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    • 3.2

    Using songs and rhymes to learn single 

    words/the names of body parts

    Why is this important?

    The names of body parts are part of a child’s early vocabulary. At first children learn to understand the word on its own and then phrases using the word (e.g. ‘Mummy’s hand’, ‘Tommy’s eyes’).

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    What to do
    • Sing lots of action songs together relating to body parts. Examples include:
    ★ ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.’
    ★ ‘Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush’

    (e.g. this is the way we ‘wash our teeth’, ‘brush our hair’).
    ★ ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It …’
    • As you sing, point to each body part together.
    • Encourage the child to join in with the actions

    and point to body parts as you sing.
    • Make up songs using well-known tunes

    (e.g. ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ could be adapted to ‘Katie on the bus, she claps her hands’ or ‘The children on the bus they touch their toes’).
    • During everyday routines (e.g. getting dressed, bath-time) ask the child to ‘Point to nose’, ‘Wash tummy’, ‘Put sock on foot’).

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