Fingerplays Are Fun

Fingerplays are rhymes and songs accompanied by hand movements. They are a great way for parents and caregivers to interact with young children. Fingerplays expose babies and toddlers to rhymes, rhythm, music, and a wide variety of words. For preschool age children, fingerplays help them develop eye/hand coordination and a further sense of rhythm. Plus, many preschoolers enjoy being able to perform fingerplays on their own.

Some common examples are "This Little Piggy", "Patty Cake", and "Itsy Bitsy Spider".Below are a couple of examples from fingerplay books available at the Urbana Free Library.

"This is the Way the Ladies Ride"
This is the way the ladies ride,
Nim, nim, nim, nim. (Bounce baby gently on your knee.)

This is the way the gentlemen ride,
Trim, trim, trim, trim. (Bounce baby a little faster.)

This is the way the farmers ride,
Trot, trot, trot, trot. (Bounce baby up and down/fall between knees.)

This is the way the ploughboys ride,
Hobble dy-gee, hobble dy-gee. (Bounce baby side to side from knee to knee.)

This fingerplay comes from the book, Big Book of Animal Rhymes, Fingerplays, and Songs.

Here are two versions of "I Clap My Hands".

I clap my hands,
I touch my feet,
I jump up from the ground.
I clap my hands,
I touch my feet,
And turn myself around. (Do actions that match the words.)

I clap my hands to make a sound : clap, clap, clap!
I tap my toes to make a sound : tap, tap, tap!
I open my mouth to say a word : talk, talk, talk!
I pick up my foot to take a step : walk, walk, walk! (Actions match words.)

This fingerplay comes from the book, The Complete Book of Rhymes, Songs, Poems, Fingerplays, and Chants.

For more great fingerplay books, come to the Urbana Free Library Children's Department and look in our Nursery Rhymes section (j398.8) and our Teacher Collection (j372). --Janet R.