Rhymes can be used for any number of learning activities – for strengthening language skills, for boosting vocabulary, and for counting skills. Your preschooler will find counting and memorizing numbers becomes easier if counting rhymes are a part of his routine at home.

Younger kids are already familiar with 1-2-3, but find themselves getting stuck as they progress beyond these. Recite these rhymes together as you’re fixing dinner, in the car, during bath time. Practice makes permanent where numerals are concerned.

Here are some counting rhymes for the both of you to enjoy. Use plenty of actions, and encourage her to use her fingers and toes to count out the numbers, and hold them up.

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

One, two, buckle my shoe,

Three, four, shut the door,

Five, six, pick up sticks,

Seven, eight, lay them straight,

Nine, ten, a big fat hen,

Eleven, twelve, dig and delve

Thirteen, fourteen, maids are courting

Fifteen, sixteen, maids are kissing

Seventeen, eighteen, maids are waiting

Nineteen, twenty, my plate’s empty.

Fish Alive

One, two, three, four, five,

Once I caught a fish alive,

Six seven eight nine ten,

Then I let it go again.

Why did you let it go?

Because it bit my finger so,

Which finger did it bite?

The little finger on the right.

Use these rhymes to practice subtraction and counting backwords:

Ten green bottles

Ten green bottles standing on the wall,

Ten green bottles standing on the wall,

And if one green bottle should accidentally fall,

There’ll be nine green bottles standing on the wall,

Nine green bottles standing on the wall,

And if one green bottle should accidentally fall,

There’ll be eight green bottles hanging on the wall,

One little, 2 little, 3 little Indians,

4 little, 5 little, 6 little Indians,

7 little, 8 little, 9 little Indians,

Ten little Indian boys!

10 little, nine little, 8 little Indians

7 little, six little, five little Indians

4 little, 3 little, 2 little Indians

1 little Indian boy!

This is a popular rhyme that’s best when recited with lots of actions.

This old man

This old man he played one, (let her hold up her thumb)

He played knick knack on my thumb (let her tap two thumbs together)

With a knick knack paddy whack (put one fist on top of the other)

Give a dog a bone (make an action of handing over a bone to a dog)

This old man came rolling home (let her roll her arm one over the other).

Proceed to “two” till you’ve covered all numbers till 10. Use these rhyming words

Two – shoe

Three – on my knee

Four – on my door

Five – on my hive

Six – on my sticks

Seven – up in heaven

Eight – on my gate

Nine – on my spine

Ten – once again.

Change the words to other rhymes and songs to create new counting rhymes:

When the Numbers go Marching In (Sung to When the saints go marching in)

O, when the numbers go marching in

O, when the numbers go marching in,

We will count them one by one,

When the numbers go marching in,

O one two three and four five six,

Seven and eight nine and ten,

When we finish all our numbers,

We will count them once again.

Sing a Song of Numbers ( sung to Sing a song of Six Pence)

Sing a song of numbers,

Count them one by one,

Sing a song of numbers,

We’ve only just begun,

One, two, three, four, five, six,

Seven, eight, nine and ten,

When we finish counting them,

We’ll start over again.

Count our Numbers (sung to Oh my Darling Clementine)

Count our numbers, count our numbers,

Count our numbers everyday,

Oh it’s fun to count our numbers,

Count with Mommy every day.

One, two, three, four,

Five, six, seven, eight,

Nine and ten we’ll count today,

It’s so fun to count together,

One to ten and then again.

Show me One (sung to Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

One, one show me one,

Show me one right now,

One, one show me one

Show me one right now.

Proceed with other numbers.

The Number Song (sung to Mary had a little lamb)

Number one is o-n-e, o-n-e, o-n-e,

Number one is o-n-e,

That spells number one .

Use for numbers two, six, and ten.

The Number Song II (sung to Skip to my Lou)

T-h-r-e-e

T-h-r-e-e

T-h-r-e-e

That spells number three.

Use for numbers, four, five and nine.

The Number Song III (sung to The Farmer’s in the Dell)

S-e-v-e-n,

S-e-v-e-n,

Hi ho the derry o,

That spells number seven.

Use for number eight too.

Enjoy!

Continuing with my series on preschool sensory activities, we’re moving on to taste activities. Here’s the first one:

Take 8 dropper bottles. Smaller bottles with narrow mouths will also do.

Paint the lids of fours bottles green, and four others red.

Into each red lidded bottle, pour four different tasting liquids

• Sugary water for sweet
• Salt water for salty
• Lemon juice for sour
• Black coffee for bitter

Do the same for the green lidded bottles

Ask your child to wash her hand, open a red lidded bottle, put a couple of drops of liquid on the back of her hand.

Ask her to taste the liquid.

Let her then test each green lidded bottle till she finds the exact same taste.

When she finds a perfectly matched pair, let her keep those two bottles aside, and proceed with the others.

Keep a small jug of water and a plastic bowl for her to wash her hand after each testing session.

More Taste Sensory Activities

Add taste sensory activities to every day eating scenarios. Talk about the taste of different foods as you eat together.

• This apple is so sweet.
• This yoghurt is sour.
• These chips are salty.

Encourage her to find the taste of ingredients in each dish –

Can you taste the lemon in the lemon sponge cake?

Ask her what a certain food tastes like – a slice of lemon, a piece of horseradish etc.

Blindfold her and put a bite of a food that she’s familiar with in her mouth – a grape, a spoon of pasta. Let her guess what it is.

Place a large plastic tray in front of her, and give her three cups of pudding with food coloring mixed in each. Let her paint on the tray, and then lick the pudding off her fingers. Next time, vary the taste of the edible paint – make it thick yoghurt mixed with food coloring. This activity allows her to use all her senses – she can see the pudding, smell it, touch it and taste it.

Since kids haven’t been exposed to as many tastes as we have, they are not prepared for what they will taste, which heightens the entire sensory experience for them. Plus, the mouth is one of the earliest organs for exploration in a baby, which makes it feel natural for a preschooler when he takes part in a tasting activity. Introducing her to different tastes can also help her develop an interest in different foods.

Have fun!