"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is a popular children's song about a lamb that follows a little girl to school. Because of its topic and the fact that many children will already know the song, it can be a wonderful way to greet children at the beginning of the year. Young children can make a lamb by tracing their hands on a piece of paper. The fingers can be colored to make legs, the thumb given an eye and mouth for a face, and the palm can have cotton balls glued on it for wool on the lamb's body.
This nursery rhyme, which goes, "One, two, three, four, five/Once I caught a fish alive/Six, seven, eight, nine, ten/But I let it go again," is a good way to teach children how to count up to 10. You also can use this rhyme to teach number recognition, by making a poster with the words to the poem on it and having children point to each number as they say it.
"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is another popular and well-known children's song. You can use this song to introduce the star shape, and then go on to teach other basic shapes, like circles, triangles and squares. One way to do this is by splitting children into groups and giving each group a shape. Each "shape" can sing a different part of the song.
"There was an Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe" is another well-known nursery rhyme. It can be used to talk to children about why people wear different shoes, and to discuss how different shoes are used for different activities. Have children match up shoes to the activities they're used for. For example, ballerinas use ballet shoes, people in swimsuits use sandals, people in pajamas use slippers.