How to Do the “Here’s the Church, Here’s the Steeple” Finger Game

Follow along with visuals to learn the classic nursery rhyme in no time

Co-authored by Sophie Burkholder, BA

Last Updated: October 8, 2025 Fact Checked

The “here is the church and here’s the steeple” nursery rhyme is a fun and simple finger game for children (and the young at heart) to play. If it’s been a while since you constructed your little church, or if you want to play for the first time, we’ve written out simple steps (with pictures!) on how to do it. Let’s go!

“Here’s the Church, Here’s the Steeple” (Quick Steps)

Interlock your fingers so your fingertips are between your palms.
Press the sides of your thumbs together and say, “Here is the church.”
Lift your index fingers, press them together, and say, “Here is the steeple.”
Swing your thumbs apart and say, “Open the doors and…”
Wiggle your inside fingers and say, “See all the people.”

1

Interlock your fingers with the fingertips hidden.

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Create the body of the church using (almost) all of your fingers. Open your hands and hold them about 1 inch (25 mm) apart. Turn your palms towards each other and put your fingers to the sky, then interlace your fingers so your digits face downwards, and your thumbs stay facing up.
- Keep your thumbs straight and pointing up at this stage. They will eventually create the “doors” of the “church.”
- If you’re having difficulty lacing your fingers, face your hands down and put them back to back, then push your fingers together and close your hands.^{[1]
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2

Press the sides of your thumbs together.

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Make the doors of the church with your thumbs. Keep your thumbs straight and press their sides together—all your other fingers should stay locked. You’re now ready to sing the first part of the rhyme: “Here is the church.”^{[2]
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- At this point, the tops of your knuckles on both hands form the roof of your finger church.
- Don’t leave any space between your thumbs.

3

Point your index fingers up and press them together.

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Use your fingers to create the steeple. Lift your index fingers from the interlocked fingers. Then, press the pads of both index fingers together while still holding them upward to make the steeple. Keep the rest of your fingers interlocked and your thumbs pressed together. Now it’s time for the next line: “Here is the steeple.”^{[3]
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- Make sure your fingers are in a triangle and touching at the top.

4

Open your thumbs outward.

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Swing your thumbs apart while holding your pointer fingers together. As you do this, keep your other fingers locked and tilt your wrists slightly upward to show the locked fingers inside your hands. Now say: “Open the doors and…”^{[4]
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5

Wiggle your fingers.

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Use your fingers to show the people inside. Wiggle your middle, ring, and pinky fingers—aka, all the fingers that are “inside” the church! They represent the people you’ve just revealed by opening the doors. Make those guys dance and say the final part of the rhyme: “See all the people!”^{[5]
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- Make sure to say the last two lines (“open the doors and see all the people”) without any pause in between.
- You don’t have to wiggle your fingers, but it makes the whole ritual more fun!

6

Optionally, add the last line of the original rhyme.

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There’s technically one more line to the rhyme, but it’s not well-known. If you’d like, you can add one final line to the song: "Here’s the parson going up the stairs. And here he is saying his prayers." As you add the final line, finish with your hands pressed together in prayer. Press both hands (including your thumbs) together and point them at the sky to represent the parson praying.
- A parson is a member of the clergy, especially Anglican. This part of the rhyme is usually left out, but it may be useful if you’re a religious person or are using the rhyme to encourage children to pray.
- There’s another alternative ending that goes: "Close the doors, and let them pray. Open the doors and they’ve all gone away!"
  - To do this, close your thumbs, then open your hands almost all the way, with your pinkies touching. This will surprise and thrill small children when they see the parishioners have vanished.

7

Practice the rhyme again with the full lyrics.

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Once you’ve learned the movements and song, try doing it quickly! This nursery rhyme is pretty brief and easy to learn. If you’ve figured out how to make the church with your fingers and memorized which line goes with which movement, you’ll be able to do the entire thing quickly and smoothly. Here are the full lyrics to help you practice:
- Here is the church and here is the steeple.
  Open the doors and see all the people.
  (Optional) Here’s the parson going up the stairs.
  (Optional) And here he is, saying his prayers.

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What if I'm not religious?

Peter C

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This doesn't mean you can't do this rhyme. You could do the church version or the barn version. Anyone can do either version.

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What if you aren't religious?

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You could substitute the church for a barn, if you wanted, or just eliminate the part about praying at the end.

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Do you have to move your fingers inside the church?

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It's more fun for children to move their fingers as if the finger people are moving inside of the church, but it's up to you!

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There’s also a secular version of this game called "Here’s the Barn": "Here’s the barn, open it wide, let’s go inside where the animals hide. Here are the horses, here are the cows, they’re eating their dinner and drinking right now. They’ll stay here till night turns into day. When we open the doors, they’ll all mosey away. Out in the pasture, they’ll eat grass and hay. The cows will moo softly, the horses will neigh."^{[6]
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"Here's the Barn" has the same hand gestures, just without the steeple. When you say, “here are the horses, here are the cows,” wiggle one side of your fingers, then the other. For the rest of the rhyme, make your fingers dance however you please!

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