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Nursery Rhyme theme for 3 and 4 year olds: a week of activities

A nursery rhyme theme lesson plan for 3 and 4 year olds: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (ten to fifteen minutes, with a child holding the book), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for 3 and 4 year oldsThe whole nursery rhyme week

A day of the nursery rhyme theme with 3 and 4 year olds

  1. Arrival, sign-in, and a job from the helper chart.
  2. Circle (ten to fifteen minutes): calendar, “What word rhymes with cat?”, sing “humpty dumpty”, then Man, Pan, Map.
  3. Centers, with the craft at one table: humpty dumpty puzzle.
  4. Letter R: trace it once, then hunt for R around the room.
  5. Snack: Mini Cracker Pizzas, with children pouring and counting.
  6. Outside: rhyme and move.
  7. Rest, then a longer read-aloud.

Nursery Rhyme circle time

  1. Good morning song, then say each name together.
  2. Calendar: the day, the date and the weather.
  3. Ask: “What word rhymes with cat?”
  4. Sing: Humpty Dumpty.
  5. Read: Man, Pan, Map (level 0).

Threes and fours: ten to fifteen minutes; let a child hold the book.

Nursery Rhyme theme books

  • Man, Pan, Map (level 0, free on peabody.kids): Rhyming words in a row.
  • Six Cats, Six Hats (level 1, free on peabody.kids): Cats and hats: a rhyme in the title.
  • The Hat Cat (level 3, free on peabody.kids): More rhyming fun with a cat.
  • Fish in a Dish (level 2, free on peabody.kids): Fish and dish: rhymes to listen for.

Nursery Rhyme craft: Humpty Dumpty puzzle

You need (4): an egg shape on card, crayons, a grown-up's scissors, a paper wall.

  1. Draw Humpty's face on the egg.
  2. A grown-up cuts it into three pieces.
  3. Put Humpty together again on his wall.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Nursery Rhyme song: Humpty Dumpty

The words

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Nursery Rhyme snack

Mini Cracker Pizzas from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Swap: Round crackers → gluten-free round crackers.

Letter R activities

RrR is for rhyme. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Threes and fours: trace R and r once, then find R in the room and in the book.

Outside activity: Rhyme and move

Jack be nimble: jump over a block. Little Bo Peep: find the hidden sheep. Act out a rhyme each day.

Nursery Rhyme theme for toddlersNursery Rhyme theme for 2 year oldsNursery Rhyme theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30