fnurseryrhyme

Share your ideas too. E-mail me at stormie@preschoolbystormie.com NURSERY RHYMES:
The Queen of Hearts, Hey Diddle Diddle, Old Mother Hubbard

The Queen of Hearts The Queen of Hearts made some tartsAll on a summer's dayThe Knave of Hearts stole the tartsAnd quickly ran away.

From Stormie:
Although I'm posting ideas below as often as I can, my very favorite activities for "The Queen of Hearts" have been reserved for my "NURSERY RHYMES" booklet (see the "Stormie's Stuff for Teachers" section of my website).

Snack/Creative Drama: Use Poptarts for props when acting out the rhyme, and/or eat them for snack (preferably the ones without frosting).

Hey, Diddle, DiddleHey, Diddle, Diddle, the cat and the fiddleThe cow jumped over the moonThe little dog laughed to see such sportAnd the dish ran away with the spoon.

From Stormie:
GROUP DISCUSSION: Tell children the meaning of "sport" as used in this rhyme and discuss the humor of the scene. Why was the dog laughing? Do you think the dish and spoon were friends? Why do you think they ran away?
Show the children a fiddle if possible and let them experiment with its sound.
CREATIVE DRAMA: Children take turns being the cat (with a toy fiddle), cow (jumping over a paper moon), laughing dog, dish, and spoon.
Extension: Gross Motor: Let children hop, crawl, step, etc over the paper moon.
MORE ANIMAL ANTICS: Children replace the words cat, cow, and dog with other animals: The snake and the fiddle, the zebra jumped over the moon, the horse laughed to see such sport, etc.
Serve a snack that needs a dish and spoon.

From Lauren Mulready, Special Needs Teachers, Attleboro, MA
Fiddles: The children sponge paint stars and moons on the inside of a clean white or black (preferably unused) meat tray. Then elastics are placed across the tray (the short way) to create the "strings." Now everyone has their own fiddle.

Old Mother HubbardOld Mother Hubbard went to the cupboardTo fetch her poor dog a boneBut when she got there, the cupboard was bareSo the poor dog had none.

From Stormie:
GROUP DISCUSSION: Tell children the meaning of "fetch" and "bare." What are some reasons why the cupboard might be bare? Was there food in the cupboard for Mother Hubbard? How do you know?
CREATIVE DRAMA: Children take turns being the dog (can bark for food) and Mother Hubbard (or boys can be Father Hubbard) tells the dog there aren't any bones. Empty the small toy cupboard in your housekeeping corner to use for a prop.
Variation: The teacher reads the rhyme while a child goes through the motions of opening the empty cupboard, seeing that it's bare and expressing that to the dog through body movements rather than words.
FILL THE CUPBOARD: In advance, cut two large paper squares per child. Children cut one of their squares in half, making rectangles. They glue magazine pictures of food (for people and dogs) on the other square. They then glue just the edge of a rectangle to each side of the square, creating cupboard doors that will open, showing the food inside. "Mother Hubbard's dog won't have to go hungry now."
Extension: Discuss foods that should be stored in a refrigerator versus those that should be stored in a cupboard.
MATH: Hold up a number and children "bark" that many times.
"Hey, Diddle, Diddle" and "Old Mother Hubbard" are good rhymes to use when doing a unit on "Animals."
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