Hey Diddle Diddle - Exploring Nursery Rhymes & Space

Mother Goose and Space Preschool Lesson PlanA great way to incorporate “Mother Goose Day” and “Space Day” {May 1st and May 6th respectively} into your lessons is with the classic nursery rhyme, Hey Diddle Diddle. While we got this great activity from kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Opyr, with a little guidance, we're pretty sure your preschoolers will love it too!

Over the Moon Sight Words

Hey Diddle Diddle offers a fantastic opportunity for you to teach your kiddos common positional sight words – over, under, beside, through, behind, etc. You can introduce the concept several ways...

  • Create a fun game where students spin the "story" wheel and position the cow in the proper place.
    Mother Goose and Space Preschool Lesson
    "The cow jumped over the moon."
    Mother Goose and Space Preschool Lesson
    "The cow jumped under the moon."
  • Create an interactive emergent reader where students are invited to glue moon and cow cutouts in the proper place/order.Mother Goose and Space Interactive Emergent Reader
  • Provide your students with different story scenarios written on strips of paper {i.e. "The cow jumped in front of the moon."} and invite them to paste these onto journal pages, using graphic art tools to illustrate them.

[NOTE: To extend this activity and provide your students with more sight word practice, consider adding different characters and cutouts. For instance, "The astronaut floated over the shuttle." or "The shuttle flew under the Earth", etc.]

For more fantastic activities, be sure to visit Mrs. Opyr's space page!