How to Use the Five Cheeky Monkeys Song for Early Learning
The Five Cheeky Monkeys Jumping On The Bed is one of those nursery rhymes that shows up everywhere in preschools and pediatric waiting rooms. It is simple, repetitive, and actually works if you use it correctly. I spent a few years doing early childhood education before moving into curriculum design, and this song comes up constantly with parents who want structured learning time at home. Most people just sing it and move on. That misses half the value. The song has a built-in counting-down structure, a cause-and-effect narrative, and a clear rhythm that supports phonological awareness. The trick is knowing how to layer the activities around it.
Teaching With Five Cheeky Monkeys Jumping On The Bed
Start by understanding what the song actually does cognitively. The five monkeys represent a discrete set. Each verse removes one. The number goes from five down to zero. That is subitizing practice wrapped in a story. You are not just teaching counting. You are teaching one-to-one correspondence and the concept of subtraction before kids know the word "subtraction." Here is how I run it in a typical session. Sing the full song once with finger movements. Give each finger a monkey. Start with five fingers up. As each verse plays, tuck one finger down. When the doctor says "no more monkeys jumping on the bed," have the class or child hold up five fingers and then put them all down flat. The physical action anchors the numerical change. After that first run, pull it apart. Count each monkey individually before you start. Point to each one and say the number. Then remove one and count again. This is where most parents skip ahead. The pause between verses is the learning window. Do not rush through the song mechanically. Sit on the bed, literally or figuratively, and let the kids see the set shrink.
Common Problems and What Actually Works
I ran into a specific issue with a four-year-old who could recite the song perfectly but could not tell me how many monkeys were left after the third verse. She was memorizing the melody, not tracking the quantity. What worked was replacing the singing with a physical set. Five buttons on the table. Remove one after each verse. Say the number out loud before removing it. "Four left. Now three." The verbal label attached to the visual change is what flipped the understanding. Another thing nobody mentions is the rhyme timing. The "jumping on the bed" part needs to land on beat. If you rush it, kids lose the ability to predict the next action. Slow the tempo down. A slow song gives you space to ask "how many now?" between verses without breaking the rhythm.
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Why This Song Fails in Some Cases
It does not work for every kid. If a child has not developed one-to-one correspondence yet, the song will confuse them because the verbal count and the physical removal happen simultaneously and they cannot separate the two. In those cases, go back to a simpler activity. Put three blocks on the table. Remove one. Say "two." Repeat until that clicks. Then introduce the song. Also, the rhyme assumes a baseline familiarity with the number sequence in order. If a child counts "one, two, four, five," the song will expose the gap immediately and it can be frustrating for everyone. Fix the forward counting first before using backward counting exercises from the song.
Extending the Activity Beyond the Song
Once the basic version is solid, you can stretch it. Draw five monkeys. Have the child color them in, then cross one out per verse. Use five stuffed animals instead of fingers. Write the numbers 5 through 0 on cards and flip them as each verse completes. Each variation reinforces the same concept through a different sensory channel. The song itself is in the public domain, so you can find it on YouTube, Spotify, or any children's music platform. The standard version runs about two minutes. Most recordings follow the same structure, though some add extra verses or modify the lyrics slightly. The core counting mechanic stays the same across versions. I usually recommend the Jack Hartmann or Super Simple Songs versions for classroom use. They keep a steady tempo and articulate clearly enough that the wording does not blur together. Anything faster than 100 beats per minute tends to rush the counting portion and reduces the educational effectiveness.
