Rhyming activities for kids are a great place to start when it comes to early literacy activities. I love incorporating rhyming into my preschool curriculum each week. Even if I don’t dedicate an entire lesson or activity to rhyming every week, I sneak it in where I can – like in story books or conversations with the kids.
Rhyming is an important early literacy skill that can teach our kids so much. And – not to mention – put them on the fast track to being excellent early readers! So having this concept heavily woven into the fabric of what we do in preschool is crucial.
Below, you’ll find some resources that will help you figure out a way to incorporate rhyming activities into your preschool classroom along with some great rhyming activities to do with the children.
As promised, I have even more rhyming activities for kids today! Yesterday, I touched on simple rhyming activities that are easily adapted to meet the needs of rhyming kiddos. Today, I’m going to delve into specific ideas.
The Rhyming Series:
1. Why is teaching rhyming important?
2. Introducing rhyming to children
3. Rhyming books and songs for children
4. Rhyming activities for children
5. Even more rhyming activities for kids
HIGH-FIVE FOR RHYMING
This is a sweet and simple rhyming activity I came up with recently. Glue rhyming pictures onto hand prints (use hand print die cuts or have children use paint to make hand prints). Place the rhyming hand prints near a doorway, making sure they’re near the children’s eye levels. As the children are exiting that doorway, they choose one rhyming pair to say out loud and “high-five”! Children can be asked to say more than one pair, they can work in teams to complete the rhyming pairs, or an adult can help them as needed. Basically, this is a fast activity that can be used to meet the rhyming needs of individual kiddos.
Fantastic Fun and Learning’s “Rhyming with Alice the Fairy” – Shauna shares a fun rhyming activity she did with her daughters based on David Shannon’s book “Alice the Fairy”. I know I want to try this out with Engineer and my preschool kiddos.
“Poetry Journals” from Buggy and Buddy – I love how Chelsey uses poetry journals with her daughter! I did something like this when I taught kindergarten, and it’s so beneficial for the kiddos. Chelsey’s post has inspired me to do more with Engineer and my preschoolers.
Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas’ “Rhyming on the Go” – Bern shares a great way to get children rhyming when doing everyday tasks. I love that she incorporates learning in a simple, fun, and interactive way!
Rainy Day Mum’s “10 Rhymes to Sing with Babies and Toddlers” and “10 Rhymes to Count With” – These posts from Cerys at Rainy Day Mum are a great resource, especially when it comes to rhyming with the smaller kiddos. Of course, even older children like to revisit the songs and rhymes they learned as toddlers.
“Five Little Ducks Storytelling Water Play” from The Imagination Tree – Anna’s water play activity links sensory play, retelling, song, and rhyming in one fun package! This activity could be restructured for a variety of other simple rhymes that children enjoy.
Playing with Words 365’s “Owl Finger Puppet Tutorial (and Fingerplay!)” – To begin with, these finger puppets from Katie are adorable! I love that there’s a tutorial for the puppets, as well as a fingerplay to use with children. I think both adults and children would enjoy using these puppets for rhyming.
Additional Research and Activities:
- Babble’s “The Best Rhyming Children’s Books”
- PBS Kids’ “Rhyming Games”
- Pre-Kinders’ “Pre-K Literacy: Rhyming”
- National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)’s “Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriately Practices for Young Children”
- International Reading Association’s “Phonemic Awareness and the Teaching of Reading”
I hope you’ve enjoyed this week-long series about rhyming with children! Have you come away with any new ideas or inspirations? Do you have anything to add to the lists here? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this in-depth look at rhyming! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Shared at The Kids’ Co-Op, After School Link Up, Mom’s Library, Creative Learning
Rhyming Book
If you’re a regular reader of Fun-A-Day, then you already know that I think it’s so important to read with children as often as possible! So, I love getting the opportunity to recommend some great preschool books. Below, I’ve included some of my very favorite rhyming books for preschool.
Check them out. I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
- Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
- Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
- Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash by Sarah Weeks
- How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen
- I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
- Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
- Groovy Joe: Ice Cream & Dinosaurs by Eric Litwin
- Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley
Done-for-You Preschool Resources
Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week while balancing other teaching responsibilities and a personal life can be a daunting task. That’s where Preschool Teacher 101 comes in to save you time!
For even more rhyming fun, check out our 3-in-1 rhyming activity pack! Click on the image below to learn more.
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What a wonderful collection! Rhyming is so important.
Thank you!! 🙂
This whole series has been terrific. Rhyming is such an important pre-reading skill, and I’m glad you shared so much great information.Thanks for including our Alice the Fairy rhyming activity.
Thanks so much, Shauna! I can’t wait to use your Alice the Fairy rhyming activity with the preschool kiddos!! 🙂
Oh we love rhyming games in our house! Rhyming books are our favourites and we often make up silly little rhymes to ease tensions when things get cranky!
Thanks for sharing this great list of resources!
Thanks for stopping by, Kate! We like making up silly rhymes as well . . . I agree that it’s great to do when crankiness appears. 🙂
Love your rhyming series!
You’re so sweet, Varya! Thanks for taking the time to stop by! 🙂