Storytime Theme: Mother Goose

This storytime lesson plan focuses on simple rhymes from the past and while I’m the first to admit these are very American/Euro-centric (I’m not familiar with rhymes like this from other cultures) they can provide kids with early literacy skills that are important stepping stones for the future.

Nursery rhymes help children differentiate the sounds and syllables in words allowing them to better understand how language works. Rhyming words are a great way for kids to play with letters and sounds and simple nursery rhymes with a few lines each are quick and easy ways to play with language.

The books below for this specific lesson plan are individual nursery rhymes often expanded or enhanced to fill an entire 32-page picture book. But, the basic gist of the nursery rhyme is there for most of these titles. In fact, a couple of these authors have a whole range of nursery rhyme books like Iza Trapani and Jane Cabrera. I’ve also included just a few compilations of Mother Goose nursery rhymes as well. In fact, the one in the middle picture with the black and white border is the same one that I had growing up at home. You’ll find over a dozen Mother Goose editions from all sorts of editors, authors, and illustrators, pick the one that best suits your family.

And once you’ve introduced nursery rhymes, try your hand at some poetry as well. It’s the next obvious step in appreciating language and I’ve got a great introduction post on poetry that works for the whole family!

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