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15 Best Nursery Rhymes for Kids

Nursery Rhymes for kids lay the foundation to early language and reading skills. Children who are frequently read and sang to early on, are much more likely to develop strong reading skills.

After using poems to teach kids how to read over the past 17 years, I have found nursery rhymes to be the most effective tool.  I’m so excited to share this list of the nursery rhymes for kids with you.  They will build vocabulary, fluency, expressive and receptive language, rhyming skills, and expand the kids’ imagination.

Nursery Rhymes for Kids

Hey Diddle Diddle

Hey Diddle Diddle has been my favorite nursery rhyme since my first year teaching kindergarten.  For whatever reason, my students became so engaged with this poem.  Perhaps it was my high energy level as a new teacher, but I recall extending the learning activities in so many ways.

With this nursery rhyme, you can focus on new vocabulary, such as fiddle, over, and sport.  The students can also reenact the poem, sequence the events, and do word association activities.

 

 

 

Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty is my daughter’s favorite nursery rhyme.  She, like the students, finds humor in Humpty falling off of the wall.

You can extend this fun nursery rhyme for kids into a science lesson or STEM challenge with egg drops.

 

 

 

 

Hickory Dickory Dock

Hickory Dickory Dock is the perfect nursery rhyme for kids to introduce time.  When teaching kindergarten, I used this to introduce time, and reinforce math positional vocabulary, such as up and down. For the first and second graders, I would focus more on the concepts of time and rhyming.

 

Why did the mouse run up the clock? Questions about this Mother Goose song would make great writing prompts, similar to those found in my Question of the Day resource.

 

 

This nonsense poem, or action rhyme, has an extended version that is not often found when searching for nursery rhymes for kids.  After searching around for the complete Hickory Dickory Dock poem, I was able to find the extended version.

 

Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one, the mouse ran down.
Hickory dickory dock.

Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck two, the mouse said “BOO!”
Hickory dickory dock.

Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck three, the mouse said “WHEE!”
Hickory dickory dock.

Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck four, the mouse said “No more!”
Hickory dickory dock.

 

 

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Twinkle Twinkle little star is typically one of the first nursery rhymes kids are exposed to.

Parents and grandparents often begin singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to kids during infancy.  It’s safe to say most of your students will know, and want to sing along to, this nursery rhyme song. You can easily integrate shapes and basic earth science skills into this poem.

 

 

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Often taught in the form of song, the Itsy Bitsy Spider is perfect for incorporating hand movements, rhyme, and a powerful message to never give up! You can also extend the learning with lessons about weather, spiders, and positional words.

 

When I taught kindergarten, we incorporated spider lessons and activities into our October themes.  The Itsy Bitsy Spider song was the perfect anchor to my spider lesson plans.

We would learn all about spider facts for kids, sing the song with hand movements, read the printable book, introduce new vocabulary, create data graphs using question cards, add the poem to our poetry notebook, build the poem in the pocket chart center, and trace the poem in the writing center.

 

 

 

 

 

There Was An Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.

She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.

She gave them some broth without any bread,

Then whipped them all soundly, and put them to bed.

 

 

 

Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill is a great nursery rhyme for reenacting and vocabulary.

Especially with the younger kids, it’s not uncommon for this poem to be the first introduction to a well.  Furthermore, you can focus on words such as hill, crown, and tumbling.  I’ve also found this nursery rhyme for kids to be a great bridge into the -ill word family lessons.

 

 

 

Little Miss Muffet

Itsy Bitsy Spider and Little Miss Muffet are great nursery rhymes for kids to integrate into your science lessons about spiders.

Preschool and kindergarten kids typically do not know what curds and whey are, which leads to an excellent opportunity to build vocabulary using nursery rhymes for kids. Furthermore, when introducing words such as curds and whey, you could do a cooking lesson for kids.

 

 

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Often sang as a nursery rhyme song for preschoolers, the Mary Had a Little Lamb lyrics are:

Mary had a little lamb,

it’s fleece was white as snow.

And everywhere that Mary went,

the lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to school one day

and broke the teacher’s rule

And what a time did they have

that day at school.

 

 

 

One Two Buckle My Shoe

Rote counting, number words, and rhyming are key concepts in kindergarten.  One, Two, Buckle My Shoe is the perfect nursery rhyme song to use when teaching math and early concepts of phonological awareness, such as rhyming.

Playing rhyming games, singing short rhymes, and reading poems are great ways to build early reading skills.

 

 

 

 

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

This popular nursery rhyme has been sung during kids’ bath time for generations.

Kids love to play in water, sing, and engage in a pretend boat scene.  Think of all the learning possibilities when you ask kids to design, create, decorate a boat made out of household items. Then, if your kids are competitive, you can have races down the “stream”.

 

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

Like most nursery rhymes, there are several versions of this poem.  The Baa, Baa, Black Sheep lyrics I am most familiar with are:

Baa, baa, black sheep

Have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir

Three bags full.

One for my master

And one for the dame

One for the little boy

Who lives down the lane.

 

 

I’m a Little Teapot

This is one of the most popular nursery rhymes for kids!  The simple rhyme and rhythm make this tune easily adaptable for other popular kids songs.  The “I’m a Little Teapot” lyrics are:

I’m a little teapot

short and stout.

Here is my handle

Here is my spout.

When I get all steamed up

Hear my shout.

Just tip me over

and pour me out!

 

 

 

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

This silly song about the old man who is snoring is a classic nursery rhyme for kids.

It’s raining, it’s pouring.

The old man is snoring.

Went to bed, and bumped his head

and couldn’t get up in the morning.

 

 

 

Wheels on the Bus

Some may debate that The Wheels on the Bus is an American Folk song, while others claim it to be a classic Mother Goose song for kids.  Either way, it was published in 1939, and remains a popular song for kids of all ages.

 

This nursery rhyme for kids has variations, changing “wheels” to wipers, kids, babies, bus driver, mommies, daddies, and horn – to name a few 🙂 Each variation has a different hand motion or sound effect, making this a very engaging and interactive song for kids.

 

 

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Poem of the Day

If you’re as excited as I am about using poetry to get kids wanting to read and building fluency, then grab your POEM OF THE DAY BUNDLE, today! ???

 

You’ll get all of these nursery rhymes poems for kids, plus over 100 more seasonal and printables poems for 83% off!

 

 

 

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Before you go, here are some blog posts you may enjoy:

115 Top Picks for Poem of the Day

All About Build a Poems

Daily Schedule for Poetry Notebooks

15 Awesome Teacher Discounts

 

My Favorite Nursery Rhymes