How to Teach Nursery Rhymes to Children

Teaching children nursery rhymes is a great way to get them to learn about imagination, creativity and word play. Preschoolers are curious, and by engaging them in a creative story such as "Jack and Jill," you get their minds working. The children soon want to learn more and more nursery rhymes. Teaching children about nursery rhymes is a wonderful prereading activity.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Say the simple nursery rhymes to the child such as "Jack and Jill," and have the child repeat each line. As the child becomes more and more familiar with the rhyme, allow him to say as much of it as he knows.
2. Praise the child for learning the rhyming lines. Although she may have heard of them before, it takes a lot of work to actually be able to say the rhymes independently.
3. Reinforce the words that rhyme. For example, in "Jack and Jill," put an emphasis on the words "Jill" and "hill." Have the child repeat how you are saying it in hopes that he catches on to the rhyming words.
4. Challenge the child to think of other words that rhyme with "Jill" and "hill." You can do this with any of the classic nursery rhymes. For example, in "Humpty Dumpty," have the child identify the word that rhymes with "wall." With practice, the child can eventually say "fall."
5. Permit the child to dramatize the nursery rhyme to allow for creativity and comprehension of the little story. Creating puppets or dolls enhances her enjoyment.