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Introducing letters and their sounds

Blog
Learn Well
11 Apr 2023

As seen in Little Learners

Many nursery rhymes dating back hundreds of years ago are passed down from generation to generation and loved by so many. And what's more, they can be used for more than just a sing-along; nursery rhymes can even help form the basis of a fun, interactive lesson!

Our Alphabet Rhyme Time book (307306) can be used to help you plan lessons around those nursery rhymes we've all grown to love. The book includes a nursery rhyme for each letter of the alphabet and a treasure trove of themed activities related to the song that you can recreate in your setting.

To give you a taste of what you can expect from the book, I've chosen one of my favourite nursery rhymes you’ll find inside and some of the activities that come with it.

I is for Incy Wincy Spider.

Incy Wincy spider climbed up the waterspout.

Alternately touch the thumb of one hand to the index finger of the other.

Down came the rain

Hold both hands up and wiggle the fingers as the hands are lowered.

and washed the spider out.

Sweep the hands from side to side.

Out came the sunshine

Raise both hands and sweep to the sides to form a semicircle like the sun.

and dried up all the rain

Wiggle fingers upwards (as for the first line).

so Incy Wincy spider climbed up the spout again.

Wiggle fingers upwards (as for the first line)

Spidertastic activities

1. Fine motor web threading

Give the children sturdy paper plates and ask them to punch holes in the rim of the plates with a small hole puncher. The children can thread string through the holes, creating a spider’s web. Afterwards, they could make a spider using Plasticine and pipe cleaners.

What you’ll need:

307123 - Paper Plates

718300 - Medium Cotton String

702150 - Rapesco Single Hole Punch

726680 - Scola Coloured Clay

309848 - Pipe Cleaners

2. Creative play

Try making your own spider sculpture. Begin by sharing images of the incredible, nine-meter-tall spider statue created by Louise Bourgeois using metal. Then create your spiders using pipe cleaners, pom poms and googly eyes. You could attach them to an elastic string, fasten them firmly to your ceiling, and then have fun pinging them up and down!

What you’ll need:

309848 - Pipe Cleaners
303941 - Googly Eyes
301275 - Yarn Pom Poms
138894 - Spider Craft Kit

3. Incy Wincy waterpark

Outside, gather all your water-play equipment, including pipes, stands, jugs, plastic spiders of various sizes, bottles with holes in the bottom, and watering cans for the children to create a ‘water park’ for Incy Wincy to explore. Using different-sized plastic spiders, the children can experiment with making Incy travel slowly or quickly down the water slides. Engage in active listening and model the use of new vocabulary. Encourage prediction and thoughtfully observe what the children do.

What you’ll need:

801220 - Water Play Kit

4. Hands-on experience

Invite a spider and insect expert handler into your setting so the children can experience and ask questions about looking after spiders and insects. If this isn’t possible, enjoy going on your own spider hunt around your setting inside and out, gently collecting them into observational tubs. If you have any magnifying tubs or glasses, use them to let the children take a closer look at the insects they find.

What you’ll need:

427301 - Rainbow Magnifiers

Enjoyed reading this blog? We've got loads more ideas and inspiration for early years teachers in our Little Learners magazine. This article has been taken from our latest issue. Click here to check it out.

Did you know you can also subscribe to receive all future issues of Little Learners for FREE? Click here to subscribe.

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Author

Learn Well

Child development is at the heart of everything at Learn Well. Each product is thoughtfully created to give young children and older ones with special needs a broad range of sensory learning experiences. Research shows that sensory play builds nerve connections in the brain's pathways; so Learn Well think about sight, sound, smell and touch as each product is in development.