Putting Humpty Dumpty Together Again

What is YOUR favorite Nursery Rhyme? 

One of my all time favorites, hands down, is Humpty Dumpty! 

I remember when I was about five or six and I bought a stuffed Humpty Dumpty doll at a small store in Kentucky.  I played with that doll for YEARS!!!  He climbed many walls and somehow managed to come out still in one piece!  My love for that "cracked up egg" has never changed! In fact, it continues to impact me to this day!     

So, let's get "cracking" with some multisensory ideas for you to use as you build knowledge and make memories with your little ones using our beloved friend, Humpty Dumpty!

There are many ways that Nursery Rhymes can boost social/emotional, cognitive, language, and physical development and include lots of fun science, cooking, and fine art activities that are sure to keep children interested and learning!

Did you know?  

“Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old, they’re usually among the best readers by the time they’re eight.” ~Mem Fox

Of course we always start with great children's books!  One of my favorites is Mother Goose Neighborhood!  The author puts a fun twist on over 40 rhymes with unique photos taken all around Brooklyn!  Learn more by following the link below! (*Amazon Affiliate Link)





Dave Horowitz has this fun and unique version of Humpty Dumpty that was a staple on my bookshelf.  In Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again this daring little Humpty just loves to climb...will he learn his lesson?





March is the perfect time to play with Humpty Dumpty since Spring is just around the corner and good ole' Humpty lends himself well to "spring things" such as birds, chicks, and eggs!

I usually get things rolling (pun intended) with some REAL eggs! 

This activity is best when introduced to the large group, but then broken up into smaller groups to decrease waiting time.  Bring in a WHOLE dozen eggs (or more) so everyone gets a turn!  The kids decide how tall they want the wall and whether they want Humpty Dumpty to fall on a hard surface or a soft surface!  Just look at all those language and math concepts would you!!!

Depending on the group of kids I have, either I use a permanent marker to make a face on the egg or I let the kids do it!  We make sure to discuss what Humpty Dumpty's face would look like when he sits on the wall.  Would he feel scared?  What do YOUR eyes and mouth look like when you feel scared?

The kids love doing this over and over as each child gets a turn to put their egg on the wall and recite the traditional rhyme with the group as we see what happens when he falls!

There is lots of new vocabulary involved in this lesson such as: yolk, shell, egg white (albumen), hard, soft, high, low, king's  horses and men, bricks, mortar...This would be the perfect time to have older children go back to the table and draw or write about what happened to Humpty Dumpty!

We also talk about all the other things that Humpty Dumpty could sit on that might rhyme with fall.  Some examples might be ball, mall, doll, or a stall.  Bring in or make some of these items and experiment to see what happens!  Rewrite the rhyme to include the new words and illustrations!  

As an extension, we always use the I Love You Ritual by Dr. Becky Bailey.  It goes like this:

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the kings horses,
And all the queen's men.
Could put Humpty together again."

This connecting activity has motions that go with it that help you make connections with and among children.  They include eye contact, touch, presence, and playfulness.  The underlying message of this I Love You Ritual is Safety.  You are reminding children that no matter what happens YOU will keep them safe!

Here is a short video clip of me enjoying the ritual with one of my students with special needs.  It was especially fun for him since he really enjoyed intense sensory experiences!  There are so many fun ways to modify this ritual to fit your needs!

We also made a class book with the ritual by taking photos of children doing the activity with a partner.  We added the words and then each child had a turn to take the book home to share this loving ritual with their family!  Once everyone had a turn, we added it to our classroom library and children enjoyed it over and over again!  

They also had the opportunity to illustrate their own individual books!

AND they practiced their visual motor skills by cutting apart a Humpty Dumpty puzzle and then gluing him back together again on a printed wall that included the rhyme for them to take home. 

You can also do this with a brown paper sack and let them use rectangular sponges dipped in red paint to sponge paint bricks on the bag and put their Humpty Dumpty puzzle inside the bag so they could "fix" him over and over again!

I have had these little Humpty Dumpty finger puppets for years!  I think they came from Mailbox Magazine.  Super simple!   



The kids loved having the opportunity to practice using the Skill of Empathy with Humpty Dumpty when he fell down!

Using items from the Wish Well bag they helped Humpty Dumpty regulate his sadness after his fall by offering comfort and well wishes.  Some helped him breathe by using a pinwheel.

Some gave him Band aids and kissed his boo boos.

Others rubbed Boo Boo Cream on him as they sang:
"Bye, bye boo boos!  Bye, bye boo boos!  Bye, bye boo boos!  It's time for you to heal."
(From I Love You Rituals, By:  Dr. Becky Bailey)

They even comforted Humpty Dumpty with this cozy warm heart while wishing him well!

We used these healing rituals based on the idea that "what you offer to others, you strengthen in yourself."  When the children offer Empathy to Humpty Dumpty, they are strengthening their ability to do the same for themselves.

Since I have many children in my classroom with special needs, I  try to include lots of sensory experiences along with our lessons.  This is always a real favorite!

We get out lots of shaving cream and several different sizes of wooden blocks.  The kids use the shaving cream as the "mortar" to help them build walls for Humpty Dumpty.  We give them a plastic egg and let them explore their senses as they continue to enjoy the Nursery Rhyme.



Children learn in so many different ways.  Whenever you are teaching the Nursery Rhymes it is about so much more than just the words on the page.  They need many different opportunities to interact with the materials and experience them using all of their senses!

Some other extension activities we enjoy with Humpty Dumpty include cracking and eating hard boiled eggs.  We decorate and dye eggs and we even bring in live chicks whenever we have the chance!!!

For more great ideas check out my Nursery Rhyme Pinterest Board or this great website!

I look back on my childhood and smile when I think of all the ways I experienced learning.  I'm sure that's why I chose to be a preschool teacher!  I want to give children the opportunity to have rich childhood experiences that not only make them lifelong learners, but also experiences that will perhaps impact them as a parent or caregiver someday!  What will children remember about the lessons YOU plan?  

I hope this gets your imagination "cracking" as you plan some fun Spring activities that are sure to include Nursery Rhymes! 

What are some of your favorite Humpty Dumpty activities? 

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

I love Dr. Seuss books and I have a boatload in my classroom.  My students love those books too, so despite the difficulty with copyright rules, This week I want celebrate reading, Dr. Seuss, rhyming, and all things silly.  It is not too late to plan your own celebrations.  My ideas are generally quick, and not to tough to pull together at the last minute.

First a little history lesson.  These two books are on my bookshelf at home.  Have you seen them before??

You may not have heard of them...but they both belong to Theodor Geisel.  Theodor Seuss Geisel, of course, is the given name of Dr. Seuss (a pen name he started using in college).  He was born on March 2nd, 1904.  He grew up in a time when Americans of German descent were hated and feared.  He experienced the hurt that this kind of prejudice creates.  He worked for a time in advertising, drew political cartoons, and of course he wrote children's stories.  His first was To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street.  A poem he wrote after crossing the Atlantic and mimicking the rhythm of the ship.  It took awhile for publisher to say yes and even then he was not an overnight success. Many of his advertising and wartime cartoon characters made another appearance in his children's books.  To learn more about his life try this movie:  In Search of Dr. Seuss.  It is a whimsical look at his life told through his books.

We are starting our week with a truffla forest.  These trees are made with foam pipe insulation (from home depot), yellow duck tape, and great big tissue paper flowers.  I made the flowers with tissue paper from the card and gift wrapping section at WalMart and pipe cleaners.  There is a great tutorial at Mrs. Lodge's Library.  Her instructions are easy to follow and you will have a forest in no time.

I will dress up like The Cat in the Hat himself with this simple costume:

I had the hat, so black pants, black turtleneck, white oval (I had some felt) safety pinned on, a wide red bow, and look at me....not too bad.  I needed some minions, little things 1 through 22.  A circle of white safety pinned to their shirts and a blue wig, and you would think we stepped out of a story book.

I used blue butcher paper for the wigs.  I just folded it in half, drew a line to show the kids where to stop, and added a couple of staples to stabilize the paper while my kinder kids are cutting.  The folded edge is the bottom, the open edge is the hair, students cut from the open edge.  When they are done cutting, I just fit it to their head and staple.

Now we need a snack...these red and white hats are quick and easy.

Having buddies to snuggle with and lots of opportunities to read make for a fun and exciting week.

I scour the thrift stores and at least once a month my husband brings me home a stack of books.  Here is what he brought me Friday.  They all seemed brand new or barely used.

Each day we will start our reading block putting sentences in the right order, sentences straight from the books we will be reading.   Stop by my facebook page to pick up these (or just write your own on 3x5 cards or half sheets of construction paper)

There is such wisdom in the words of Dr. Seuss.  Words adults can benefit from.

Here's hoping you have a Seuss-tasical week.  Even if the sun is not sunny, have some good fun that is funny from Terri at KinderKapers.  Don't forget to follow me on facebook to keep track of all our fun as the week progresses.

March Marvelousness/Madness

Are you headed toward the zoo later this spring? 

Take a look at these INCREDIBLE decorated classroom doors! 

I just saw these last week in Virginia, while presenting there. 

Seriously.

Could these be any more dynamic and inviting? 

Just click on the picture to go back to the full article on my blog! 

Of course those of you that know me well, know that GIRAFFE door was calling my name! I just HAD to strike a pose with that beauty -- in my full concert regalia, holding my picture book, "Tall Giraffe." Seriously, these works of art are laminated and used annually as the preschool team travels 'around-the-world' and visits/studies other lands, cultures and creatures! 

And take a look at these cutie "Z's" all dressed up like zebras! 
Gotta LUV LUV LUV making letters into concrete 'anchors' for learning. 

If it is March 1st, then it is time to CELEBRATE Seuss and all things Reading! 
I've had a couple of Seuss RoundUPs at my blog. 
Here's this year's. 
I am WILD about the Kindergarten drawings of the Cat-in-the-Hat!!!