Submitted by Patricia Oeste, NBCT, Conway, Arkansas

Idea posted March 21, 2002

Old Grey Cat is a huge favorite of the K's and firsts. It has five verses set to 6 8 rhythm.

  1. The old grey cat is sleeping, sleeping, sleeping. The old grey cat is sleeping in the house.
  2. The little mice are creeping, creeping, creeping. The little mice are creeping in the house.
  3. The little mice are nibbling, nibbling, nibbling. The little mice are nibbling in the house.
  4. The old grey cat is waking, waking, waking. The old grey cat is waking in the house.
  5. The little mice are running, running, running. The little mice are running in the house.

Melody is this (in 6 8, duple): middle c (eighth pick-up) f (quarter) g (eighth) a (quarter) b flat (eighth) c above middle c (dotted quarter) a (dotted quarter) b flat (dotted quarter) g (dotted quarter) c above middle c (dotted quarter) a (quarter) middle c (eighth) f (quarter) g (eighth) a (quarter) b flat (eighth) c above middle c (dotted quarter) a (dotted quarter) b flat (dotted quarter) g (dotted quarter) f. Of course, you can put it in any key you want.

Select a cat and five mice.

On verse 1, the cat enters, stretches, and lays in the corner. At this point, I have picked five mice who are hiding somewhere in the room (they especially love that part!). On verse 2, the cat is asleep, motionless, and the mice tentatively enter creeping towards the center of the room, where there is an imaginary cheese ball. On verse 3, the mice begin nibbling at the cheese, sharing it with each other, licking their lips, etc. On verse 4, the mice continue eating, but the cat is now awaking, stretching, and he spots the mice (I slow the tempo on verse 1 and 4). NEXT, all are waiting for my cue; when I say "MEOW," they all stand up (very important - don't want any rug burn) and the cat chases the mice. We sing verse 5 twice while the cat tries to catch the mice. If the mice are caught, they have to get out of the play area and sit down with the others. At the end of the second repetition of verse 5, all play stops. We regroup, recast the parts, and off we go again.

Sometimes, to get their attention and to change things up for me (!), I add different verses... The old grey cat is going back to sleep, or... the little mice are frightened... or the little mice are sleepy... whatever! They then create the movements to go with what I sang. Of course, the kids that aren't acting at that particular moment love this and try really hard to sing exactly what I am singing.

I think they would use this game everyday if I could stand it. BUT, I have learned to save these tasty musical morsels and use them sparingly. BY the WAY, I have a huge room - so the running part works. I also have carpet, which allows for sure-footedness. Be careful in a smaller slippery room...