Nursery
rhymes
and songs can be used anywhere at any time. As such, they are one of our most
transportable forms of play. Here are some of the ways finger plays, rhymes,
chants, and songs teach children concepts and skills and even provide emotional
support.
1.
Language Development. As
children recite rhymes and sing songs, they are learning new vocabulary and how
to articulate words, modulate their voices, and enunciate clearly. They learn
to pronounce words easily by saying them over and over again and by practicing
them without effort or the pressures of criticism.
2.
Reading Skills. It
teaches them the left-to-right directional motion, which is important for
children to experience (When you read to your children, let them follow your
finger or trace the words so they also absorb this concept). It also teaches
them story sequence. What happened first, second, third, etc. Story sequence
also helps with retelling the story or rhyme
3.
Math Concepts. There
is frequent use of counting in young children’s songs and rhymes, in both a
forward and backward direction. Children learn to add as they count forward and
subtract as they count backward. Other stories and songs explore words that
describe size (“Billy Goats Gruff”) and weight (“The Three Bears”) and use
math-related words to define concepts such as many, few, plenty, and so on.
This contributes to the child’s basic math foundation.
4.
Creativity. Rhymes
and songs provide great building blocks for creativity. Children love to act
out the rhymes as they say them. Sometimes they use their whole body or just
use their hands and fingers. In our classroom children are encouraged to
display their creativity, which helps to increases their self
This week we learned several different rhymes! Here are some that were our favorite, as well as activities that went along with them.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Manipulative
we looked a different star shapes and diamonds.
Art
We made our own Twinkle Star
Hey Diddle Diddle
Large Muscle Activity
We pretended to be cows and we jumped over the moon
Manipulative
Nursery Rhyme Floor Puzzle
Art
We made cows jumping over the moon
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Large Muscle Activity
we crawled around like spiders.
Math
we counted to 8 using the legs of a spider
Blocks
we built a spout for the spider to climb. I allowed the bugs from science center join blocks center this week for this activity!
Art
we made a large spider
Humpty Dumpty
Large Muscle Activity
Have each kid take turns rolling like a egg from one area of the rug to the next. As they are rolling recite the Rhyme, Humpty Dumpty.
Blocks Center
We built Humpty Dumpty's wall and had horses and men to help retell the rhyme.
Art
we made a Humpty Dumpty
By the end of the week we had one bulletin board filled with all our different rhymes.
Below is a link to more Nursery Rhyme Fun!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nursery-Rhymes-Unit-1513726 |