If you are a fan of Humpty Dumpty, make a large laminated copy of the nursery rhyme. Then you can make a set for when you read the nursery rhyme to others. You will need a plastic egg and a piece of cardboard or building blocks and some small toy soldiers to act as the “king’s men”.
You can also make a cute nursery rhyme craft for the Old Maid in the Shoe. Purchase a large pair of shoes that you can decorate with many different colors and you can even purchase some small dolls to act as the old woman and her children.
If you are teaching nursery rhymes to small children or to a class, it’s a great idea to put together a prop box of different nursery rhymes. Using a large detergent box with a handle is a wonderful box to make the rhymes portable. You can spray paint the box and add pictures from different nursery rhymes to the sides of the box. You can also use a shoebox or a small plastic storage container. Inside the box you will want to have laminated copies of the nursery rhymes. Then you will want to make props that go along with each nursery rhyme.
Here are a few ideas for creating nursery rhyme crafts.
For Jack and Jill, use a small pail, a cardboard hill, a picture of a well, and a picture of Jack and Jill. You can use a flannel board if you prefer and place the pictures on the board as you read the nursery rhyme.
Hey Diddle Diddle can be read with some fun props like a plastic spoon and plate, a toy cow, dog, cat, a picture of the moon on cardstock. Again, you can use a flannel board or you can show the props to children as you read the nursery rhyme.
Having children act out the nursery rhyme is a fun way for children to learn the nursery rhyme. Provide the kids with masks, puppets, and stick puppets.
Another fun nursery rhyme craft is to make a matching game. Pick two characters from each nursery rhyme that coordinate together and place them on cardstock and laminate them. For example, you can have a card with a cow jumping over the moon and another card with a dish and a spoon to represent Hey Diddle Diddle.
A popular idea is to have a Mother Goose field day. Have each child begin the day with a necklace that has a laminated picture of Mother Goose. Then set up different stations that have nursery rhymes and a prop to go along with it. The stations that have been used by others are as follows:
•Humpty Dumpty – have plastic eggs placed on a 2 x 4 and let the children shoot the egg off the wood with squirt guns.
•Little Jack Horner – Give each child a slice of pie to eat.
•Jack Be Nimble – Have children jump over zigzagged pillar candles.
•Hey Diddle, Diddle – Children pretend to milk a cow by milking a plastic glove that is filled with water and tied off at the top.
•Mistress Mary – Use old egg cartons to have children make flowers
•The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe – Let children participate in a relay race wearing large sized shoes.
•Baa, Baa, Black Sheep – Have children race to fill 3 bags full of packing materials.
