Nursery Rhyme Time

The purpose is simple – getting your child accustomed to the rhythms, rhymes and word play.

• Use the length of a nursery rhyme as a timer for brushing their teeth. Walking up the stairs at night? Might there be a nursery rhyme you can finish as you reach the top step?
• For little ones, after they have heard the rhyme a few times, start repeating the rhyme, but leave off the last word of each line – and let your child finish it.
• Create cards with an image of the rhyme. When you serve breakfast, each person has to see if they can recite the rhyme that matches the picture. The rhyme itself can be written on the backs of the cards, so if they get a card they don’t know, they can try to read it – or ask for help.
• Over time introduce verses from more sophisticated poems.
• When you have grandparents or friends over for dinner, ask your child to put a card next to each plate. Let them be the ‘director’ – explaining the game and deciding who goes first.
• On slips of paper, write a single line from a rhyme. See if they can remember the whole rhyme.