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11 Famous Nursery Rhymes For Toddlers And Preschoolers

11 Famous Nursery Rhymes For Toddlers And Preschoolers

15 May 2023 | 7 min Read

Sudeshna Chakravarti

Author | 799 Articles

Songs and rhymes have catchy beats that quickly draw your toddler’s attention and introduce them to numerals and alphabets in a fun way. Nursery rhymes for toddlers are especially beneficial as they help your little one understand the syllables and sounds of individual words, and help them develop an ear for language.

So if you want to encourage fun learning, read on, as we have curated a collection of some of the famous nursery rhymes for toddlers and preschoolers that are educational, and also super fun to listen to.

How Do Nursery Rhymes Promote Your Toddler’s Learning?

Nursery rhymes help in speech development and language learning in kids. They also aid in building auditory abilities, such as understanding rhythm and sound recognition. The other benefits of nursery rhymes for toddlers include the following:

Regular repetition of various rhymes helps your child learn the alphabet and numbers.
Rhymes can help your child identify and learn different sounds. They also help develop your little one’s rhyming skills.
Rhymes expand your toddler’s vocabulary as they learn new words with each poem.
As your child repeats each word while reciting rhymes, they easily learn phonemic segmentation and pronunciation.
Rhymes also help promote emotional awareness in kids.
By reciting rhymes, your child also learns to socialise and build teams while having tons of fun.
Rhymes also give your child a better understanding of the world, as they make it more relatable for them.
Plus, rhymes give your child an opportunity to act out and express their creative side.

11 Best Nursery Rhymes For Toddlers And Preschoolers

Humpty Dumpty

Everyone loves this classic nursery rhyme! Although the words of this rhyme don’t make much sense, it’s sing-song tone and catchy rhythm are a hit among all tots and preschoolers. Here’s how it goes.

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…

Old King Cole

This nursery rhyme talks about a King from England who has enjoyed his life to the fullest. The poem is humorous and has a groovy beat, which will get your munchkin dancing and moving with joy.

Old King Cole was a merry old soul

And a merry old soul was he.

He called for his pipe, he called for his bowl

And he called for his fiddlers three…

Wheels On The Bus

This rhyme helps your toddler to express their creativity by acting out. Make sure to jump together in action along with your little ones while they sing the rhyme to make it more interesting and fun for them. Here’s how the lyric goes.

The wheels on the bus go round and round

Round and round

The wheels on the bus go round and round

All through the town.

Wee Willie Winkie

This Scottish nursery rhyme personifies sleep. Its merry yet subtle tone makes it an excellent lullaby tone. The rhyme goes like this.

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town

Upstairs, downstairs, in his nightgown!

Tapping at the window, crying through the lock

Are the children in their beds? For now, it’s eight o’clock…

Itsy Bitsy Spider

This nursery rhyme is always a big-time hit among toddlers! They will love to imitate the actions of the crawly spider and sing along to the catchy beat with their friends.

The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout

Down came the rain and washed the spider out.

Out came the sun and dried out all the rain,

And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

This nursery rhyme also originates from England and talks about how children should not go out during heavy rains. It is a fun and happy rhyme that describes what an old man does when it’s raining.

It’s raining, it’s pouring

The old man is snoring!

He went to bed and bumped his head,

And he couldn’t get up in the morning…

Round And Round The Garden

At the end of this rhyme, there’s this line, “Tickle you under there!” which means you have to tickle your toddler every time you sing it. This funny poem will surely get your little one to laugh uncontrollably. The rhyme goes like.

Round and round the garden

Went the teddy bear

One step, two step

Ticke you under there…

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

This is probably one of the first nursery rhymes that your toddler will learn. It has a simple yet repetitive melody, which is easy to remember and helps your little one learn about the stars in the most fun way possible.

Twinkle twinkle little stars

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…

Little Bo Peep

This rhyme talks about how she is trying to find the sheep that she has lost. It is an adorable story that your toddler can learn as a rhyme.

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep

And she doesn’t know where to find them,

Leave them alone and they will come home

Wagging their tails behind them…

Ring A Ring O’ Roses

Once you introduce this song to your toddler, they will never get tired of singing it. Plus, this nursery rhyme is a great way for your little one to interact with other kids, as it requires them to dance around while holding hands in a circle, and falling down in the end.

Ring a ring o’ roses

A pocket full of posies

A tissue, a tissue

We all fall down…

Higglety Pigglety Pop

This rhyme requires a lot of activity and running around, making it super fun for your toddler. This rhyme also has funny words, and they may also end up bursting with laughter while reciting it.

Higglety pigglety pop!

The dog has eaten the mop.

The pig’s in a hurry

The cat’s in a flurry

Higglety pigglety pop…

Tips To Help Your Toddler Learn Nursery Rhymes Better

You will mostly have to sing the nursery rhymes to make them more interesting and catchy for your toddler. Additionally, you can follow these tips to help your tot learn quick and short nursery rhymes that fit perfectly into their daily routine.

Use flashcards to make learning fun and interesting.
Choose short and simple rhymes while beginning the learning process.
Show pictures relevant to the rhymes to your toddler for better understanding.
Make sure to recite the rhymes together with your little one.
Respond to your toddler’s questions and curiosity about the rhymes.
Appreciate your toddler when they show interest in a rhyme.
Think of creative ways to make the learning process as fun as possible.

Conclusion

Nursery rhymes for toddlers are fun and an effective way to develop your little one’s language skills. They also help your toddler connect with their surroundings and express their creative sides. So pick a rhyme from our list and act it out, to watch your little one’s enjoyment and spark curiosity.