By Children’s Librarian Shelley Harris
Like the sounds we talked about last week, rhymes and rhyming words are an important part of pre-reading and reading. It’s another way to play with words, see how they’re made and how to break them down. This helps kids be able to understand how to sound words out when they’re ready to read.
Rhymes are also just plain fun! You can find them by sharing songs, poetry, books and nursery rhymes.
Watch these videos
In this early Early Bird Reader video, Jenny and I talk about word families, nursery rhymes, and share some of our favorite rhyming books.
In this counting video from earlier this year, Jennifer, Carrie, and I share some fun rhymes. Kids love songs with actions they can participate in, so pretend your fingers are five sausages or bees and practice numbers and rhymes.
Read these books in rhyme
- Jan Thomas is one of the best funny writers for kids, and her rhyming dust bunnies are some of her best characters. Meet Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob, who love to rhyme all the time, even when up against enemies like brooms and vacuum cleaners. Check out Rhyming Dust Bunnies»
- Books that have rhymes and repeating words are great, because it allows kids practice and hear rhymes. Try the How Do Dinosaurs series by Jane Yolen, and Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson.
- Marilyn Singer writes very creative and fun poetry for preschoolers and elementary age kids. Feel the Beat has a variety of poems that match the rhythms of different dance beats when read aloud, from salsa to swing.
Try these activities
- Print out, draw, or even buy mini pumpkins. Give them all names that start with P (for pumpkin) and rhyme with your names, your favorite characters, and more. Penny, Pelley, Paptain Pamerica, Pawkeye, and Pingo would be my pumpkin names. Can you figure out what the real names are? Big kids can go further and tell rhyming stories about their pumpkins.
- Pete the Cat remains a very popular book series. The website has fun activities for kids, families, and classes to do, including rhyming games.
About Shelley
Shelley is a children’s librarian with a passion for early literacy, serving and celebrating the disability community, and exploring technology. She can often be found practicing storytime songs with her black lab, Bingo.
