World Nursery Rhyme Week 2024

We have been taking part in 'World Nursery Rhyme Week' and we've been having lots of fun singing these dedicated rhymes over the five days.

The children have explored each rhyme with music, art, Makaton and sensory trays. We have enjoyed singing along to Twinkle, Twinkle, Incy Wincy Spider and Five Current Buns to name a few!

Nursery rhymes offer excellent rhythm and a repetitive pattern of sounds when they are sung. This helps and supports a child's language development. This in turn will help a child to become accustomed to vocabulary, sounds and eventually support their learning to read.

Books are a very special resource, and they are much loved here at St. Michael’s.  They are central to our love of learning.  They help to develop language & imagination, invite discussions, predict what's next, promotes brain development & also supports our emotional wellbeing.

With this in mind, each age group have been invited to explore these nursery rhymes further with provocations set up to enhance their learning as a whole.

Our Ladybirds and Butterflies really enjoyed the sensory tray for Old MacDonald had a Farm. They pushed the toy tractor through the paint and noticed the print that the tractor tyres had made.

Dragonflies have really enjoyed learning the Makaton signs for each animal living on the farm. They weren't very familiar singing 'The Big Ship Sails' so this was naturally an intriguing and exciting rhyme to learn.

One of the highlights for Kindergarten was making collage boats using card, coloured paper and tissue paper. We even went out in the garden on our very own HMS St. Michael's and sang the song in there!

In Forest School, we heard the story of Incy Wincy Spider told by Katie 'Fox'. The children listened eagerly as they were willing their hero on as he climbed and climbed the drain pipe but kept falling down. It was ultimately a story of perseverance, determination and ultimately celebrating one's achievement.

Later, the children were invited to continue the story themselves, making musical instruments, spider webs with string and going on a spider hunt! This has been excellent for imagination, communication, social skills and emotional development.

A special mention to Liz our wonderful chef, for all her efforts in the kitchen to support and enhance this week with her baking. The children delighted in the most delicious Twinkle, Twinkle Star biscuits and were enthralled by the BIG sponge ship with icing. We absolutely loved the chocolate cracknell with 'spider web' icing! Massive thank you Liz!

Reading stories and singing rhymes is such a special experience at any age.  Stories with rhythm and a repetitive pattern really do support a child's development on so many levels. We recognise that this is such valued resource that earlier this year we launched our very own 'Read More in '24' book sharing initiative. This has proved incredibly popular and children have made it their very own routine to swap books and share stories. We are so pleased to be a part of children's love of rhyme, reading and stories.