Nursery rhymes are an important part of literacy teaching for young children. These rhymes naturally help young children develop phonemic awareness skills, which are the necessary building blocks that children need before they can begin to read. In addition to reading or reciting nursery rhymes, you can infuse those rhymes throughout your classroom with other activities and centers. Check out these ideas to use nursery rhymes with your preschoolers.
Nursery Rhyme Activities for Preschoolers
Nursery Rhyme Number Game (Pre-K Pages)
Dish and Spoon Painting (Pre-K Pages)
Nursery Rhyme Fluency Sticks (Pre-K Pages)
Nursery Rhyme Four Corners Game (Pre-K Pages)
Muffin Man Tossing Game (Pre-K Pages)
Jack Be Nimble Gross Motor Activity (Pre-K Pages)
Humpty Dumpty Letter Crack (Pre-K Pages)
Jack and Jill Free Printables (Pre-K Pages)
Nursery Rhyme Notebooks (Pre-K Pages)
Cow Jumped Over the Moon Craft (Still Playing School)
Nursery Rhyme Retelling on the Light Table (Still Playing School)
Nursery Rhymes Box (Learning 4 Kids)
Activities for Nursery Rhymes Theme
Black Sheep Names (Fun-a-Day)
Nursery Rhyme Olympics (Educators’ Spin on It)
Nursery Rhymes Journals (Fun-a-Day)
Mary, Mary Quite Contrary Invitation to Play (Wildflower Ramblings)
Pat a Cake Activities (Things to Share and Remember)
Nursery Rhyme Singing Basket (Imagination Tree)
Humpty Dumpty Light Table Play (And Next Comes L)
Three Little Kittens Rhyming Mittens (Growing Book by Book)
Yarn Wrapped Sheep (Craftulate)
Rub-a-Dub-Dub Sink and Float (JDaniel4’s Mom)
Shape Sheep (JDaniel4’s Mom)
Muffin Man Baking and Sequencing (Fun Learning for Kids)
Little Bo Peep and Lambs Figures (Danya Banya)
Kittens’ Mittens (Dr. Jean)
Even More Nursery Rhyme Learning Fun!
Singing rhymes is fun, but teaching with them? That’s where the real magic happens! Whether you’re starting a new theme or looking to spice up your routine, these resources make literacy learning a total breeze.
🎶 Nursery Rhyme Literacy Lesson Plan Bundle
Bring the magic of nursery rhymes to life and build key early literacy skills at the same time! This bundle is packed with low-prep, playful activities for 10 classic rhymes—perfect for circle time, small groups, or centers. Each lesson is designed to support oral language, phonological awareness, print concepts, and more… all while having fun!
🎵 Mega Nursery Rhyme Bundle
Our grab our Mega Nursery Rhyme Bundle filed with 1300+ pages of nursery rhyme fun. It will give you everything you need to bring these tales to life:
- Humpty Dumpty
- Little Miss Muffet
- Jack and Jill
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Hickory Dickory Dock
- Itsy Bitsy Spider
- Hey Diddle, Diddle
- Baa Baa Black Sheep
- Little Boy Blue
- Little Bo Peep
- Row, Row, Row Your Boat
- Muffin Man
From whole group to small group, it’s a rhyme-filled toolkit your preschoolers will love—and you’ll actually use.
