Who Knew Humpty Dumpty Could Be So Educational?

The ability to recognize rhyming patterns in language is an essential skill for emergent readers. A child should be able to manipulate words and sounds to create a rhyme. This skill will assist a child in recognizing word and letter patterns later on.

It is important that children have a strong understanding of spoken language prior to learning written language. If you are looking for a playful and engaging activity to expose a child to the sounds of language, look no farther!

Teach your child the nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty. The story is noted above. Your child can color and then cut the pages. Assist your child in compiling the book and then sit down and enjoy reading the book together. After reading this book several times, let your child finish the sentence. For example, “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great ____”. You could also ask your child what else rhymes with wall (e.g. ball, call, fall, hall, mall). Another activity to promote phonemic awareness is to ask your child to identify those words that rhyme.

Another great concept to introduce while reading Humpty Dumpty is directional or positional words. Children need to be able to describe the location of objects. The Little Book of Humpty Dumpty provides a great opportunity for children to learn directional or positional words (e.g. above, below, after, before, over, under, on, off).

Ask the following questions:

Is the bird is above or below the tree? The wall?

What was Humpty Dumpty doing before he fell off the wall? After?

Does Humpty Dumpty have his hat on or off?

Source: Montgomery County Public Schools Kindergarten Summer Packet