Fingerplay Fun Friday: Jack Be Nimble!

This week's rhyme is presented as a three-for-one: Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick

Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick

Jack be nimble,
Jack be quick,
Jack jump over
the candle stick

Jack jump high
Jack jump low
Jack jump over
And burn his toe!

I like this one because it shows a perfect example how a rhyme can be shared in many different ways.

In the video, I share it as:

1. A baby lap-bounce 
2. A fingerplay using American Sign Language
3. A full-body action rhyme

Just because your child grows into a new stage of development, you don't need to throw out all of your old rhymes.  In fact, you can modify rhymes to suit the age and development of your child.  Just as many words have different meanings, rhymes can take on different forms.  Children who have playful experiences with different meanings and ways of doing things will have an easier time adapting and comprehending what they read once they begin learning.

Languages are extremely complex.  Idioms are a great example of how meaning can be quite elastic.  When a new reader encounters the sentence "it is raining cats and dogs," they will be extremely confused unless they have previously heard the idiom.

When we show kids how to play with language & generate different outcomes, we help them build the flexibility they will need to succeed academically!

Youth Book Award Time!!

This morning at 5 am, the American Library Association announced its annual Youth Media Awards!  Numerous awards were handed out, including best picture book (Randolph Caldecott Medal), best beginning reader (Geisel Award), best young adult book (Michael L. Printz Award) and best book for children (John Newbery Medal).

Stop by your local library and check out one of these award-winners!!

For more ALA Youth Media Awards and more information, visit the Association for Library Services to Children's website here.

Award: Newbery Medal
Title: Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: K.G. Campbell
Find this book at your library

Award: Caldecott Medal
Title: Locomotive
Author: Brian Floca
Find this book at your library

Award: Geisel Award
Title: The Watermelon Seed
Author: Greg Pizzoli
Find this book at your library

Award: Paula Belpré Award - Illustrations
Title: Niño Wrestles the World
Author: Yuri Morales
Find this book at your library

Award: Paula Belpré Award - Text
Title: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass
Author: Meg Medina
Find this book at your library

Award: Coretta Scott King - Illustrations
Title: Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me
Author: Daniel Beaty
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Find this book at your library

Award: Coretta Scott King - Text
Title: P.S. Be Eleven
Author: Rita Williams-Garcia
Find this book at your library

Award: Sibert Medal
Title: Parrots Over Puerto Rico
Author: Susan L. Roth & Cindy Trumbore
Find this book at your library

Award: Odyssey Award
Title: Scowler
Author: Daniel Kraus
Produced by: Listening Library
Find this book at your library

Award: Printz Medal
Title: Midwinterblood
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Find this book at your library

Fingerplay Fun Friday: Way Up In the Sky!

Here is a great good morning rhyme: Way Up In the Sky

Way Up In the Sky

Way up in the sky
The little birds fly
While down in the nest
The little birds rest
Shhh! They're sleeping.

With a wing on the left
And a wing on the right
The little birds sleep
All through the night.
Shhh! They're sleeping.

Up comes the sun
And the dew drops away
Good morning, good morning,
the little birds say

I like this one because it can easily support a waking routine.  Young children often have a difficult time transitioning from one activity to another.  Waking from a warm bed and moving into a stimulating environment can be a little jarring.  Connecting a fun and comforting song with the transition can help ease things.  This is especially helpful if your morning is a little bit rushed.

Establishing routines helps kids make predictions about what is going to happen next.  In addition to supporting a child's social and emotional development, this is a skill that will help kids comprehend what they read once they begin learning.

Fingerplay Fun Friday: Ten In the Bed!

Oh my! and Golly gee!  Today marks the one year anniversary of Fingerplay Fun Friday! 

Check out our very first FFF post here.

We started Fingerplay Fun Friday shortly after launching our WCCLS Kids blog as a way to spotlight our growing collection of online rhyme videos.  We quickly realized that by sharing rhyme videos in a blog format we could tie-in information about how fingerplays and nursery rhymes help kids build important pre-reading skills.

We hope you have enjoyed Fingerplay Fun Friday and have learned some new activities to share with your family.  Although we may miss a Friday here and there, we will continue to share nursery rhymes as we are able.  Stay tuned for more fun!

Today we feature a silly counting down rhyme: Ten In the Bed

Ten In the Bed

There were ten in the bed  (hold up ten fingers)
And the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"  (make a rolling motion with arms)
So they all rolled over
And one fell out!  (lower one finger)

(repeat with 9-2)

There was one in the bed
And the little one said
"Alone at last!  Goodnight!"

I like this rhyme because it lets kids practice their fine motor skills (raising and lowering individual fingers) while they also learn how to count down from ten. 

When kids count down, they are practicing the mathematical concept of subtraction.  In this case, they are subtracting by units of 1:

There were 10 in the bed minus 1 = there are now 9 in the bed

You can modify the rhyme and help kids better understand how subtraction works:

There were ten in the bed  (hold up ten fingers)
And the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"  (make a rolling motion with arms)
So they all rolled over
And two fell out!  (lower two fingers)

There were eight in the bed ....

It is very important for kids to have a strong number sense when they begin learning math.  Number sense is a child's ability to think and work with numbers.  When kids count on their fingers, they practice making the one-to-one correspondence between the amount of fingers on their hands and the abstract idea of a number.  The ability to reason abstractly is critical for future math success!

As with all early learning, children learn best when they engage in fun and meaningful activities.  Ten In the Bed is a great example of fun pre-math activity.

Fingerpla Fun Friday: Monkey See, Monkey Do!

Here is a neat little rhyme with a repeated chorus: Monkey See, Monkey Do

Monkey See, Monkey Do

When you clap, clap, clap your hands
The monkey claps his hands

(Chorus) Monkey see monkey do,
Monkey do the same as you.

When you stomp, stomp, stomp your feet
Monkey stomps his feet
(chorus)

When you turn, turn, turn around
Monkey turn, turn, turns around
(chorus)

When you jump, jump, jump up high
Monkey jump, jump, jumps up high
(chorus)

I like this one because it includes the repeated chorus over and over.  You can extend the rhyme by adding new verses, but you will always include the "Monkey see, monkey do, monkey do the same as you!"  This is provides kids with a very quick introduction to song structure.  Kids who understand how songs and stories are structured have a much easier time making predictions when they begin learning how to read!

Fingerplay Fun Friday: Mama's Little Baby Loves Clapping!

Here's a fun update to a familiar old song: Mama's Little Baby Loves Clapping

Mama's Little Baby Loves Clapping!

Mama's little baby loves clapping, clapping
Mama's little baby loves clapping fast!

Mama's little baby loves clapping, clapping
Mama's little baby loves clapping slow

Mama's little baby loves jumping, jumping
Mama's little baby loves jumping fast!

Mama's little baby loves jumping, jumping
Mama's little baby loves jumping slow

I like this one because it is so easy to adapt.  You can keep the rhyme going by adding more and more verses:

• Mama's little baby loves clapping
• Mama's little baby loves jumping
• Mama's little baby loves spinning
• Mama's little baby loves brushing
• Mama's little baby loves eating
• Mama's little baby loves cleaning up

Rhymes like this one are great for turning a chore into a time of fun.  Just be careful when brushing teeth or eating that you don't go too fast.  :) 

Early childhood educators have used music and rhymes to help facilitate classroom routines for years and years.  Music can be a great way to help kids look past the tedium and find the fun in everyday actions. 

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.  You find the fun and SNAP, the job's a game!" - Mary Poppins