The other day I was waiting in line in the grocery store with my nieces, ages 3 and 4, and we spent more than a few minutes singing little finger rhyme songs.  The songs helped the girls behave while we waited, kept me from having to pull out my phone, and even entertained the customers around us!  (Well, maybe I’m exaggerating that last one, but I definitely saw some smiles.)  Finger play rhymes and songs are great because you always have them with you, they never run out of batteries (unless mommy hasn’t had her coffee recently), and they are so good for language acquisition and development!

While there are some that everyone knows, such as the Itsy Bitsy Spider, there are lots more to learn. Here are some of our favorite rhymes and songs (please note: I’m including video links so that you can learn the rhymes – I make no guarantees about the annoyness level of the videos.  But think!  When these keep your kid from screaming while you wait in the car line, they won’t seem annoying at all!)

Open Shut Them

I Had a Little Turtle

Two Little Blackbirds

Here is the Beehive

Eyes, Nose, Cheeky Chin

What are your favorite finger rhyme or plays?