Nursery rhymes and fine motor development
One of many wonderful things about babies and young children is that they really don’t seem to mind if you sing out of tune, or don’t remember absolutely every word for the songs and rhymes that you sing. That means that you can enjoy singing songs and saying rhymes with an audience who will think you are great even if you might be a bit out of tune!
Rhymes and songs that include actions can support your child to develop strength and control of their hands and fingers. In this blog, we will look at how rhymes and songs can support fine motor development.
Noticing their hands
Your new baby might be interested in watching their hands when they come into view and might keep their hands closed most of the time. Rhymes such as ‘Round and round the garden,’ that involve gently stroking their hands might help them to become more aware of their hands as they feel you touching them.
Opening and closing
As your baby gains control of their hands they might start to open and close their hands and watch their hands as they move. You might also notice that they watch your hands although they might not be able to copy your movements at first. You could introduce rhymes such as ‘Twinkle, twinkle’ or ‘Open, shut them,’ which involve simple actions where your baby just opens and closes their hands.
Moving fingers
Many fine motor skills involve moving our fingers one at a time or bringing a finger and thumb together to hold or manipulate an object. Finger rhymes can help your child to develop control, strength and flexibility in their fingers that will support them to move their fingers individually. You could support your child to move their fingers by:
- Using Finger Puppets
Finger puppets are a great resource to add to your nursery rhymes, when your child uses a finger puppet they will think about moving their fingers individually (finger isolation).
- Using individual fingers
Rhymes and songs that involve counting, help your child to think about representing quantity but also encourage them to move their fingers one at a time. For example, when you sing ‘2 little dicky birds’ your child will hold up one finger on each hand. When they sing ‘Five currant buns’ they can move their finger and thumb together to sprinkle ‘sugar on the top’, and in ‘Tommy Thumb, Tommy thumb where are you?’ they need to move each finger individually at the right moment.
- Moving objects in their hand
In-hand manipulation is another important aspect of fine motor skills, this means that your child can move an object in their hand. There are different types of in-hand manipulation:
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- translation which involves moving an object between your palm and fingertips, for example, moving a coin from your palm to your fingers to give it to someone, or picking an object up with your fingers then holding it in your palm.
- shift, which involves moving an object up and down your fingers, for example moving your fingers down to the bottom of a pen to hold it.
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- rotation which involves turning an object either with your thumb and fingers turning an object over, so this could be opening a small container or turning a pencil over to use the eraser on the end.
Finger rhymes can help your child to practise these movements, for example, if you use some coins or bottle tops when singing ‘Five currant buns’ your child can practise picking up and moving the money to pay the baker.
Coordination
Rhymes and songs that involve actions help your child to coordinate their movements, think about slowing down your singing and watching your hands as you move them to encourage your child to do the same. Watching their hands and fingers as they move will help them to coordinate their movements as they see and feel their hands and fingers moving.
We know that there are lots of traditional rhymes and songs that families enjoy and we would love to hear more about your favourites!
We are going to finish this blog with two of our favourite rhymes, the first is great for younger children who are simply coordinating opening and closing their hands and the second is a bit more tricky as children need to move their fingers one at a time. These are the words and actions that we know, but we think there might be some slightly different versions around too!
Open shut them
Open shut them, open shut them, give a little clap (open and close hands twice then clap)
Open shut them, open shut them, put them on your lap. (open and close hands twice then lay them on your knee)
Creep them, creep them, creep them, creep them, right up to your chin. (move your hands up your body towards your face)
Open up your little mouth but do not put them in! (open your mouth, then hide hands behind your back.)
Tommy Thumb
Tommy Thumb, Tommy Thumb,
Where are you? (both hands hidden behind your back)
Here I am, here I am (bring your hands out one at a time with thumbs up)
How do you do? (turn thumbs towards each other and make them bow.)
Peter Pointer, Peter Pointer, (both hands hidden behind your back)
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am, bring your hands out one at a time with index finger up)
How do you do?
Toby Tall, Toby Tall, (both hands hidden behind your back)
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am, (bring your hands out one at a time with middle finger up)
How do you do?
Ruby Ring, Ruby Ring, (both hands hidden behind your back)
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am, (bring your hands out one at a time with fourth finger up)
How do you do?
Baby Small, Baby Small, (both hands hidden behind your back)
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am, (bring your hands out one at a time with little finger up)
How do you do?
Fingers all, Fingers all, (both hands hidden behind your back)
Where are you?
Here we are, here we are, (bring your hands out one at a time with them open)
How do you do? (turn hands to face each other open and close fingers as if bowing, or wiggle fingers as if waving)
We have more blogs coming soon that will explore the other areas of learning that Nursery Rhymes can promote!
References:
Dyke, J A Froebelian approach, songs, rhymes and finger plays. Froebel Trust. Available at: Layout 1 (froebel.org.uk)
