Nursery rhymes are a fantastic tool for learning language, phonemic awareness, and the rhythm of words- helping to set children up for future success with reading. This twinkle, twinkle, little star lyrics and craft activity is great for children of any age – especially preschoolers!
Sure, many of us may KNOW the nursery rhymes – but are we singing them with our children? As a kindergarten teacher, I can tell you that less than half of each class knew their nursery rhymes.
Although they are not a “common core” or “curriculum” of many schools, there are sooooo many real life cases and studies that show children who are in a language rich environment are more prepared for school. Here are a few ways to make – sing – read Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star!
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Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Lyrics
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’s music was an early 19th-century English poem,“The Star” Jane Taylor (poet)Jane Taylor, later set to the French Ah! vous dirais-je, Maman in 1761.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star open and shut fingers like stars
How I wonder what you are. point to a friend
Up above the world so high, point a finger up
Like a diamond in the sky. make a diamond shape using the thumbs and pointer fingers
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, open and shut fingers like stars
How I wonder what you are! point to a friend
How do you fit Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and other Nursery Rhymes into your day?
As a busy mom, there are days when noon arrives and I feel like I haven’t provided enough educational stimulation to my child’s day. I know how important it is and so, we have found ways to sneak singing and learning nursery rhymes into every day activities such as car trips and brushing our teeth.
Hand Washing: I wrote about the importance of hand-washing with kids. Adding a song in helps increase the time to the recommended one minute of washing and sneaks some learning into daily tasks.
Tooth Brushing: I know this may sound silly, but with 3 kids, I am brushing teeth for a minimum of 6 minutes every day. To use this time wisely, I either count or sing a nursery rhyme or poem.
Car Rides:
We have deemed the car ride to bring my daughter to school as the “nursery rhyme” ride. For the 15 minutes when my toddler and preschooler are in the car, we sing nursery rhymes. This month, we have been singing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Reading Stories:
There are some AMAZINGLY illustrated versions of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star on the marker. Cabrera and Church are two of our favorite versions. It is fun to collect a few and read them all at the same time, then discuss similarities and differences. Preschoolers will often start reading these well known melody driven books first as they are familiar with the vocabulary.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Books:
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Caroline Jayne Church
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Iza Trapani
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star: And Other Favorite Nursery Rhymes by Tiger Tales
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Jane Cabrera
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Jerry Pinkney
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Parragon
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Jeanette Winter
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Sylvia Long
- Pete the Cat: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by James Dean
- Twinkle Little Star by Tina Macnaughton
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with CD by Mies Van Hout
- Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star by Jane Taylor
And an adorable RECORDABLE book:(this would make the sweetest gift for your child or grandchild)Hallmark Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star: A Bedtime Story (Recordable Book)
Make a Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Nursery Rhyme Craft for Kids
My preschooler is a self-help kind of kid.
This activity was 100% his creation after singing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star in the car ride for 2 weeks.
He decided to make his own star.
Directions for making a Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Craft (according to a 5 year old)
1. Get as many sparkly glue and sequins that you can find.
2. Maybe get some paint too.
3. Pour all of the paint and glue into a big cardboard box lid.
4. Sprinkle the sequins all over the sparkly glue and paint.
5. Mix it all together.
6. Add a star that your mom cuts out to finish it.
The Playful Preschool Team has even MORE Nursery Rhyme Activities for Children.
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Rhyming Game by Fun-A-Day
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Books and Nursery Rhyme Craft for Kids by The Educators’ Spin On It
- Writing Activities for Preschool: Woolly Lines and Letters by Growing Book by Book
- Mary had a Little Lamb Craft by Powerful Mothering
- Jumping with Jack be Nimble Gross Motor Activity by Life Over C’s
- Mary, Mary Quite Contrary Pattern Play by Rainy Day Mum
- How does our garden grow?-Tips for Gardening with Preschoolers by Capri + 3
- What’s In The Egg? – Humpty Dumpty by Learning 2 Walk
- Muffin Man Nursery Rhyme Activities by Mom Inspired Life
Wall Decals Stickers Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Do You Know How Loved You Are?
You can explore even more Nursery Rhymes with our Nursery Rhyme Olympics for kids!
You may also enjoy these star activities for kids…
Oh, did I mention the Twinkle, Twinkle Star box is now displayed on our mantle? How long do you think it will last before getting "filed away?"
HA! Mary… I didn't even take a picture of the entire box lid – it was almost 3 feet long. I think he used up an entire zip-lock bag. He was so set of making it, I didn't have the heart to tell him only a few. Plus it means less for me to pick off the floor at a later date.
Yes, nursery rhymes are SO important! 🙂 I love your suggestions for fitting some in throughout a busy day. My favorite part of this post is, hands down, the first step in the directions!!! 🙂
Great ideas and resources for my favorite nursery rhyme!
I love the directions from your 5 year-old. That is great for building cognitive skills! Our kids are big fans of nursery rhymes and it is fun to have them memorize them.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is very loved in our home. I think it's great that your son came up with a craft to go with it! Thanks for the book recommendations too!
It is so sad that our kids are growing up without nursery rhymes! I am an advocate for them and hope to see more parents and teachers using them in their homes and classroom. And Jodie – He is a HOOT and I'm guessing there will be more kid- made craft ideas coming from him!
I love that your five year-old sequenced the directions for us!
All of my girls love nursery rhymes. After buying many nursery rhyme books we've learned their different in each culture. That's one of the things I love about them.
We use a couple of nursery rhymes throughout the day for taking out the trash, picking up our room, even when we peal our peaches.
I'm really sad about less than half knowing the nursery rhymes.