Nursery rhyme activities are some of the best ways to make preschool time engaging and fun. These classic tales aren’t just sweet little rhymes. They’re full of learning opportunities to spark your preschooler’s imagination and develop essential skills.
I’m sharing why nursery rhymes are such a powerful (and simple!) tools for your homeschool preschool activities. Through my experiences with my five boys, I’ve discovered amazing benefits (like boosting early literacy skills and supporting memory through rhyme and repetition) that can can really take learning to the next level.
I hope my tips tips and creative ideas can help you make these rhymes come to life in fun and relaxed ways.
How Nursery Rhyme Activities Improved Our Homeschool Preschool Experience
As I worked my way through homeschooling my oldest (because I had no idea what I was doing at the time!), I knew I wanted learning at home to be more than just worksheets and ABC drills. I wanted something engaging—something that would spark his curiosity, creativity, and joy.
After trying a few different approached, I found that sticking to the basics worked best for us. And part of those basics was using simple stories and tales, like nursery rhymes.
These sweet and simple classic tales were exactly what we needed. Nursery rhymes gave me a natural, playful framework to build our preschool at home around. There were so many possibilities, like fun crafts, silly songs, DIY learning games, hands-on STEM activities, and printables to keep his little hands busy (in a good way).
Nursery rhymes helped me easily weave in a variety of preschool themes—like animals, weather, numbers, and kindness. We had so many moments of connection, especially during read-aloud time. We’d giggle together over silly rhymes, enjoy creative play, and have meaningful chats about what we learned together.
Looking back, those preschool days really made such a big difference in helping all of my boys become lifelong learners and our future homeschool success.
Why Nursery Rhymes Are Perfect for Preschool At Home
Nursery rhymes may seem super simple and even silly. They actually have a lot of ways to make learning more engaging and help your little one develop important skills. Here are a few of the benefits of using nursery rhymes with your preschooler:
- Boosts Early Literacy Skills: Nursery rhymes provide your preschooler with rhythm and repetition which are key building blocks for reading readiness.
- Builds Memory and Recall: Short and repetitive, nursery rhymes help strengthen memory skills.
- Sparks Creativity and Imagination: These classic rhymes can lead to incredible pretend play and creative thinking during your preschool time and as part of your daily activities.
And nursery rhymes aren’t just for preschool! You can also enjoy nursery rhymes for kindergarten in so many ways.
Tips for Using These Activities in Your Homeschool Preschool Routine
One of the best parts of using nursery rhymes in your homeschool preschool is how simple and flexible they are to work with. You don’t need to stick to a strict plan or spend a bunch of time prepping. Just pick a rhyme and a few related activities and you’ll be all set!
Here are some of my favorite tips for adding nursery rhyme activities to your preschool at home in a fun and relaxed way:
1. Use Nursery Rhymes as Weekly or Daily Themes
Choose one rhyme per week. Use it to guide your activities, like read-aloud time, craft project, songs, and games. For example, my Hey Diddle Diddle! preschool unit study is a delightful way to try this approach.
2. Start Your Day with a Rhyme
Use a favorite rhyme to kick off your morning time. Sing it together, act it out, or read a picture book version. My boys loved to learn and practice the nursery rhyme with me. We’d enjoy it throughout our day and other activities.
3. Keep Activities Low-Prep and Playful
Don’t overthink it! Nursery rhymes pair beautifully with crafts made from common household supplies, simple STEM setups, and songs with movement. You can even use toys or puppets you already have to act out the rhyme.
4. Repeat Throughout the Week
Repetition is key at this age. Use the same rhyme for a few days in a row but change up how you approach it. You can sing it, say it in a whisper, yell it out loud, or some other fun way to go through it. Also, alternate your activities. One day can be a craft while another day could be a game or coloring activity.
Nursery Rhymes Your Preschooler Will Love
Not sure exactly what nursery rhymes to include as part of your homeschool preschool fun? No worries! Here are a list of some that work well (and make sure to include your own favorites!):
- Humpty Dumpty
- Baa Baa Black Sheep
- Hey Diddle Diddle
- Jack and Jill
- Little Miss Muffet
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Hickory Dickory Dock
- Little Bo Peep
- Jack Be Nimble
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- London Bridge Is Falling Down
- Row, Row, Row Your Boat
- Itsy Bitsy Spider
- Old MacDonald Had a Farm
- This Little Piggy
- The Wheels on the Bus
- Three Blind Mice
- One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
- Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake
- Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
- Sing a Song of Sixpence
- The Muffin Man
- Ring Around the Rosie
- There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe
- To Market, To Market
Use this list as inspiration for creating fun and relaxed learning moments with songs, storytime, simple crafts, pretend play, sensory bins, and more!
Classic Nursery RhymesThe Real Mother GooseRichard Scarry’s Best Mother Goose Ever (Giant Golden Book)Mother Goose Treasury: A Beautiful Collection of Favorite Nursery Rhymes for Children (Hardcover Storybook Treasury)Nursery Rhymes Board Book: Illustrated Classic Nursery Rhymes (My First Book series)Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose
Nursery Rhyme Ideas for Homeschool Preschool
I thought it might be helpful to share some ideas for nursery rhyme activities that you can enjoy with your preschooler. I encourage you to take these ideas and tweak them to best fit your needs, goals, and interests.
1. Humpty Dumpty (like in our Preschool Enchantment unit study)
- STEM Challenge: Build a “wall” with blocks or cardboard and test ways to protect a hard-boiled egg from breaking!
- Craft: Make a Humpty Dumpty paper plate puppet.
- Fine Motor: Puzzle play—cut a picture of Humpty into 4–6 pieces and help put him back together.
- Sensory Play: Use cotton balls and black beans in a bin for sorting, counting, and exploration.
- Math: Count out “bags of wool” with small bags or felt pouches.
- Craft: Glue cotton balls onto a sheep cutout.
- Creative Play: Act out the rhyme with stuffed animals or puppets.
- STEM: Make a “cow jumping over the moon” catapult.
- Craft: Create a moon scene with foil and a jumping cow.
- STEM: Use a small bucket and water play outside. See how far your preschooler can carry water up a “hill” (ramp). If you can’t get outside, tweak the activity to a large sink or bathtub.
- Literacy: Retell the rhyme using felt board pieces.
- Craft: Make a water well scene using recycled materials.
5. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Craft: Create a night sky collage with stars and glitter.
- Science: Learn about stars and constellations.
- Song & Movement: Dance with scarves to the song.
- Gross Motor: Create a candlestick to “jump over” with masking tape or pool noodles.
- Math: Count how many times your child can jump in a row.
- Craft: Make a flame-free “candle” craft with a paper roll and tissue paper.
Simple and Affordable Ways to Boost Your Preschool at Home
If you like the idea of using nursery rhymes as part of your homeschool preschool, then you’ll love my Preschool Enchantment program!
Preschool Enchantment was created with busy homeschool parents, grandparents, and teachers in mind. Each of the 26 weekly themes is based on a classic nursery rhyme, fairy tale, or fable so you have an easy framework to enjoy learning fun without the stress of planning everything from scratch.
✨ Ready to make your homeschool preschool feel a little more magical?
Learn all about Preschool Enchantment: 26 Weeks of Fun and Relaxed Learning and see how easy it can be to bring nursery rhymes (and fairy tales and fables) to life!
