Bed time rhyme

9 Nursery Rhymes About Sleep for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Here are some great bedtime nursery rhymes with lyrics to sing with your little ones.

Some of them have long verses with soothing words that are best read to them, if you’d like to lull them off to sleep.

Remember that even rhymes for sleep have all the same educational benefits as singing nursery rhymes, such as developing auditory perception and other pre-reading skills.

They are also great for developing vocabulary.

1. Go To Bed Late

This tiny rhyme is a fun one to teach your toddlers and preschoolers if they are resisting going to bed. Here’s hoping it convinces them!

Go to bed late,
Stay very small

Go to bed early,
Grow very tall.

2. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

By Jane Taylor [source]

This is the first bedtime rhyme many children learn so your kids will probably already be familiar with it, but did you know there are several verses to this song?

Why not attempt the rest of this song and see if your child can sing along to another verse or two.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.

When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon.
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveller in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark.
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep.
For you never shut your eye,
‘Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark.
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
How I wonder what you are.

3. Star Light, Star Bright

Here is a song that will make your little ones sleepy, and they can sing along too.

Star light
Star bright
First star I see tonight
Wish I may
Wish I might
Have the wish I wish tonight

Here is the tune by Super Simple Songs

4. Rock-a-Bye Baby

This is a classic lullaby, sung by parents all over the world.

Rock-a-bye baby
on the tree top.
When the wind blows
the cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks,
the cradle will fall.
And down will come baby,
Cradle and all.

5. Hop Little Bunnies

This song might wake your kids more than put them to sleep, but it is just the cutest and your toddler will love singing it and jumping to the beat.

See the bunnies sleeping,
Till it’s nearly noon.
Shall we wake them with a merry tune?
They’re so still,
Are they ill?
Wake up little bunnies.

Hop little bunnies,
Hop hop hop, hop hop hop,
Hop hop hop.
Hop little bunnies,
Hop hop hop hop hop hop.

See the bunnies sleeping,
Till it’s nearly noon.
Shall we wake them with a merry tune?
They’re so still,
Are they ill?
Wake up little bunnies.

Jump little bunnies,
Jump jump jump, jump jump jump,
Jump jump jump.
Jump little bunnies,
Jump jump jump jump jump jump.

In the third verse, the bunnies can skip.

Listen to the tune here

6. Bed In Summer

By Robert Louis Stevenson

This clever little poem is all about going to bed in summer, when the birds are still awake and it’s light outside, and you’d rather still be playing.

In winter I get up at night,
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see,
The birds still hopping on the tree.
Or hear the grown-up people’s feet,
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

Watch Mogo recite this cute rhyme.

7. Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

This action song is also a cute rhyme to sing before bedtime. [source]

Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, show your shoe,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, I love you.
(Give child a hug)

Teddy bear, teddy bear, go up stairs,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, say your prayers.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn out the light,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, say good night.
(Lay head on hands)

8. The Evening is Coming

This is a beautiful lullaby to sing to your children.

The evening is coming, the sun sinks to rest,
The crows are all flying straight home to their nest.
“Caw” says the crow as she flies over head,
“It’s time little children were going to bed!”

Here comes the pony, his work is all done,
Down through the meadow, he takes a good run.
Up go his heels and down goes his head,
It’s time little children were going to bed.

Play the tune here

9. Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite

This is not really a bedtime song for kids, but it’s one of my favourites and I often just sing the first verse. It was first recorded by The Spaniels in 1953. [source]

Good night sweetheart, well it’s time to go
Good night sweetheart, well it’s time to go
I hate to leave you but I really must say
Oh good night sweetheart, good night

This is a great version

I hope you’ve enjoyed these bedtime songs for kids! Here are more preschool songs.

Source:

Parragon. 2017. A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes. Paragon Books: Bath.

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Lullabies and Bedtime Nursery Rhymes

Children love when their parents sing lullabies for them - regardless of your singing voice. It will anyway make them feel safe and relaxed! So you have no excuses - enjoy singing lullabies for your kids!

Are your baby awake? See here for perfect nursery rhymes for babies!

Did you know. .. that lullabies can be found in every human culture?

All That Pretty Horses	Beautiful lullaby that is recommended by NurseryRhymes.org.

Baa Baa Black Sheep	This lovely nursery rhyme can very well be used as a lullaby, if you sing it gently.

Brahms Lullaby	This beautiful lullaby is a true classic!

Bye Baby Bunting	Popular lullaby. Bye Baby Bunting has been used as a lullaby for generations.

Cheeks of Rose	Cheeks of Rose, Tiny Toes (also called Our Baby). Cute nursery rhyme and lullaby

Cradle Song	Lullaby published in 1603 that is used in The Beatles' song Golden Slumbers.

Early to Bed	This is not actually a lullaby, but a rhyme about going early to bed.

Hush, Little Baby	A beautiful lullaby that makes the child (and you) sleepy in no time...



Rock-a-bye Baby	Popular lullaby that is over 240 years old!

Sleep, Baby, Sleep	Beautiful, traditional lullaby that is sung in different versions. We give you the most common versions - enjoy!

To Bed, To Bed	Old nursery rhyme written in Great Britain. This rhyme is perfect singing while preparing for bed, but it can also be used as a lullaby.

Ten in a Bed	This is not a classic lullaby, but it can be used as one if you sing it gently.

Ten Little Fingers	Popular rhyme about the body. It can also be used as a lullaby.

The Skye Boat	A beautiful Scottish folk song that is used as a lullaby all over the world.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star	A beautiful lullaby that is highly recommended by NurseryRhymes.org.

Wee Willie Winkie	Why not sing the cute nursery rhyme about Willie Winkie before sleep?

The power of rhyme: why it is important to read poetry to children

Olesya Akhmedzhanova

“If the Christmas tree had legs, it would run along the path…”, suddenly remembered the lines of the poem that I learned in childhood with my mother. And although I am already an adult, this information does not go anywhere: the story about the Christmas tree is firmly planted in my head. So today we are talking about poetry. Why they are useful, how to read them correctly and which books to choose.

Why read poetry to a child

Poetry is one of the methods for developing a child's speech. They are built on sound combinations: “bee” rhymes with “tree”, “toy” with “cracker”, and “heart” with “ring”. Such a fun phonetic game with sounds gradually prepares the baby for reading and develops a sense of language. The child listens to the words and understands how one can combine one sound with another. And kids easily memorize verses, which means they develop memory and thinking.

I want to look out the window,
Go to sleep soon cat
Instead of me

Poems also help when studying letters. To fix any sounds, you can use rhymes: for example, when you pass the letter “sh”, tell us about the cat on the window, “h” about the titmouse and the fox, “e” about the piglet and the naughty child. Or come up with your own original examples.

How to read poetry

Start a tradition of reading poetry to your baby before bed. It is important to do this with expression: sigh loudly, be surprised, admire or laugh. Start with simple couplets and quatrains. Choose, for example, classic textbooks.

Skok-jump,
My horse,
Now a meadow, now a bridge.
Clay head,
Straw ponytail.

Poem and illustration from the book "Let's Read"

Then move on to more complex poems: with enumerations, interesting rhymes, or a funny plot.

He also ordered a pie
with centers inside,
Two full vases of jelly,
cream - three,
Four strudel
(say,
so as not to spare jam), , ,
curd puddings
five pieces
and six servings of cream

A poem and an illustration from the book "The Prince and the Svintus"

Poems + illustrations

Another childish (and we must admit, ours too) love: when there are poems in the book, "seasoned" with beautiful illustrations. They can describe the plot and show the characters.

... They danced
from morning to afternoon:
plié, relevé! batman, pirouette!

Poem and illustration from the book "Little Ballerinas"

Or be an independent work of art, which is successfully complemented by poetry. As, for example, in the amazing "Beautiful Book of Animals".

If we decide to become a flamingo for fun,
We need to get bright pink feathers:
We will be of a different color - we won’t find a match,
Not a single flamingo will build a better house nearby 9004 9002 ... this delicate color has been preserved,
We will have to get dinner right in the mud.

A poem and an illustration from the book "A beautiful book about animals"

In such books, you can look at pictures and melodiously accompany them with poetry reading. So you will introduce the child to the world of animals and, perhaps, learn with him the first verse about the mighty tiger, the pensive chameleon and the tender butterfly.

6 funny and beautiful poetry books

Every year we release bright and unusual poetry books. We choose the best: with high-quality illustrations, funny and melodic poems that you want to read, reread and learn by heart. They are perfect for introducing a child to rhymes.

A cute, funny poem about a boy who does not want to go to bed and offers his mother to put someone else to bed instead of him: a dog, a cat, a fish, a brother, a neighbor… Is this situation familiar to you? Of course, it's such a shame to go to bed when everyone is still awake, and there are so many interesting things going on around! This is a good book to read before bed. The kid recognizes himself in the hero, and perhaps, along with the book, there will be a way to go to bed with a good mood, and not a scandal.

A classic reader for the little ones: a collection of fairy tales most loved by kids, as well as poems, stories in pictures, the first cognitive information about the world around. All the main characters are animals, and the stories are based on how the baby's day goes. So he wakes up, and his beloved mother meets him, and at the very end of the book, he goes to sleep under a lulling poem.

The book is about a child's boundless fantasy, the ability to see the good in any situation, to believe, hope and be able to wait. She explains that you need to keep your promises, be patient and friendly, protect the weak, take care of your pets, and not betray your friends. The book contains bright, realistic illustrations and poems that are easy to remember. Read the story several times, and the child himself will be able to reproduce the text from memory by looking at the pictures.

This is one of our most beautiful animal books. It has green forests, yellow sands, sea depths and dense jungles. Instead of the usual text in the book, there are verses. They were written by the author of numerous children's books, the winner of literary awards and a zoologist by education, Nicola Davis. She studied whales, bats and even worked for the BBC's Wildlife channel. In 2017, the book won Best Science Book for Children and won the Royal Society's Young People's Book Prize, the Royal Society's science award that selects outstanding non-fiction books from around the world.

This charming tale of friendship, interaction, the challenges and joys of ballet will appeal to all dancers and audiences, regardless of age. The wonderful poems of Marina Boroditskaya are easy and fun to read. And dynamic and atmospheric illustrations are so nice to look at.

When funny characters, great poetry, and cool illustrations meet, great books like The Prince and the Svintus come together. English writer Peter Bentley came up with it while looking at his son Theo, "who eats everything he sees." Despite the fact that the verses seem simple, not only kids will enjoy, but also moms and dads, grandparents. This is an uplifting book for children ages 4 to 104 when you open it.

Post cover freepik

I get drunk from Nevsky / Poetry / Nezavisimaya gazeta

Reflective

I wouldn't do

this and that.

I could do

this and that.

Yuri Levitansky

Wrote once before bed

Reflections of an old poet:

There is no need to write about this and that,

Just about this and that.

Try to write this way and that,

Do not write something like that,

Those that do not print in any way,

You can make your neighbors happy.

Guest room

And I'll sit up until dawn

grieving over a sad thought,

and Rhyme, fresh as youth,

knock on the door: "Open!"

Semyon Kirsanov

There was a knock on my door in the morning.

I opened it without fear

there Rhyme is a fresh girl

and says: "My sister is with me

Metaphor and brother Chorey,

we will live in your

apartment,

become the best poet

in the world,

although the passport is a Jew!”

Everywhere they print me

although there are a lot of worries with guests,

but at least they didn’t bring Pegasus,

and then feed the horse. ..

Historic

Peter cut through the window.

Catherine,

Not zarobevshi, climbed into that window.

She fell in love with the Russian cudgel.

David Samoilov

heard this legend

from a long time ago.

Just imagine -

terrible picture.

Only Peter

laid down the ax

Look, Catherine is already in the window.

Shouting: "Herr Peter,

I am your wife!"

Went to bed to escape

from disgrace...

And in those, I will say, cool times

Illegals also climbed into Russia.

Drip

Infusoria we burn

And we sing in a dispute

Exclamations, there are no number to them,

It's like drops in the sea.

Leonid Martynov

Explaining everything in detail

At times even arguing

We're burning so amoeba

Exclamations of an infusoria.