I’ve mentioned before how much I love using nursery rhymes to make learning at home more fun! Nursery rhymes and songs are also excellent for early literacy development — even though understanding phonics is critical to reading success, children learn a lot about language through rhymes.

When my girls were little, I liked to introduce a new nursery rhyme every month. We had several nursery rhyme books to read during snack time and before bed. I also added our newest rhymes to our learning at home playlist so they could listen while they played independently. We would use the rhymes for hand-washing, diaper changes, and waiting in line.

While it’s great to have an anthology or two of famous nursery rhymes, it’s also smart to have board book versions for toddlers and preschoolers. Some of our favorite children’s authors and illustrators — like Tomie dePaola, Richard Scarry, and Rosemary Wells — have nursery rhyme books. There are even Indestructible rhyme books for babies and younger toddlers!