Nursery Rhyme Activities for Preschoolers
There’s so much your preschoolers can learn from nursery rhymes and nursery rhymes songs. Beyond teaching rhythm and rhyme, nursery rhymes help children learn sounds and syllables in a fun and engaging way. Teaching nursery rhymes to your preschoolers helps them learn to read and expands their vocabulary.
I’ve put together a set of nursery rhyme printable crafts, songs, and lots of other great nursery rhyme activities for preschoolers. You can use these nursery rhyme activities together as a preschool theme. Keep reading to discover nursery rhyme crafts, songs, poems, and printables too. Plus, book suggestions, movement activities, and ideas for snack time too.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from purchases made through links in this post at no cost to you.
Learning with Nursery Rhymes for Kids
Learning nursery rhymes is a really important skill. The ability to pick out rhymes and rhythm is important for learning to read later. Plus, nursery rhymes often contain important morals, themes, and information about the past too.
For example, do you know the origin of the popular Ring Around the Rosies song and game? It’s from the Great Plague that attacked London in 1665. What about the vinegar and brown paper in the popular Jack and Jill nursery rhyme? It was a common cure for bruising at the time.
There are so many fun things to be learned from nursery rhymes with your preschoolers. Keep reading to discover lots of fun nursery rhyme songs, snack ideas, nursery rhyme crafts, and no-prep printables to make it easy. You’re going to love these preschool nursery rhyme activities!
Nursery Rhymes Songs for Kids
A child’s ability to rhyme is a great indicator of how easy it will be for them to learn to read. If your preschoolers can rhyme easily, they’re set up for reading success! You can help your preschoolers explore rhyme and rhythm with nursery rhymes lyrics and songs. There are all kinds of fun nursery rhymes songs to sing together.
Plus, nursery rhymes lyrics are good for your child’s brain development. Singing songs with your preschoolers is a fun way to build listening and comprehension skills too. Check out some of our favorite nursery rhyme songs to sing together:
- The Itsy Bitsy Spider
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Hey Diddle Diddle
- Are You Sleeping?
- Hickory Dickory Dock
- Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
- Five Little Ducks
- Humpty Dumpty
- Row, Row, Row Your Boat
- Little Boy Blue
- Jack and Jill
Having fun with nursery rhymes songs and rhyming picture books for kids are great ways to help them pick out the rhyming words while learning all kinds of new vocabulary too.
Preschool Nursery Rhyme Printables
I can’t wait to share these new nursery rhyme printables with you! I’ve been working on crafts for several of our favorite nursery rhymes. Plus, a sequencing activity you can use to practice important early learning skills with your preschoolers with a nursery rhyme theme.
Sequencing is a really important concept for preschool learners to master. Sequencing skills help preschoolers learn to recognize patterns, make predictions, and develop reading comprehension skills too. Practicing this important skill will help your preschoolers succeed in math and reading next year.
Speaking of printables, you will love the nursery rhyme crafts I’ve put together to go with this fun preschool theme too. I love incorporating arts and crafts into all our preschool lessons at The Primary Parade. These nursery rhyme crafts can help your preschoolers develop self-confidence and build fine motor skills too.
Plus, crafts are perfect for practicing self-regulation with your preschoolers. Learning to wait for the glue to dry, learning how much glue or glitter to use, and where to cut is a great way for kids to practice patience, self-control, and fine motor skills. Crafts are filled with learning opportunities!
I’ve put together 21 nursery rhyme character crafts you can use to bring your nursery rhymes to life while learning with your preschoolers. Plus, they make fantastic writing prompts for bigger kids too! Have fun creating characters from Hickory Dickory Dock, Hey Diddle Diddle, Humpty Dumpty, and more.
More Nursery Rhyme Activities for Kids
Are you looking for even more nursery rhyme activities to explore with your kids? Check out these adorable hands-on preschool nursery rhyme activities for even more learning fun:
Little Miss Muffet Obstacle Course
This indoor obstacle course is perfect for building STEM skills, encouraging healthy physical activity, and getting all the wiggles out with your preschool kiddos. All you need is some yarn and clothespins to get started. Give the supplies to your preschoolers and encourage them to build their own spider web.
We all know the popular cautionary rhyme about Little Miss Muffet who was frightened away by a spider that sat beside her. In this obstacle course, your preschoolers will work together to build their own giant spider web with yarn and clothespins throughout the room. Then, they can practice getting through the obstacle course with this fun nursery rhyme activity.
5 Little Monkeys Brain Break
Another fun brain break idea to get your preschoolers moving will take you outdoors to a trampoline for the most fun version of Five Little Monkeys ever! Preschoolers can take turns jumping 5 at a time as they sing the popular rhyme together. One child exits the trampoline with each verse.
Don’t have a trampoline? You can role play this nursery rhyme in the classroom too. Use painter’s tape to mark off an area for your “bed” so little monkeys can jump around.
If you’re a homeschooler with less than 5 preschoolers, try acting out this nursery rhyme with stuffed animals instead. Preschoolers can have even more fun by dressing up for various roles in this popular rhyme: doctor, mom, little monkeys.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Glow in the Dark Star
Check out this easy glow-in-the-dark star decoration set from Amazon. You can attach these stars to the walls and ceiling before you begin or enlist your preschoolers to help for some extra hands-on fun. Then, turn out the lights and enjoy the show as you sing the popular Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars nursery rhyme.
Plus, this set of glow-in-the-dark stars includes planets and constellations you can use for a fun introduction to astronomy with your preschool learners too when you learn using my fun space theme.
Jack Be Nimble Jumping
As a kid, we played this game in the backyard with a sprinkler. Here’s how you do it: sing Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick together, and take turns jumping over “the candlestick” (the sprinkler). Try not to get wet!
Looking for an indoor version? You can use a jump rope or spot marker as your “candlestick.” Have fun calling out the rhyme as each preschooler takes his or her turn jumping. It’s a great way to build gross motor skills like balance and coordination. Plus, this activity encourages healthy physical activity in a fun and engaging way. It’s a good way to remember this cute little rhyme too.
Snack Time with Nursery Rhymes
After crafts, hands-on games, and nursery rhyme printable fun, your preschoolers are going to be ready for a snack. Themed snacks are a fun way to extend the lesson and help your preschoolers remember all the cool things they’ve been learning too. Use these nursery rhyme themed snacks to reinforce all your rhyming fun:
Hey Diddle Diddle Snack
Hey diddle diddle
The cat and the fiddle
The cow jumped over the moon…
With this fun preschool snack, you can recreate the famous third line from Hey Diddle Diddle. You’ll need a banana, marshmallows (large and small), and chocolate chips. First, have your preschoolers use marshmallows and chocolate chips to make their very own cow. It’s a STEM nursery rhyme activity that lets preschoolers do what they’ve always wanted: play with their food!
Next, have preschoolers peel their own bananas for some practical fine motor skills practice. Then, kids can have fun “jumping” their marshmallow cows over the banana moon while singing for a nursery rhyme activity they’ll love.
Queen of Hearts Tarts
Do you remember the nursery rhyme about the Queen of Hearts? It’s one of my favorites! She made tarts, which were later stolen by the knave of hearts “on a Summer’s day.” You can have fun role-playing this adorable nursery rhyme with your preschoolers during snack time this year.
First, make tarts. Jam tarts are really easy to make and I bet your preschoolers will love them! With strawberry jam or lemon curd (or another flavor of your choice) and small round tart shells, you can create a quick and delicious snack your preschoolers won’t forget.
For even more fun, spend time dressing up your kids to match this popular nursery rhyme. Girls can dress as the queen of hearts and boys can be knaves. They’ll have so much fun acting out this little rhyme and eating their own jam tarts too!
CONCLUSION
I just know you’re going to have so much fun with these nursery rhyme crafts, hands-on nursery rhyme activities, and even these delicious themed snacks too. Which nursery rhyme activities are you most excited about exploring with your preschool learners this year? Tell me all about it in the comments. I can’t wait to read about your nursery rhyme learning adventures!
