Reindeer Action Rhyme Song

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Do I have a fun rhyme for kids that goes with an arctic theme, music, brain-building, preparing for reading and math, and can be done with one preschooler or a group? Why yes, yes I do!


I recently took an online course through ChildCare Education Institute called Building Literacy Through Nursery Rhymes and Children's Poetry.  This intermediate-level course explores how to prepare your preschoolers' brains to read, and I used that information to create this activity! (Keep reading for more details on that!) You can do this activity lesson with one child at home, or a whole group for circle time, music, or language time! I did it with my preschoolers at home.

First, show a picture of a reindeer (you can use the one above!) and ask what it is. Talk about how reindeer (also called caribou) live around the north pole, mostly in Canada, Alaska, and Russia. Use a globe if you have one. What do you think they eat?  [Grasses and leaves in the summer; in the winter they scrape snow away from the ground with their hooves and eat lichens (aka reindeer moss) under the snow.] Discuss any other reindeer fun facts below.

Reindeer can run very quickly! Let's all do a quick "reindeer run" around the room! (Get up and run in a circle!)


Nice reindeer running! I also have "reindeer bells" for a song today! Give your preschoolers a reindeer bell (a jingle bell with fabric threaded through to make a handle to ring), and let them ring it for a minute.

Then teach the REINDEER BELLS song!

Reindeer Bells


by Carla at Preschool Powol Packets

Sing to the tune of Jingle Bells

Reindeer bells, reindeer bells, reindeer on the "Go!"
Oh what fun it is to run with a reindeer in the snow--oh!


After you teach the song, show the kids how they can ring the bells with the beat as they sing. After singing it a couple times while ringing bells to the beat (or attempting!), stand up and run like  reindeer while you sing!


Reindeer Fun Facts:


* Reindeer are the only deer to have both the males and females grow antlers every year!

* Reindeer can run about 20 mph for a long time and sprint up to 50 mph!

* Reindeer can eat 12 pounds of food in a day!

* Reindeer noses warm up cold air before it gets to their lungs.

* Some reindeer species have knees that make clicking sounds. Some experts think this helps herds stay close to each other during a blizzard.

* A reindeer's sense of smell is better than its sense of sight or hearing.




Did you know that a poetry lesson like this has TONS of developmental benefits? Here are a few of them:

* strengthens gross motor skills

* strengthens fine motor skills in the hands, mouth and throat

* trains the brain to hear rhymes

* trains the brain to prepare to read

* strengthens relationships between you and your child

* and more!

Songs are one of the most interactive forms of poetry!


I loved learning about poetry and nursery rhymes for young children through the course I took online with ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI)--Literature 102. It introduced poetry and nursery rhymes, taught why they are important for young children, explained different ways of playing with them, and taught some poetry basics (like cinquains, haiku, limericks, voice, speaker, rhythm, meter, rhyme, and more). 

The course also included several reflective questions, intermittent multiple choice questions, and an 11-question final. After passing the multiple choice questions and final, you receive a printable certificate of completion and two CEU hours! 

You can click HERE to read my review of using CCEI for professional development. It is all online, and I am happily recommending them! (Keep checking back for more details about specific courses I am taking with them!)

Do you have a favorite action rhyme? Do you have an arctic theme or unit coming up? I love to hear from you!! Feel free to send me an email and let me know what you're up to! Or leave a comment!

This post is sponsored by ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI). Like always, my opinions are my own, and I only recommend products that I  love to use myself!


Happy Educating,
Carla


Have you seen HEEP? It is a preschool homeschool curriculum! Learn more here!



I may share at any of these parties!




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