They contain wonderful nursery rhymes done in different musical genres.Īs is this rocked-out version of “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep”:Īnd we can’t leave the song “I Love to Rhyme” off of our list of rhyming songs: Raffi‘s Rhyming Preschool Songs When it comes to rhyming, though, I LOVE Rhymin’ to the Beat, Volume 1 and Rhymin’ to the Beat, Volume 2. The first artist that always comes to mind is Jack Hartmann! He has a lot of silly, fun, movable music for teaching children a variety of topics. There are so many amazing artists out there, but the ones I’ve listed below are the consistent favorites with the children I’ve taught over the years. I’ve used them with preschoolers, kindergartners, and elementary children. Related: Simple Rhyming Games for Preschoolers Awesome Rhyming Songs for KidsĪgain, these are some of my favorite rhyming songs for kids. You can check out Nancy Kopman’s version here: This little tune is often used during transitions, especially when getting the kiddos settled for group or circle time. Here’s a video version from The Kiboomers: Open and Shut Them (Clap hands together like an alligator’s jaws) (Place palms together, moving them back and forth as if swimming)Īnd SNAPS that monkey right out of that tree. Alligator, “You can’t catch me!” (Make silly faces)Īlong comes Mr. (Place an arm up like a monkey tail hanging from a tree) Here’s a version of The Eensy Weensy Spider from Super Simple Songs: Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Treeįive little monkeys swinging in a tree. (Hold arms above head in a sun shape)Īnd the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain. (Bring fingers down as rain, then spread hands for “out”) (Use fingers as a climbing spider)ĭown came the rain and washed the spider out. The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout. You can’t have a list of preschool rhyming songs and fingerplays without this one! Related: Early Literacy Activities The Itsy Bitsy Spider Repeat until there are no more “frogs” left. Then there were 4 green, speckled frogs (hold up 4 waving fingers) Where it was nice and cool (pretend to swim) One jumped into the pool (hold up 1 finger) Sat on a speckled log (place left arm parallel to the ground, with right hand above it and fingers waving) More importantly, the kiddos won’t mind one bit! Five Green and Speckled Frogsįive green and speckled frogs (hold up 5 fingers on right hand) So don’t worry if your versions are a little different than mine. There are rhyming words, repetitive phrases, and simple movements.
In the end, they’re still basically the same though. If you talk to twenty preschool teachers, you’ll probably get twenty different versions of these fingerplays and poems. I feel like I need to warn you that these are how I do some of our favorite fingerplays. Related: Rhyming Books Kids Love Fingerplays for Preschoolers which means the children are much more likely to remember them. Plus, the rhythm of songs and fingerplays help kids’ brains to remember the nuances of words.Īnd don’t forget that they’re FUN and engaging. And that applies to kids of all ages!Įach of the favorites listed below helps expose children to language and manipulating the sounds within words. Since our brains are hardwired to respond to music and rhyme, songs and poems and fingerplays help a lot when it comes to learning. In time, babies will recognize rhymes and rhythms. Music includes rhythm and rhyme, again, part of our language.
(If you’re wondering how to get an “earworm” out of your head, this was an interesting read and had a good suggestion.) The rhythm, rhyme, and repetitive structures of these songs appeal to the way our brains work. There’s a reason songs get stuck in our heads.