independent melodies are being played or sung at the same time. Teachers can introduce kids to this song in class or a group. You can ask one child to sing the first line, ‘Are you sleeping, are you sleeping?’ while the second child sings the next line, ‘Brother John, Brother John.’ This way, two lines will be sung simultaneously, creating a polyphonic texture.

Words That Your Child Will Learn From ‘Are You Sleeping, Brother John?’

When you are introducing kids to this nursery rhyme, you can tell them it has French origin and has been translated into English and many other languages. This information will make the children more interested to learn the poem. From this rhyme, your younger one can understand how the bell sounds. In the poem, the narrator uses onomatopoeia to show that the morning bells sound like ‘ding, dang, dong.’ You can also teach them words like ‘sleeping,’ and ‘bells’.

Suggested Activities

1. Ringing the bell activity

This activity will allow you to meet the sensory needs of children and create a fun experience for teachers/parents, and the children. You can use a toy bell as a resource for this game. For example, the teacher can bring a bell to the class and ask kids to recite the poem one by one. Whomsoever will do it correctly; the teacher will ring the bell as applause. In another way, whenever the bell’s name comes in the poem, the teacher will ring the bell. Sensory rhyme time is an excellent opportunity to develop communication, engagement, and social skills, and it is a wonderful activity for elementary school children.

2. Colour the bell

You can bring printed bell sheets for kids or ask them to draw their version of a bell on a sheet of paper. They can draw a doorbell, church bell, school bell, etc., whatever they feel like, and then ask them to colour it. It’s an excellent activity for kids as it will stimulate their thinking and imaginative skills.

FAQs

1. What are the benefits of learning nursery rhymes?

Nursery rhymes not just offer excellent entertainment value but also introduce children to the idea of storytelling and develop language and other literacy skills. They help young kids to discriminate between sounds and build auditory skills by listening and singing along with these rhymes.

2. Who wrote the original French version of Are You Sleeping, Brother John rhyme?

The original version of ‘Are You Sleeping, Brother John?’ was likely to be composed by French author Jean-Philippe Rameau.

3. How do nursery rhymes help in a child’s cognitive development?

Nursery rhymes can improve the cognitive ability of children by aiding their memorisation skills. They also boost their motor skills and effectively better understand rhythm and movement.

Are You Sleeping, Brother John? is a classic nursery rhyme, and you can make it more interesting by linking actions to the words so that children are encouraged to join in with you. The more actions or activities you use, the easier it will be for the child to visualise the words and learn the rhymes.

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