Clapping Rhyme
What you need
- two chairs facing each other, or a patch of floor
How to do it
- Sit facing each other and say a clapping rhyme slowly together, like A Sailor Went to Sea.
- Add the claps: your own hands together, then both hands against your partner's, on every beat.
- Once it's going, speed up a little, then slow right down again.
- Try it with someone else in the family, or make up a clap pattern for another rhyme you know.
Why it matters
Clapping on the beat means saying the words and moving at the same time, and two pairs of hands meeting keep the two of you together.
What they're learning
- Keeping the beat
- A clap on every beat of the rhyme.
- A clap pattern
- Knees, clap, hands, clap.
- Saying a rhyme
- All the words, in time.
What to look for
Notice them saying the words a little louder on the claps.
A tip
Slow is fine. Get the words and claps together first, and save speeding up for later.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: just clap your own hands on each beat while you say it
Harder: add a pat on the knees: knees, clap, partner, clap
