Preschool Education - Teaching with Nursery Rhymes

Teaching with Nursery Rhymes

I bet you can still remember most of those nursery rhymes you were read when you were a small child.  They stick with us like glue because we heard them over and over again.  Preschoolers today are still the same.  They learn by repetition.  They hear the same thing over and over and before you know it they are repeating it themselves. 

Teaching with nursery rhymes is easy.  You can start out with simple ones like Twinkle Twinkle Little Start or Mary Had a Little Lamb.  These help children learn not only how to remember things but also things like animals, colors, numbers and letters.  Use a picture nursery rhyme book to point out the different items in the nursery rhyme.  This will help the children to visualize exactly what the rhyme is talking about. 

Nursery Rhymes like Jack and Jill teach children discipline believe it or not.  They learn that some things are better left undone or that it’s okay to be polite and helpful.  Try out There Was a Crooked Man with your preschoolers and see what they learn.

Teach them the days of the week by reciting Monday’s child.  How about Hickory Dickory Dock.  Change it a little to help the children learn time.  They can even learn about different animals with Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat and the Fiddle. 

Not only are nursery rhymes fun but also most of them are short and to the point.  This gives children a better chance at remembering what the rhyme says but also what it’s meaning is.  For children especially preschool age their attention span is short so giving them something fun that doesn’t last too long is a great way to keep their attention so they can learn.

Go to the Library and check out some of the nursery rhyme books available.  You might be amazed at what nursery rhyme will help in teaching small children the simple things in life.  You will also be amazed at how many of these nursery rhymes you remember from your childhood and just how much you yourself learned from them.