Fingerplays for Children
Take Your Preschooler to Library Storytimes
Preschool children benefit greatly from attending storytimes at the public library. These free programs introduce them to the world of books while learning songs and nursery rhymes to develop their vocabulary. At the same time, the children learn to interact with other children in a group and follow the directions of the leader (the librarian).
The parent can extend the benefits from the storytime in several ways. Make the trip to the library a fun outing and bring home a stack of books to continue reading to the child. Learn some fingerplays and use them frequently with the child. These help with manual dexterity and language development.
Here are some popular fingerplays and activity songs to use with your child.
Use an Action Song so the Children Can Stretch Between Stories
What to Expect at Storytime - at the library
Some Bookstores Have Children's Storytimes Now
Your Child Will Love the Five Little Monkeys
Learn Lots of Fingerplays and Action Rhymes to Entertain Young Children
You probably know the Eentsy Weentsy Spider already, but you'll learn lots of new ones from this book.
Video of Hand Play
There Are Many Benefits to Using Fingerplays
- Fingerplay Benefits for Children | Unlock the Learni...
Finger plays are a fun and educational way to teach young children through a multi-sensory experience. They bond caregiver and child in a legacy of learning in a nurturing way.
Miss Nancy Shares Fingerplays, Rhymes and Songs
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes - Action Game for Storytime
This one has the repetition that young children like. By going faster and faster it keeps them engaged and moving.
Use this as a stretching activity between stories. The action song is demonstrated in the video below.
Three, four and five year olds have trouble sitting still for very long. I always intersperse an action song like this one or a fingerplay between each story at storytime.
Books Filled with Fingerplays
If you can't remember all the words to the fingerplays that you learned as a toddler, you'll find them in these books. There are new ones as well to learn and share with your little one.
More Than 700 Rhymes and Songs and Fingerplays
Anyone working with children will be glad to have this to expand their selection of rhymes in storytime. Great for teachers, librarians and parents.
A Rhyme to Settle Down a Group
It is called "My Hands"
My hands upon my head I place
On my shoulders, on my face
On my hips I place them, so.
Now I raise them up so high
Make my fingers fairly fly
Now I clap them, 1, 2, 3
Then I fold them silently
(add matching action to each line)
When children in a group get restless, this can pull them all back into a coordinated activity that ends with quiet. That's a good time to launch into another story.
Story Time Tips for Librarians and Teachers
- How to Host a Group Story Time for Preschoolers | eHow.com
Preschoolers enjoy hearing stories read aloud. Group story times can bring preschoolers together for socialization and learning. Immerse preschoolers in a theme by doing more than just reading a...
- How to Keep Children's Attention During Story Time | eHow.com
They are wiggling, squirming and making noise, and you haven't even begun reading yet. How can you keep children's attention during story time? If you are a librarian or teacher, you have probably struggled with ...
Learn Several Fingerplays with This Video
This includes the Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed fingerplay.
Buttons or keyrings available from Zazzle
I Love Storytime T-Shirts & Gifts by konceptskids
Great Music for Storytimes on eBay
I loved using Hap Palmers music with storytimes. They all have action to go with them and are easy to sing along with. Many of his albums are no longer available, so I looked around on eBay and you can still find them there.
A Hap Palmer Song on YouTube - to give you an idea of his action songs
This one doesn't have vocals to instruct the children on what to do. I would have them move to the music. When it was light and airy, I'd tell them to move like a fairy or a butterfly. When the music turned heavy, I'd tell them to walk like a monster. Little kids loved this. The one sound is good for tip-toeing.
Hap Palmer - The Haunted House Tune
Finger Puppets to Use with Fingerplays or Stories
The great thing about finger puppets is you don't need a stage. They are easy to store away compactly too.
Best of all, children respond eagerly to the miniature figures that you animate by moving your fingers and using your voice to tell the story.
The variety here will suit a number of stories and fingerplays to liven up story time at the library, nursery school or at home.
You Can Make Your Own Finger Puppets to Use with Fingerplays
- Finger Puppet Crafts
A few patterns, resources, and tutorials for making cute and fun finger puppets for interactive play with kids.
Get everyone singing along with Old McDonald.
Links to More Fingerplays
© 2010 Virginia Allain