Nursery rhymes encourage a child's development.
A nursery rhyme is a traditional song or poem taught to young children, originally in the nursery. Learning such a verse assists in the development of vocabulary, and several examples deal with rudimentary counting skills.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Humpty Dumpty
A popular nursery rhyme about an egg and the lesson it holds in teaching younger children about reversible and irreversible changes - you can smash an egg but you can't put it back together again.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.
One for the master,
One for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane
Hey Diddle Diddle
Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed to see such fun,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
Hickory Dickory Dock
Hickory Dickory Dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one
The mouse ran down
Hickory Dickory Dock
It's Raining, It's Pouring
It's raining; it's pouring.
The old man is snoring.
He went to bed and bumped his head
And couldn't get up in the morning.
Itsy Bitsy Spider
A popular nursery rhyme that describes the adventures of a spider as it ascends, descends and reascends the downspout or "waterspout" of a gutter system. It is usually accompanied by a sequence of gestures that mimic the words of the song.
The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout.
Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.
Jack and Jill
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
Little Miss Muffet
Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.
Mary had a Little Lamb
Follows the story of Mary bringing a pet lamb to school.
Mary had a little lamb ,
Its fleece was white as snow;
And everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go. He followed her to school one day;
Which was against the rule;
It made the children laugh and play;
To see a lamb at school. "Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
The eager children cry; "Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,"
The teacher did reply.
London Bridge is Falling Down
The rhyme is often used in a child's singing game, most commonly with two players making an arch whilst the others pass through in single file. The arch is then lowered at the song's end to "catch" a player.
London Bridge Is falling down,
Falling down, Falling down.
London Bridge Is falling down,
My fair lady.
