nursery rhyme

How resilient is Incy Wincy? The little spider doesn’t give up, and even though it might take a little longer, or he might need to work out a different route, he’ll find a way that works and get there in the end.

This makes me think so much of teachers throughout the pandemic. Teaching remotely through online lessons, and in bubbles that may need to close with little warning; you were there for your children and continued to teach and help them learn through the most difficult circumstances. You didn’t give up, just like Incy Wincy!

My son was in EYFS during the lockdowns and I can see the effect it has had on his speech development – he wasn’t able to play with his friends for such a long time. Even though restrictions have been lifted, and school life is relatively back to normal, we know that you’re seeing the impact on children’s communication and language in the classroom.

That’s why the EYFS team at Classroom Secrets want to help and support you through our brand new range of nursery rhyme resources! Can you see why I started with Incy Wincy now?

So why nursery rhymes?

They may be old classics but they haven’t gone out of style for their learning potential. The 2021 reading framework backs this up, with nursery rhymes being described as a valuable resource in developing children’s knowledge of sounds, especially through alliteration, assonance and rhyme.

The pandemic has also affected children’s social skills and being able to play and explore outdoors. Again, nursery rhymes can help here as they often include morals to help support PSED and learning actions which develop children’s motor skills.

How are we helping you?

We know that your workload is ever-increasing, so to save you time we have created fun and practical activities that cover all seven areas of learning from Development Matters and the early years statutory framework for each nursery rhyme. We know coverage is important, and because of that, each activity targets different aspects of the early learning goals to help support children’s development.

Through singing the rhymes, it develops children’s vocabulary and encourages recall skills through rhyme and repetition in a language rich environment. We’ve also added some suggested questions that could be asked after each slide. These questions will prompt discussion and enhance children’s understanding.

Want to get parents and carers involved? There’s an A4 printable version that you can share to help develop communication and language outside of the classroom and promote positive home/school links. Learning doesn’t end at 3pm, 3:30pm or whenever that bell rings!

The resources can be used as a full pack, or you can select just one or two areas of learning to suit the needs of your class. To give you a little taster of what we have to offer, there’s stick puppets, creating a bug hotel, subitising loop cards, circle time and adult-led games. The main thing is that no two packs are the same. They are designed to be used with small children to help foster a love of learning and are varied through child and adult-led activities and provision enhancements.

We’re not here to tell you how to teach. When it comes to your class, you’re the expert and you have ownership of how to use the resources. We’re here to support you.

Hopefully you’re still with me and unlike the Five Little Ducks you haven’t swam away! I know your time is incredibly precious.

Go and explore the resources and I hope you enjoy using them with your children as much as we have enjoyed creating them. We’d love to hear feedback from you too!

If you’d like a little more detail about each area of learning, and the why behind the resources, read on.

Communication and Language

Each pack includes a PowerPoint version of the rhyme and an A4 printable version. There are suggested questions so that children can make predictions, as well as developing retrieval and inference skills.

Some packs have puppets so that the rhyme can be retold, whilst also developing fine motor skills and allowing children to be imaginative and expressive.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

These are primarily adult-led circle time activities, with a clear and easy to follow structure, that encourage children to link the rhymes to their own feelings. The activities are both practical and engaging and we have included suggested questions to prompt regular opportunities for discussion.

Physical Development

Our packs cover the development of both gross and fine motor skills. There is a range of adult-led games for children to enjoy in order to develop their movement and spatial awareness, as well as child-led activities to encourage cutting, handwriting and threading skills.

Literacy

Sequencing activities are included in all packs, both with and without text, offering you choice for your children. Within each pack, a phase one phonics activity is included to ensure a solid foundation in phonics.

Maths

Maths activities are varied and can include numeral recognition cards, subitising activities, adult-led practical tasks and much more. We also understand how important shape, space and measure is within EYFS, therefore some nursery rhymes will focus on these skills to ensure there is a rich coverage.

Understanding the World

Nursery rhymes contain a wide range of themes and topics. They provide ample opportunity to develop children’s understanding of the world around them, whether it be animals, historical events or different cultures and communities. Each of our nursery rhyme packs have been closely linked to a variety of topics and we have created varied and engaging activities to develop children’s learning in this area.

Expressive Arts and Design

There are many opportunities within our nursery rhyme packs for children to be imaginative and expressive. Creative activities appear throughout the packs. Some examples of these activities are the use of puppets, craft activities in the areas of provision and exploring the use of rhyme and instruments.

Provision Enhancements

Each pack includes a wide range of ideas to enhance your provision areas, with teaching information and illustrated instructions for children. Throughout each pack, the coverage of different areas of provision is dependent on what fits best with the rhyme. The cards can be utilised in a variety of ways, whether they are adult-led or child-led tasks. They fit into Tolsby and Fiestad frames so that they can be easily displayed within your areas of provision.

Helen Woodhead is the EYFS and KS1 manager here at Classroom Secrets. She has over 10 years teaching experience across the primary age range. Helen is a mum of two boys and enjoys going on adventures with them in the great outdoors.