The Power of Parenting

Wednesday, 11 November 2020

Mystery Box Fingerplay

Age Range: All Ages

Fingerplays are an excellent way to Comfort, Play with and Teach your Child. They enrich children's vocabulary, expose them to different sounds, and are a wonderful way for grown ups and children to laugh together and interact. The following rhyme can be adapted for infants, toddlers or preschoolers:

Here is a box, open the lid
I wonder whatever inside is hid? (make an animal sound)
Why, it's a (name the animal)
Without a doubt
Open the lid and let him come out!

For infants, make a fist and pretend it is a box, holding your other hand over it like a lid. Make the animal sound (i.e. cat, frog, chicken), and then lift the 'lid' and pretend to peek inside the 'box'. Reveal the name of the animal and then tickle your baby while making the animal sound some more.

For toddlers, you can do the fingerplay as for infants, or you can put some finger puppets into a small box, to make them curious. Say the rhyme, and make the animal sound, giving your child the opportunity to guess what it is before sharing the answer. If your child does not know the answer, they soon will with enough repetitions of the rhyme. Then put the puppet on your finger and give your toddler finger puppet kisses!

For preschoolers, do the same as for toddlers. To extend the activity, leave the last word off the end of each line and encourage your child to fill in the blanks. This will help to increase their attention and memory. Soon they will be reciting the rhyme all by themselves!

Enjoy this more with Comfort, Play & Teach™:

Comfort: Fingerplays invite grown ups and children to interact, tickle each other, make silly sounds and giggle. They are a very fun way to play together and to show affection!

Play: With or without finger puppets, this activity encourages children to use their imaginations, and allows them to learn new words, to practice their fine motor skills and explore animal sounds.

Teach: As children learn the words to the rhyme, they also learn to identify different kinds of animals by their sounds and to label them. Fingerplays support children's emerging literacy skills.