You can use a nursery rhyme to introduce any letter of the alphabet. If you're using a big book of nursery rhymes, allow children to find the letter within the text. Children can use highlighter tape or a pointer stick to identify the letter. When you're reading the nursery rhyme aloud, children can listen for words that have the beginning sound of the letter you're studying that week. Children can also listen for rhyming words. After reading two verses with rhyming words, stop and ask children to identify the words that rhyme.
Many nursery rhymes have colors in them. Others may have pictures of animals, which can create the opportunity to talk about colors. After reading the nursery rhyme, discuss the colors mentioned or seen in the pictures. Then ask children to think of things from their own lives that are the same color. At the end of the discussion, allow children to color a nursery rhyme handout or other picture using the color you're focusing on.
Use oral language, rhyme and rhythm to teach children how to count to 10 using "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" and "One, Two, Three, Four, Five." These nursery rhymes provide a way for children to remember the order of numbers when they're counting. Sequence mixed up numbers or complete a dot-to-dot activity to reinforce counting sequentially. Once children learn to count, complete activities that build one-to-one correspondence. For the first nursery rhyme, children can glue the correct set of nursery rhyme objects or pictures next to its corresponding number on construction paper. For the second nursery rhyme, give children 10 fish with the numbers one through 10 on them. Allow children to glue the fish in sequential order on construction paper. Then let them draw corresponding dots on each fish based on the number that is on the fish.