Updated: Nov 23, 2021
Literacy - Reading (30-50 months): Listens to and joins in with stories and poems, one-to-one and also in small groups.
What you need:
wooden blocks
shaving foam/bath foam
plastic knife/children's cutlery
egg/toy to put on top of the wall
I picked Humpty Dumpty for Unit 5 because the fifth pre-writing shape is a square which made me think of the wall in Humpty Dumpty.
I started this activity by showing Benji how to stack the bricks to make a strong wall, which was quickly forgotten once he started playing! Then I sprayed some shaving foam on the tray and Benji used the knife to spread it on the blocks. As he added blocks to build the wall we sang the nursery rhyme.
When he had finished building the wall we stuck a plastic egg to the top using foam and then he knocked it off to make it fall - which he loved!
This nursery rhyme has rhythm and rhyming words. Start by singing the rhyme slowly to emphasise the rhyming patterns. Listening to the rhyming words helps children to develop and hear language. It will help them to develop the skills needed to hear sounds and syllables in words which will help children to read and write.
Have you ever noticed that it doesn't say that Humpty Dumpty is an egg at any point in the rhyme? Apparently Lewis Carol described Humpty Dumpty as an egg in 'Through the Looking Glass' and it stuck. Before that, the rhyme is said to be about a cannon. During an attack the wall was knocked down and the cannon fell and broke.
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.
If you have a go at this activity and share any photos on social media I would love to see them. Please tag @miniwritersclub and let me know how you get on.
Anna