Lyrics to nursery rhymes are a great way to teach young children to read. The rhyme and rhythm of these short poems are easy for children to remember as they track a written text. Some lyrics to nursery rhymes, however, are not relative to a child’s world today. Therefore, we have recreated eight traditional rhyme lyrics so they teach math and science concepts as well as reading skills.

These new nursery rhyme lyrics have been written and illustrated in a series of printable guided reading books. For fun, we have titled the series, Mother Goose Meets Mother Nature. Next, we developed a Teacher’s Guide to go along with each book. Finally, we organized the series in a way that we felt teachers could use one each month. We have paired them with themes you might already be teaching throughout the year. Let’s begin with September.

Lyrics to Nursery Rhymes in Sept.

The lyrics to Hickory Dickory Dock are about a mouse who runs up a clock. The lyrics in our version help students to a learn about time, schedules, and routines. In the printable guided reading book and PowerPoint flipbook, Hickory, the Mouse goes through a typical kindergarten or first grade schedule. Each hour of the clock leads Hickory through another activity of the day.

Because school is beginning the month of September, we felt it was a great time for children to learn the importance of following a schedule and completing classroom routines. Hickory’s schedule consists of hour long intervals so that young children can begin to understand time to the hour and how it progresses. We realize that an hour is a long period of time for one activity when you are young. Therefore, we recommend you also fill the hour with small routine tasks. By the end of September your students are pretty comfortable with their new school routine. Then comes October. And this is the month of pumpkins.

Peter the Pumpkin Eater

We know October is the month for pumpkins. Therefore, we thought there were no better nursery rhyme lyrics than Peter Peter, Pumpkin Eater. the original lyrics of Peter keeping his wife in pumpkin shells probably have a not-so-good back story. However, our lyrics are easier to understand and teach students about decay and growth. You see, Peter-Peter is a squirrel who loves to eat pumpkins. He loves pumpkins so much that he wants to live in one! That’s why he puts his wife inside the shell of a pumpkin. He is “keeping” her well because he is giving her a home made of his favorite food.

As the nursery rhyme’s lyrics progress, however, Peter-Peter realizes that it may not have been such a great idea. The pumpkin rots and decays. Therefore, Peter and his wife learn the life cycle of a pumpkin. While decay keeps a pumpkin from making a good house, it is an important part of growing new pumpkins. In conclusion, the squirrels have learned an important scientific concept. They also know how to grow more pumpkins to eat.

Lyrics to Nursery Rhymes in Nov.

Speaking of eating, it is now November. This is the month we enjoy Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving Feasts! Consequently, we feel is a great time to learn about healthy eating and read some new nursery rhyme lyrics for Jack Sprat. You see, Jack Sprat would not eat fat. That is to say, he does eat the best part of the meat. His wife, however, will not even eat lean meat. She is what we call a vegetarian. Jack helps his wife by introducing her to other forms of protein through nuts and beans.

In the Jack Sprat teachers guide, we provided activities using resources and graphics from my plate.gov. This website is a great tool when learning to eat healthier.

Since December is a short month in school, we decided to put our next nursery rhyme in January. It’s perfect as the children watch the weather turn colder. Temperature affects a lot of things including water.

Jack and Jill Lyrics for Jan.

In these lyrics, Jack and Jill go up a very big hill and instead of fetching a pail of water, they gather snow. Consequently, they learn about the three states of water on their journey. January is a fun month to learn about snow, weather, and temperatures. It is a great time for students to discover how temperature changes things including the state of water.

We will explore the next four lyrics to nursery rhymes for February, March, April, and May in part 2 of this blog. Subscribe to the blog and our email list below. As a bonus, you’ll get Little Pot’s seven steps to becoming a fruit-bearing vessel.

Be a fruit-bearing vessel with Little Pot.