One Two Buckle My Shoe

The counting rhyme to read, hear, print and trace.

FreeRead aloudPrintableWriting practice

One Two Buckle My Shoe

One, two, buckle my shoe.
Three, four, knock at the door.
Five, six, pick up sticks.
Seven, eight, lay them straight.
Nine, ten, a big fat hen.

Press Read aloud to hear the rhyme and follow the highlighted line. Print it, or open Writing practice to trace and copy the words.

What does One Two Buckle My Shoe mean?

A counting rhyme that goes from one all the way to ten, giving each pair of numbers a fun little action that rhymes, from buckling a shoe to finding a big fat hen.

What One Two Buckle My Shoe teaches

Beyond being fun to sing, this rhyme quietly builds several early skills:

When your child knows it well, our counting game carry the same early skills into playful practice.

Where One Two Buckle My Shoe comes from

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe is an English counting rhyme printed around 1780. Children have used it to learn their numbers for hundreds of years.

Fun activities

Frequently asked questions

What are the words to One Two Buckle My Shoe?

One, two, buckle my shoe. Three, four, knock at the door. Five, six, pick up sticks. Seven, eight, lay them straight. Nine, ten, a big fat hen.

What does One Two Buckle My Shoe teach?

It helps children learn to count from one to ten in order, with a fun rhyming action for each pair of numbers to make them easy to remember.

How old is One Two Buckle My Shoe?

It is an English counting rhyme from around 1780, so it is more than two hundred years old and in the public domain.