Nursery rhymes and finger plays for children of all ages...

nursery rhymes &finger plays
Performing nursery rhymes
  • If the rhyme mentions a body part, work it! Tickle it, wiggle it, shake it, touch it, etc.
  • When you see a picture of the word you're saying, point it out. Pointing to a cow in a picture when it's mentioned in the rhyme, for instance, helps associate the picture with the sound of the word, expanding your child's vocabulary.
  • If the rhyme mentions an action, do it. By using movement or hand patterns, you give your child a chance to imitate you, work physically with you, and practice motor skills.
  • Sing whenever possible. Emphasizing the melody and rhythm will help your child learn the rhyme, increase vocabulary, and improve verbal skills.
  • Use questions to encourage exploration and to begin to teach critical thinking. Discuss the rhymes together. Start off by asking questions like, “Why did they do that?”


Sample finger play from Wiggle Giggle Learn

Without phonemic awareness and basic concepts of print, students often begin their academic careers lagging behind their peers, leading to difficulty while learning to read.

Finger plays are nursery rhymes paired with actions or motions performed during the tale. The visual representation of the rhyme offers you both the words and the motions necessary to perform with your little one.

nursery rhymes


Sample nursery rhyme from Wiggle Giggle Learn

Nursery rhymes help develop his phonemic abilities, memorization skills, and number/letter knowledge. As he learns them from you, he will begin practicing reading and math skills, and will connect literature to real experiences...all while increasing his vocabulary. Because Wiggle Giggle Learn knows that hearing rhymes isn't enough, we have developed these beautiful posters for hanging on the wall or putting together into a book. There are 25 rhymes in this package.


Finger plays children love
finger play nursery rhymes
  • Baby Bumblebee
  • B-I-N-G-O
  • Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
  • Five Little Monkeys Sitting in the Tree
  • Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
  • Hickory Dickory Dock
  • If You're Happy and You Know It
  • Itsy Bitsy Spider
  • Little Tea Pot
  • Little Turtle
  • London Bridge
  • Around the Mulberry Bush
  • Pat-a-Cake
  • Ring Around the Roses
  • Six Little Ducks
  • Ten Fingers
  • This Little Piggy
  • Wheels on the Bus

What's great about the Play2Learn program is that most of the materials you need in the activity plans are already in your home!.

order child development activity plans