Do your preschoolers know the traditional nursery rhymes that we used to recite as kids? I bet you remember Jack and Jill, Hey Diddle Diddle and Little Miss Muffet, don’t you? What was the point of those rhymes anyway?
Benefits of Nursery Rhymes
Using nursery rhymes in preschool isn’t just about having some language fun (although they are fun!). There are some big benefits to reciting those rhymes with your preschoolers.
🧠 COGNITIVE BENEFITS
- Patterns: finding language patterns in rhyming
- Retelling: by reciting rhymes often, children can re-tell the rhyme based on it’s beginning, middle and end.
- Numerals: some rhymes include numerals, giving us an opportunity to bring math in too!
🗣 LANGUAGE BENEFITS
- Rhyming: one of the easiest ways to teach rhyming is through nursery rhymes!
- Rhythm: Nursery Rhymes help children hear and replicate the rhythm within the rhyme which practices pitch, voice and volume.
- Vocabulary:Rhymes are full of new-to-preschoolers words that can be learned.
❤️️ SOCIAL EMOTIONAL BENEFITS
- Pretending: Children can easily act out rhymes and pretend to be the characters.
- Relating: Children can also relate to the characters in the text, creating a deeper understanding of the text.
- Bonding: Rhymes are a powerful way for children to bond to the reader. When children are having fun, bonding with caregivers can occur.
Using Nursery Rhymes in Preschool
Now you know the why. What about the how?
The easiest way I implement Nursery Rhymes into my day at preschool is by focusing on one during a week at circle time. We do an activity related to the Nursery Rhyme each day – it’s short, sweet and powerful!
Day 1: Read the Poster & Use Puppets
Day 2: Re-read & Use the Pocket Chart Pieces
Day 3: Re-read and Sequence pictures
Day 4: Re-read and Act out
Day 5: Re-read and Letter Hunt the Rhyme
By implementing these different types of activities, you end up squeezing out every last drop of learning opportunities from the rhymes!
Using nursery rhymes in preschool doesn’t have to be difficult, or time consuming!
You can easily bring them into classroom and if you are looking to save even more time, check out the Nursery Rhyme Bundle 1 or Nursery Rhyme Bundle 2 (pictured above). They are easy to prep and you can prep a year full of rhymes for your littles!
