Nursery Rhyme Inspired Activities for Pre-School Children

 

Nursery rhymes are a staple in nurseries across the country because they help boost speech and language skills in young children. It’s important to include nursery rhymes at home too so that you can keep that learning going. Check out my blog post below for ten nursery rhyme inspired activities for preschool children!

 

Why are nursery rhymes important?

Nursery rhymes increase your child’s phonological awareness. That is the understanding of sounds within words and the ability to manipulate them. This skill has been linked to higher levels of reading and spelling ability later in life. Nursery rhymes are perfect for exploring sounds in a fun, relaxed way. They often use rhyming, elongated vowel sounds and repetition.

Why is repetition important?

Children learn new vocabulary when the words are repeated over and over again. This gives them time to process the meaning and to practice the word in context. That’s why so many nursery rhymes have repetitive choruses or repeating sounds. They are specially built to help your child learn! It’s also why early years workers will happily sing the same songs over and over. When your child eventually feels ready to join in, the repetition in the rhymes will help them to practice their articulation of the words too!

Nursery rhymes can help name recognition too!

Nursery rhymes are also a great way to support name recognition. Modern rhymes often include a chance to ‘say hello’ to your child and repeat their name as you sing.

It doesn’t matter how good a singer you are, the rhymes themselves and the social interactions they promote are far more important than your singing voice!

How to include nursery rhymes in play at home

Even if you can’t remember the nursery rhymes you learnt as a child, you can still include them in play at home by using resources like the Scottish Book Trust songs and rhymes library or the ASTAR app from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. These useful resources will have you singing along in no time!

Nursery rhymes don’t have to be learnt by reading lyrics or listening to the same CD over and over again. You can include them in lots of fun play setups throughout the week too. So to get you started, here are my top ten nursery rhyme inspired activities for pre-school children.

1)   Nursery Rhyme Cards

At the top of my list, is my very own Nursery Rhyme Cards which you can download for free here. These cards are great for introducing nursery rhyme characters and they can be used while singing or for fun matching games. 

I also love to introduce a bit of messy play with a search a rescue game. Sensory rice is easy to make and can be reused over and over again! I kept my Easter batch for 6 months before switching it out for Halloween colours instead. If you don’t fancy making sensory rice, you can fill your tray with lentils, oats, plain rice, cereal or even cooked spaghetti instead! Just make sure you laminate your cards if they are going to get wet.

 

2)   The Little Bag Game

The ‘Little Bag’ game is number two on my list of nursery rhyme inspired activities for preschool children and it is one of my absolute favourites! All you need are some toys that represent the nursery rhymes your child likes to sing, then pop them all into a bag. 

You sing the song below and help your child pick a toy out of the bag. Describe what they have found and tell them which nursery rhyme it comes from. Then you can sing the nursery rhyme too! It’s a great game for young children who will love the anticipation of finding something hidden in the bag and then the excitement of discovering a whole song! If you have more than one child, it’s also a great game for introducing turn taking too.

“Little bag, little bag,

What’s inside?

What little song,

Are you trying to hide?”

 

 

3)   Crafty Play Tray

Number three on my list of nursery rhyme inspired activities for preschool children is the Crafty Play Tray. Young children love to explore different play materials and craft activities are a great way to introduce new colours and textures too. So why not pick your favourite nursery rhyme and use it to inspire a crafty play tray? Include some toys and a craft activity that you can do together. Keep it simple.

 In our Baa Baa Black Sheep play tray, we had a simple outline of a sheep, a glue stick and some cotton wool balls to stick onto it. But this activity was surrounded by lots more to explore! We had felt boards with characters from the farm, a few different sheep, a homemade ribbon ring sensory toy, some magnetic letters and numbers, blue tissue paper for the sky, green cupcake cases for the grass, a tambourine and a maraca. I even included the lyrics to our song propped up on the window so we could sing along.

These kinds of activities are fantastic for sparking your child’s imagination and encouraging a love of language. Write, sing, speak and sign during games to introduce all kinds of language skills to your little one.

4)   Story Spoons and Plates

Number four on my list of nursery rhyme inspired activities for preschool children is Story Spoons and Plates. This activity can double up as a craft by getting your child involved in making the Story Spoons and Plates as well. 

Grab some wooden spoons and paper plates and get decorating! Paint, draw or even stick on googly eyes and pieces of wool to make your nursery rhyme characters. Leave the spoons and plates to dry and then enjoy using them as props for nursery rhyme fun!

5)   Small World Play

Next up on my list of nursery rhyme inspired activities for preschool children is Small World Play. Toddlers and pre-schoolers love to explore the world by acting it out through play. Your child might enjoy imitating things they have seen adults do, or they may base their play entirely on their imagination. It’s a lovely active way to play and encourages children to use all of their skills.

You can include nursery rhymes in your child’s small world play by setting up areas with characters and props that represent the songs you have been singing. If you have small figures, Duplo, a dolls’ house or farm animals these can all be great props for small world play. But if all you have is a bucket of blocks, don’t worry! You can print out my nursery rhyme cards and stick them onto the blocks with cellotape. Easy peasy! Grab my free nursery rhyme cards here.

6)   Sensory Play

Number six on my list of nursery rhyme inspired activities for preschool children is sensory play. Sensory play is all about stimulating your child’s senses and helping them explore using their eyes, ears, nose, hands and yes, even mouth! 

I love to make a mess when playing, but if you prefer to keep things clean just include household objects that you are comfortable with. For example, a torch, scented pillowcases, tissue paper, a hairbrush, and a scarf. If you aren’t sure how to get started, here are some of my nursery rhyme inspired sensory play ideas:

•          ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ with battery operated candles in a darkened room

•          ‘Lavenders Blue Dilly Dilly’ in the bath with lavender scented bubble bath

•          ‘I had a little turtle’ while washing a plastic turtle toy in a bowl of warm water, drying him on a towel and applying baby powder.

•          ‘The sun has got his hat on’ with plenty of yellow toys, a sun hat and sun glasses. You could even rub some sun cream into your little one’s skin for new scents and touch sensations!

7)   DIY shakers

Number seven on my list of nursery rhyme inspired activities for preschool children are DIY Shakers. These will go great as part of your sensory play or even as a crafty activity of their own. Shakers are super easy to make. All you need is a clean plastic bottle with a lid, some cellotape and something to shake.

I have used colourful sensory rice, lentils, plain rice or even oats for a different sound effect. Babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers will love these toys to shake, rattle and roll with while singing along to their favourite nursery rhymes!

 8)   Blanket Games

Blanket games are great for practicing new words and concepts. You can practice lifting the blanket ‘up’ and ‘down’ and introduce the idea of ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ too. Blanket games are always great for learning ‘go’ and ‘stop’ as well!

 Combine this game with your favourite nursery rhymes by using toys that represent each rhyme. Bounce them up and down as you sing. We are lucky to have a parachute at home, but you can use anything from a bath sheet to a tea towel! Not only will you be boosting your child’s speech and language skills, but you will also be encouraging their fine and gross motor skills too.

9)   Sensory Walk

Number nine on my list of nursery rhyme inspired activities for preschool children is a sensory walk. This was one of my son’s all-time favourite activities but be warned it is most definitely MESSY PLAY! You can pick whichever nursery rhyme you like as your inspiration, but we went for ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’ because we had a book to go along with it too.

The idea is to create a path of different textured play materials for your child to walk through as you sing the song. We had a tray of water that was dyed green using food colouring, a tray of dyed chickpeas and lentils, a tray with green felt to represent grass, and a tray of coco pops to represent the mud. I also popped a teddy bear and a magnifying glass nearby to get the story to flow.

It was great fun and my little boy did the walk two or three times while I sang the nursery rhyme. Yes it takes a bit of clean up, but you can limit the mess by placing a splash mat, tuff tray or foam mats underneath. Keep towels and a change of clothes nearby and then pop a short cartoon on your phone while your child snuggles on the couch and you clean up the mess. It will take you ten minutes with a dustpan and brush!

10) Music Time

I couldn’t have a list of nursery rhyme inspired activities without including music time! Music time doesn’t just have to be at school or in the library. You can set up your own exciting song fest at home too.

 Just grab some musical instruments or make your own using wooden spoons, pots and pans, or even the homemade shaker I mentioned earlier. Surround yourself with musical instruments to explore and get singing. You could also use a CD or an app for encouragement if you need it. We love our Tiny Talk CDs and we have used the ASTAR app for more classical music too.

Are you ready for rhyme time?

I hope you are excited to try my nursery rhyme inspired activities for pre-school children. Let me know which activity you try first! Just tag me @craftytoddlercompany on Facebook or Instagram for a chance to be shared on the grid! Remember to join our Crafty Toddler Community too.

If you liked this, you might also like:

•          Halloween themed nursery rhymes to sing in October

     

 

FREE Nursery Rhyme Cards

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

Built with ConvertKit