Bedtime Stories Parents and caregivers, extend Discovery Time into your home. Share these fingerplays and activities with young children. The letter for this theme is N. Wee Willie Winkie Good Night Wee Willie Winkie At night I see the twinkling stars Runs through the town. (Fist s up and open hands over your head) (Run in place) And a great big smiling moon. Upstairs and downstairs (Circle arms overhead) (Point up and then down) My mommy tucks me into bed, In his nightgown. (Hands together at side of face as if sleeping) Rapping at the windows, And sings a good-night tune. (Make a tapping motion) (Rock your hands back and forth) Crying through the lock, (Cup your hands around your mouth) “Are the children all in bed? Sun, Moon, and Stars For it’s now eight o’clock.” Here is the sun, it’s big and bright. (Tap on your wrist, indicating a watch) (Arms over head to make sun) And here is the moon, with its glowing light. (Use hands to make a circle) Here are the stars up in the sky, (Point upward) Twinkling brightly way up high. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (Flutter fingers) (Traditional tune) Twinkle, twinkle, little star, (Open and close hands) Ten in the Bed (Traditional tune) How I wonder what you are. Ten bears in the bed (Extend hands out to side, palms up) (Hold up ten fingers) Up above the world so high, And the little one said, (Raise hands above head, open and close) “Roll over, I’m crowded.” Like a diamond in the sky. So they all rolled over, (Move arms back and forth) (Roll hands) Twinkle, twinkle, little star, One bear fell out. (Open and close hands) (Count down to one) How I wonder what you are. One bear in the bed, (Extend hands out to side, palms up) And the little one said, “Good Night!” Help your child get ready to read with these simple activities. Talking: During your bedtime routine, ask your child to describe some of the activities she did during the day. Encourage her to recite the things she did in chronological order. Singing: Your baby can learn his name by hearing it in songs. Try substituting his name for other words in songs so he hears his name sung over and over again. Reading: A bedtime story is a great tradition and beneficial way to help your child love books and get ready to read. Writing: Provide your child with tasks such as cutting with scissors or playing with Play-Doh, blocks and other small playthings. These activities will provide her with great opportunities to build hand strength and help small hand muscles get ready to write. Playing: Using a favorite stuffed animal or baby doll, pretend to put the toy to bed. Invite your child to read a bedtime story, sing a lullaby, and rock the “baby” to sleep. Bedtime Stories Research shows that when [parents] read bedtime stories, their kids do better at school. Bedtime stories encourage speech and language development and help children learn literacy skills in an enjoyable way. If nothing else, a story at snooze time helps set down healthy sleep patterns. Kemp, Rob. “How to Read a Bedtime Story.” Reading Rockets, 7 Nov. 2013, http://www.readingrockets.org/article/how-read-bedtime-story. Accessed 7 June 2018. .