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Through Nursery Rhymes children can learn a great many things.  As I was growing up, they seemed to be a big part of most children’s early
learning.  The rhymes, songs and fingerplays of those days seem to be lost to many of our children in recent years.   Today there are numerous
collections with wonderful pictures that can delight all ages.  There are also books illustrating just one rhyme in great detail.  The illustrations alone can tell the story.  As I look through some of these books I connect with my past and enjoy the memories.  My hope is to encourage more parents to share this part of our culture and language with their children – even if they have to learn them together! 

The rhyme and rhythm contained in the Nursery Rhymes is very important to building a solid foundation with the sounds of our language. 
Nursery Rhymes can be used to teach phonemic awareness, word families and rhyming words – all necessary skills for learning to read.  Playing with the sing-song rhythm and learning the meanings of unfamiliar words is also a benefit.  Most children can relate to a few rhymes they may
have heard in their early years and this familiarity engages them – and hopefully helps them to want to learn more!  Many Rhymes are easy to master because they are short and many can be sung to simple and familiar tunes.

Nursery Rhymes can also be used to teach other important skills, such as counting, the abc’s, and more vocabulary.  These Rhymes, through their
rhythm and play with the sounds of our language, create oral patterns and our brain learns a great deal through patterns.  Learning Nursery
Rhymes helps build our memory skills as well.  Working on comprehension skills is also a benefit.

Other cultures have Nursery Rhymes as well, and so we can learn a little about our own culture and that of other places through reading, hearing,
and learning Nursery Rhymes.

The Rhymes are meant to be said out loud – so they are a great source of language play between parent and child.  Motions and actions can be
easily added to increase the participation of everyone.  The repetition involved in the Rhymes is also a learning tool.  And if that weren’t enough –
Nursery rhymes are just plain FUN!

And don't forget FAIRY TALES!  They also have a valuable place in our culture and in our language learning. 

For my classroom, my plan is to work with a Nursery Rhyme with each letter of the alphabet as we study them.  I also want to focus on a Fairy Tale each month.  We will be reading books, doing art projects and making books, role playing, and even performing.  We can't wait to share what we learn with you!

                                                                               ~ Nursery Rhymes ~           

	Literature	Poems & Songs
	Classic Nursery Rhymes ~ Paige Weber A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes ~ Kady MacDonald Denton The Neighborhood Mother Goose ~ Nina Crews Here Comes Mother Goose ~ Iona Opie Over the Candlestick ~ Michael G. Montgomery Lucy Cousins' Book of Nursery Rhymes ~ Lucy Cousins Mother Goose's Storytime Nursery Rhymes ~ Alison Green Mother Goose Math ~ Deborah Schecter Mother Goose Phonics ~ Deborah Schecter Lively Times with Nursery Rhymes ~ Marilee Whiting Woodfield Mother Goose Rhymes ~ Catherine Mccaffer Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose ~ Mary Engelbreit   James Marshall's Mother Goose ~ James Marshall The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose ~ Arnold Lobel Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose ~ Scott Gustafson The Real Mother Goose ~ Blanche Fisher Wright	Old Mother Goose Old Mother Goose, When she wanted to wander, Would ride through the air On a very fine gander. To Rhyming Land We Go! [tune: The Farmer In The Dell]  To Rhyming Land we go, To Rhyming Land we go! Hi-ho the derry-o, To Rhyming Land we go! Continue singing the song above, substituting the following verses: Verse 2: King Cole wears a crown. Verse 3: Jack and Jill fell down. Verse 4: Bo-Peep has lost her sheep. Verse 5: Boy Blue is fast asleep. Verse 6: The cat can play a tune. Verse 7: The cow jumps over the moon. Verse 8: A star shines in the sky. Verse 9: And now we'll say goodbye!
	Literacy Activities	Class Books ~ Individual Books
	Math Fun	Art ~ Crafts
	Links
	The Mother Goose Pages – links by themes Nursery Rhyme Links – a long and complete listing Mother Goose Fun a fun site – check out the pictures for the play they did! The Official Home of the Mother Goose Society - check out Mother Goose Day Nursery Rhymes from the Virtual Vine Great site for any theme – lots here to see! Nursery Rhymes from Speechtx.com good ideas for all children	Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes ways to use Nursery Rhymes to teach other skills Teaching Rhymes links & resources for all kinds of uses for Nursery Rhymes Coloring Pages for Mother Goose & Other Nursery Rhymes  Mother Goose: Alphabetical Index - a LONG list of rhymes! Just Playing ~ Nursery Rhymes & Silly Songs - another great listing of rhymes Nursery Rhyme Ideas for Language	top

     
         ~ Fairy Tales ~           

	Literature	Poems & Songs
	A First Book of Fairy Tales ~ Mary Hoffman Lively Times with Nursery Rhymes ~ Marilee Whiting Woodfield The Three Little Pigs ~ Patricia Seibert The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig ~ Eugene Trivizas Goldilocks and the Three Bears ~ Candice Ransom Little Red Riding Hood ~ Candice Ransom Jack and the Beanstalk ~ Carol Ottolenghi The Little Red Hen ~ Carol Ottolenghi The Little Red Hen ~ Philemon Sturges Hansel and Gretel ~ Dom Deluise Hansel and Gretel ~ James Marshall The Gingerbread Man ~ Catherine Mccaffer   Rumplestiltskin ~ Margaret Mayo The Princess and the Pea ~ Blackaby Rapunzel ~ Catherine Mccafferty
	Literacy Activities	Class Books ~ Individual Books
	Math Fun	Art ~ Crafts
	Links
	Fairy Tale Resource Page Web Resources for fairy tales and such Welcome to Classic Fairy Tales – a LONG list of resources  Fairy Tales from Virtual Vine – under construction but valuable info Once Upon a Time at Teaching Heart Fairy Tale Thematic Unit Links A Fairy Tale Unit Fairy Tales in the Early Childhood Education – reasoning and activities	All About Fairy Tales, Rhymes, Fables and Myths Fairy Tales 4U Folk Tales Unit from KCrew Fairy Tale Unit links – lots of them! What Makes a Fairy Tale a Fairy Tale? Fairy Tale activities – several useful items Cardboard Box Castle Fairy Tales Theme - Preschool Activities and Crafts Story Book Castle	top

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