Inside the Guide: LHFHG’s Rhymes in Motion

Inside the Guide: LHFHG’s Rhymes in Motion

This “Inside the Guide” series provides a quick snapshot of Little Hearts for His Glory (LHFHG). It’s a handy “how-to” reference, just one box of plans at a time. Have you ordered Little Hearts for His Glory from Heart of Dakota? Thank you – so fun! Are you getting excited to start? Well, here’s your quick-start “Inside the Guide” for… LHFHG’s Rhymes in Motion box of plans!

Quick Start Info

Time It Takes: 5 minutes

Days It’s On: Days 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

Description: LHFHG’s Rhymes in Motion teaches left-right brain integration along with large motor skills. Each week, children learn a new rhyme and perform accompanying movements as they say it. Rhymes match the history theme and actions reinforce the meaning of the words.

A Handy How-To for Rhymes in Motion

Children sing or say the rhymes, depending on what the directions say. Skipping, galloping, tiptoeing, walking heel-to-toe, and alternating left and right actions require left and right brain integration. Other movements such as hopping, kneeling, squatting, leaping, touching toes, jumping backward, clapping in rhythm, spinning, making arm circles, and hand actions are also incorporated into the Rhymes in Motion. The movements reinforce the meaning of each rhyme and improve recollection.

Children learn additional skills that coordinate with history via the Rhymes in Motion. These include skills such as naming the continents while mimicking animal movements, counting and holding up fingers while counting the 10 plagues, alternating backward and forward motions while marching around Jericho, and more!

Box Specific Notes

We did our Rhymes in Motion in our living room, so we had lots of space. I liked to prop my book open on the couch, so I could have my hands free to do the motions. The first time I taught LHFHG, I practiced each rhyme on my own a few times. This only took a few minutes, and it helped me teach it better right from the start.  If I couldn’t remember a tune, I looked it up on the Internet. There were not that many tunes to sing the rhymes to though, and I was familiar with most of them (i.e. Row, Row, Row Your Boat; Jingle Bells; Are You Sleeping?, etc.).

The Key Idea in the LHFHG guide helped me know the focus of the movement. I made sure my kiddos learned those movements well! The same rhyme is practiced for the whole week. By the end of the five days, my kids knew the rhyme well, and so did I!

The rhymes give us the opportunity as moms to bring the “fun” side of our personalities to school.  If I was having fun, my kids were having fun, and yours will too!  Finally, I liked to do the Rhymes in Motion box of plans some time after we finished LHFHG’s Reading About History box of plans. This box of plans involves movement, and it links to the history story. So, it makes sense to do it sometime after the reading!

On a side note, I taught elementary school before having my own children to homeschool. A good friend of mine taught kindergarten, and one day each year we could visit another classroom. I chose to visit her classroom, and she had me help with end-of-the-year assessments for report cards. Part of the assessments included asking the child to skip, gallop, and clap. I taught third grade and was surprised by these assessments. However, as kindergarten assessments focused on left-right brain integration, these movements were part of report card evaluations. I felt so good LHFHG included Rhymes in Motion already, so I didn’t have to supplement!