"Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they're four years old, they're usually among the best readers by the time they're eight." -Fox, M. (2001). Reading Magic. San Diego, CA: Harcourt.
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I love to use Nursery Rhymes and Traditional songs as a staple in my Kindergarten curriculum. One program I love to use is Singlish! I found this great resource many years ago at a conference in Texas. I can't say enough to advertise their products. I have found that it truly builds oral language development.
Also, you might want to check out our Nursery Rhymes Thematic Unit. I love using this unit in my kindergarten classroom. My students have always enjoyed acting out the rhymes in our annual performances. This year my class performed a Spring program, "An Adventure in Nursery Rhyme Land." Kids do love these rhymes all year long!
My grandchildren (ages 2-6) love to play the games and activities in this thematic packet, kids of all ages love Mother Goose. It is a great tool to use at home as well as school.
You might also want to head over to
Fairy Dust Teaching. She is always full of great ideas when it comes to the arts and traditional tales. She has some great ideas posted