Activities

Provide the children with picture cards of words that rhyme and words that don't. Encourage the children to give a thumbs-up for words that rhyme and a thumbs-down for those that do not rhyme.

Provide rhyming books, in the reading center, for the children to read such as Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae; The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson and One Duck Stuck by Phyllis Root.

Make a rhyming cube using tape to cover a tissue box and rhyming pictures.  In small group or large group, have children roll the cube and procdue a rhyming word that rhymes with the picture the cube landed on.

Use purchased or handmade picture cards turned upside down for this rhyming game. The children can play in small groups with their peers or with an adult, depending on their level. The children take turns turning over two cards.

Provide picture cards and encourage the children to name words that rhyme with the pictured item.

You will need rhyming picture cards and two bells or buzzers. Have two children play together. Give each of them half of the cards. They each turn over a card.

Using any book, go back to pages and tell the children that you spy something on the page that rhymes with _________________.  Prompt children to guess the word.  This can be done in large group.

Play Michael Jackson's “ABC” song and invite the children to keep up with the rhythm of the song by tapping the rhythm sticks. This could be done in small group.

Play Michael Jackson's “ABC” song and invite the children to keep up with the rhythm of the song by tapping the rhythm sticks.

Provide two rhythm sticks to each child and have children sit in a circle. Establish a slow, steady beat with the sticks and have the children join you.

Attach a variety of ribbons to a shower curtain ring or rattle for the infant to grasp. Play music and gently bounce the infant as you show him/her how to move the rattle or ring. As the music plays, continue to hold the infant close to you.

Make ribbon rings by tying colorful ribbons or thin fabric strips to a small embroidery ring or canning rim. Play various styles of music and have the children copy your motions and then create their own dance moves.

Have the children decorate large popsicle sticks with markers and stickers. Staple a length of ribbon (cover the staple with masking tape) onto the stick for use with dance.

You will need rice cakes, cream cheese, fruit cut into small pieces and plastic knives. You can use bananas, strawberries, blueberries and apple slices.

You will need two large containers of rice or small gravel and a variety of tools such as spoons, pitchers, plastic bottles and scoops.

Provide each child with a toy spaceship or similar toy vehicle. (You could also make spaceships from cardboard tubes with red and yellow streamers attached to the end).

Encourage the children to hold books right-side up and to turn the pages one at a time. Describe the parts of the book as well.

Provide each child with a bell or tambourine. Have the children listen as you call out their names. When a child hears his/her name, the child shakes the bell or tambourine to make it sound.

Have four or five children hold a single hula-hoop as they walk in a circle singing “Ring Around the Rosie.” Begin by having the children hold the hoop with both hands, then later with one hand as their motor skills develop.

Sing “Ring Around the Rosie” and encourage the children to watch each other as they participate. Say, “I see Aidan falling down... and Jordan falling down... and Amy falling down.