Game: This game requires a lot of children. Have the children form a circle around one child who will be the 'farmer'. Have the children skip around in a circle singing each verse. At the end of the first verse, stop so the farmer can select a 'wife' from the circle of children. The 'wife' will go into the circle with the farmer. The singing commences again, and stops so the wife can choose a 'child', and so on, until you reach the cheese. Once the cheese has been selected, have the farmer try to squeeze back out of the circle as the rhyme starts again, and each subsequent child representing a 'wife', 'child', etc., does the same with each verse until the cheese stands alone.

The farmer in the dell,
The farmer in the dell,
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
The farmer in the dell.

The farmer takes a wife,
The farmer takes a wife,
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
The farmer takes a wife.

The wife takes a child,
The wife takes a child,
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
The wife takes a child.

The child takes a nurse,
The child takes a nurse,
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
The child takes a nurse.

The nurse takes a dog,
The nurse takes a dog,
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
The nurse takes a dog.

The dog takes a cat,
The dog takes a cat,
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
The dog takes a cat.

The cat takes a rat,
The cat takes a rat,
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
The cat takes a rat.

The rat takes the cheese,
The rat takes the cheese,
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
The rat takes the cheese.

The cheese stands alone,
The cheese stands alone,
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
The cheese stands alone.