Fine motor development
A toddler moves parts of his/her body as part of a sung finger play.
Be Prepared: Learn the song and finger/hand motions for “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
[Sit on the floor facing a toddler who is not currently focused in play. Greet the toddler by name and invite him/her to listen or join you in singing. Remember, your facial expressions and friendly tone of voice help create interest in the activity.]
Let’s sing a song and move our hands. We can sing the song, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Maybe you already know this song. I will sing and move my hands. You may move your hands, too.
[Demonstrate the first action, making a star. Open and close both hands. Your hands represent the stars. Your open-close actions represent the twinkle.]
Our song begins like this: Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
[Encourage the toddler to open and shut his/her hands. Sing the first line again and demonstrate the hand movement.
Continue the song. Emphasize the word up when you move your hands/arms as part of the song. Some toddlers may watch you, or they may begin to imitate you. Affirm all types of participation. Examples: “Zoe, you listened to the song and watched my hands move.”]
[Show the book cover to the toddler.]
This is a book about a twinkling star. Where is the star in this picture?
[Help the toddler find the star on the book cover, if necessary. Describe other features of the book cover.]
Our book is called Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.
[Read the book text and describe illustrations in your own words. On each page, ask the toddler if he/she wants to touch the star. Spend more time on pages of interest to the toddler. Continue as long as the toddler shows interest.]
[Describe the toddler’s experience. Example: “We shared a fun song today. I sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” You moved your hands with the song. We looked at a book called Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. You pointed to pictures in our book. You said “star”!]
The activity is an introduction to songs and hand motions for some toddlers and review for other toddlers.
Some toddlers may be accustomed to singing games, whereas others will be new to the experience. At this age a toddler may understand there are hand motions for the song, but his/her fine motor skills may be in development for making some of the motions. A toddler may move his/her hands in random ways as you sing, or a toddler may repeat a specific motion, such as open and shut throughout the song. Notice and positively acknowledge different types of child participation, including (a) listen and watch, (b) listen and attempt to make motions, or (c) listen and make some or all of the motions.
Extra support
Enrichment
Fine motor development
Toddlers move parts of their bodies and pretend their hands are twinkling stars as part of a sung finger play.
Be Prepared: Learn the song and finger/hand motions for “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
Invite several toddlers to sit on the floor with you. Some toddlers may prefer to stand near you. Greet each toddler by name and ask him/her to join you for a song. Show toddlers the picture for the song. Describe the picture by naming and pointing to the child and the stars. Example: “This child is reaching up toward the stars. The child’s arms are up. Here are the stars, high in the sky.”
The activity focuses on toddlers imitating two actions:
Sing the first part of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” as you open and close both hands. Pause at the end of the first part to demonstrate open-fingers and closed-fingers motions as you say “open fingers” and “close fingers.” Encourage toddlers to imitate your hand motion.
Explain we are pretending our hands are stars. Example: “We are pretending our hands are stars. Let’s make our stars twinkle. First we open our fingers. Then we close our fingers. Open fingers. Close fingers.” Acknowledge toddlers’ participation by smiling and explaining “Great! Open fingers, closed fingers makes our stars!”
Sing the song all the way through. Sing each word clearly. Encourage toddlers to watch and imitate your motions.
Draw attention to “up above the world so high” by reaching up to the sky and encouraging toddlers to raise their arms, too.
Put emphasis on rhyming words, such as high and sky. It is not appropriate to teach rhyming at this age, but toddlers often enjoy hearing similarities in words.
Tell toddlers what they are learning to do. Example: “You know two actions for our song. You know how to open and close your fingers, and you know how to reach up!
At this age toddlers participate in songs and informal gatherings by watching and usually attempting to do some of the actions and saying some words. Positively acknowledging toddlers who are watching only may lead to their attempting some of the actions.
Some toddlers may stand and make a bounce motion by bending at the knee to express delight during or at the end of the activity. (See Enrichment tip.)
The fine motor skills (hand/finger actions) promoted in the activity are directly linked to cognitive skills. Remembering a sequence of actions or words is an important mental skill. As toddlers imitate your movements to the familiar song, they begin to develop memory of the sequence of actions associated with the tune and words. Remembering sequences is an important part of self-regulation skills. Repeated enjoyable experiences with a song and/or finger play foster skill in recalling sequences.
Extra support
Enrichment
Fine motor development
Toddlers move parts of their body and pretend their fingers are a spider as part of a sung finger play.
None
Be Prepared: Learn the song and finger/hand motions for “Itsy Bitsy Spider.”
The activity is an opportunity to help toddlers strengthen their fine motor skills by learning one or more of the following actions:
Invite several toddlers to sit on the floor with you. Create interest in the gathering by singing a familiar song as soon as toddlers are in the area.
Introduce the song and finger play “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Demonstrate each of the actions as you sing the song. Draw attention to how you make a spider action by wiggling your fingers on both hands. Explain that we are pretending our fingers are spiders!
Next, invite toddlers to make hand motions with you. Example: “Let’s make spiders move by wiggling our fingers.” Acknowledge all types of hand and finger wiggles.
Encourage toddlers to make a spider move and listen to the song. Demonstrate the actions again as you sing. Exaggerate words and actions to create a relaxed and enjoyable experience.
Conclude the activity by describing how we learned to wiggle our fingers, raise our arms up high, and then lower our arms.
Some toddlers may attempt to imitate all the actions, and some toddlers may simply observe. The finger play involves complex actions that toddlers will enjoy watching but most likely will not be able to do in a precise way. At this age most toddlers are not able to alternate thumb and index finger movements. These skills are often emphasized in preschool rooms and are not important to promote in the current activity. Some toddlers will especially connect with the pretend elements of the activity, including the use of fingers as a spider and the sun coming up again.
Watch for and acknowledge toddlers’ attempts to remember what comes next in the finger play sequence. Learning the sequence of actions supports memory skills and helps toddlers develop a representation for other actions and routines that are done in order, such as getting ready to go outside. Remember that, although the songs are simple for adults and older children, they provide toddlers with an enjoyable experience, rich in language.
Look for impromptu opportunities to engage children in part or all of the “Itsy, Bitsy Spider” song and finger play. Example: A few moments may be available as children wait to go outside.
Toddlers who seem eager to repeat the song and finger play may be ready for the additional action of having the sun come out so the spider can climb up again.
Although this activity focuses on fine motor skills, it also is a chance for toddlers to learn and remember that songs have words and some songs have associated actions. Frequent opportunities to participate in songs are part of a high-quality toddler room.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: Nonbreakable mirrors, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by Caroline Jayne Church, an Itsy Bitsy Spider book as suggested in Optional Reading
Share books throughout the week with one or two toddlers at a time. Create an open space for toddlers to walk like a spider on hands and feet. Encourage use of nonbreakable mirrors so toddlers can watch themselves in action.
Children of all ages enjoy songs with actions. Older children most likely will find it challenging and enjoyable to make a spider movement by placing the index fingertips on the opposite thumb pad and alternating movements.
Depending upon the experiences of the children, lead a game of Copycat. Demonstrate an action and invite children to mimic the action. All children will enjoy having a turn as an action leader.
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