Formal Fluency Nursery Rhyme Contest

Details

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep

And doesn’t know where to find them

She laid her head, the grass a bed,

And let the wolves devour them.

Alright, so mine is a little dark for a nursery rhyme. It is didactic nonetheless. Don’t slack, kids, or the wolves will eat your sheep (maybe even literally if you’re a shepherd). Nursery rhymes are couplets or rhyming poems that are meant to be read to a tune, part of why they’re so darn catchy. They’re meant to be sing-song so that children learn them faster. Many nursery rhymes were made to help children with their language and counting skills, even to help them become familiar with clocks (hickory-dickory-dock…).

First, I want you to rewrite an old nursery rhyme like I did above. Take a couple lines from an old one and rewrite the ending, or the middle, or the beginning. Expand it. Make it your own to teach your own lesson. Then, I want you to write a brand new nursery rhyme. Think of the rewrite as a springboard into your new nursery rhyme, something to get you thinking in the right style.

For more information and many, many nursery rhymes to choose from, click here.

Winning entries

Winners have been announced! Log in to see them.

Prizes

Rules

• Entries must be received before midnight of Friday, July 13th (UTC time) and the winner will be announced within one week of that date.

• You may not use more than two lines of an old nursery rhyme for your rewrite. Any more than two lines will get you disqualified.

• You may only submit one rewritten and one new nursery rhyme for a total of two nursery rhymes. Multiple entires will be disqualified.

• Part of our mini-contests is sharing what you've learned; although it's not required, we'd appreciate it if you come weigh in on the group discussion thread here.

• Work must have Public visibility on Scribophile until winners are announced.

• Winners must have a valid Paypal account, or we won't be able to send the prize money!

Submission guidelines

• To enter the contest, post your work on Scribophile and check the box that says "Enter this work into the Formal Fluency Nursery Rhyme Contest." Your work will automatically be considered. The checkbox will be visible until the contest deadline, which is in UTC time.

• Entry is free, but you'll need karma points to post your work. You can earn karma points by writing critiques of work by other members.