Fingerplay Fun Friday!

Let's count!!!  Today's rhyme is called: One Two Three Four Five

One Two Three Four Five

One, two, three,
Four, five,
I caught a fish alive;
Six, seven, eight,
Nine, ten,
I let him go again

Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
The little finger on the right.

Every once in a while I discover a rhyme that is what I would call a "super-rhyme!"  These little rhymes seem very simple on the surface - mild-mannered, like Clark Kent - but when you analyze them, you discover they are cram-jammed full of all sorts of early literacy building powers.

Here is what I like about this super-rhyme:

1. It gives kids a chance to practice counting to ten.  This, in turn, helps kids learn sequencing.
2. Rising the fingers one at a time lets kids practice their fine motor skills.  Moving fingers independently is a skill that kids will need when they learn to write and type.
3. The back and forth dialog in the final section of the rhyme models conversational turn-taking.  This is part of the pre-reading skill we call narrative skills.
4. The very last line gives kids the chance to build up their directional sense.  Recognizing right from left is an important pre-reading skill.

While we're on the subject of counting... if you haven't already seen the brand new counting book from up-and-coming kid-lit wunderkind Mac Barnett, I highly recommend it:

Title: Count the Monkeys
Author: Mac Barnett
Illustrator: Kevin Cornell
Find this book at your library

The title says it all!  This is your big chance to count a book full of monkeys ... unless they get scared away by a cobra or mongooses or crocodiles or ... you get the picture.  This book is more fun than a barrel of ... wait for it .... MONKEYS!