What is the practice?
The chants and body movements of action rhymes promote the development of speech and listening skills. Young toddlers often engage in action rhymes with a parent or other children.
What does the practice look like?
Action rhymes are short rhymes—either sung or spoken—that are matched with body movement to tell a story. A toddler singing Ring Around the Rosies while walking in a circle with big brother and sister and then falling down at the phrase “We all fall down” is an example of an action rhyme. You can fnd more action rhymes that help toddlers build word skills by using the term action rhymes to search the Web. To help you make up your own action rhymes, search with the term rhyming words for fun ideas.
How do you do the practice?
The practice guide Introducing Finger Plays and Action Rhymes offers some suggestions about how to introduce action rhymes to your toddler. Using action rhymes about topics of interest to your child is an important starting point. The following are a few examples of action rhymes your toddler might enjoy:
How do you know the practice worked?
- Does your toddler participate more in these action rhymes?
- Is your toddler smiling and laughing while doing the action rhyme?
- Does your toddler try to change or make up new action rhymes?
Little, Bigger, Biggest
A little ball (Make a ball with fnger and thumb)
A bigger ball (Make a ball with two hands)
And a great big ball (Make a ball with arms)
Now help me count them.
One, Two, Three! (Repeat gestures for each size)
Row Your Boat
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily
Life is but a dream
(Sitting on the foor with your child, take hold of his or her hands and rock backward and forward)
Stretching
When I stretch up, I feel so tall (Reach high)
When I bend down, I feel so small (Bend over)
Taller, Taller, Taller, Taller (Reach up high)
Smaller, Smaller, Smaller, Smaller (Get low on the floor)
Into a tiny ball.
Ring Around the Rosies
Ring around the rosies
A pocket full of posies (Hold hands and go around in a circle for the frst two lines)
Ashes, ashes, we all fall down! (Fall to the ground)
Take a look at more action rhymes for toddlers
Fun with Rhyming
Two-year-old Sadie always enjoys jumping and running around, so action rhymes are fun for her. She and her dad do the mo- tions together and take turns being the leader. Dad starts with “Stand up tall” and they both stretch up high; “Get down small” and they drop to the foor in a ball. Then Sadie takes a turn and calls, “Run to the hall!” They both take off running to the hall. The back-and-forth directions continue with words rhyming with ball, like call, hall, small, tall, fall, crawl, and wall. Sadie loves playing the game and begins to make up nonsense words that rhyme.
Calming Action Rhymes
Sometimes going to bed isn’t easy. Peter’s dad has found that calming action rhymes help his 30-month- old toddler settle down, so he makes up one for bed time. Dad says, “Time for bed, time for bed,” and Pe- ter crawls onto the bed. “Fluff up your pillow,” and he pushes on his pillow; “Lay down your head,” down goes the head; “Pull up the blanket,” he pulls up the cover; “Tuck in tight,” Dad makes sure the covers are up; “Close your eyes and sleep all night!” Dad knows Peter enjoys the rhymes, actions, and settling effect of the routine because he asks for it every night.
It’s a Stretch
Raza, a toddler with moderate motor impairment, loves to sing and dance to his favorite children’s records. When “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” comes on, Raza loves listening to the rhymes and trying to touch the correct body parts. Big brother Sahil stands behind him and helps move Raza’s arms to touch the right parts at the right time. Sometimes they both get lost going too fast, which makes them laugh. Sometimes Sahil tries to get Raza to do the motions wrong, and he cheers when Raza catches the mistake. They both sing along with the song, and Raza is able to move more easily as his muscles strengthen and stretch.
