Jack Be Nimble

Jack be nimble!

Jack be quick!

Jack jump over the candlestick!

Favorite Activities and Lessons:

Candle Sticks Crafts - Make candle sticks from paper towel tubes. Paint the tubes or cover with paper. Glue it to a paper plate, then use tissue paper stuffed into the top for the flame- the candle can then be jumped over as if Jack does in the rhyme.

Candlestick Hopscotch - Get your youngsters jumping just like Jack with his nursery rhyme twist on the game of hopscotch! To prepare, sew a simple felt beanbag. Cut the shapes for a candle, a flame, and a candlestick from the other colors of felt and hot-glue or sew them to one side of the beanbag. When your candlestick beanbag is ready, use chalk to draw a hopscotch grid on your sidewalk. Show little ones how to toss the beanbag onto a numbered square and then jump through the grid, avoiding the square beanbag. Leave the hopscotch game available for your preschoolers to use during outdoor time. And remember-jump over the candlestick.

Candle Printing – Give your children various shapes and kinds of candles. Let them dip the candles into paint and use them to make prints on pieces of construction paper. Encourage the children to print the bottoms and sides of their candles.

Candle in a Jar – Set out a votive candle (or other small candle) and a jar that is just large enough to fit over it. Light the candle. Ask your children to guess what will happen when you put the jar over the top of the candle. In a short time, the flame will go out. Let your children guess why the flame went out. (The flame needs oxygen to burn and when the jar is put over it, no more oxygen can get to it.)

Candle Puppets – Give each child a toilet tissue tube. Set out brushes and several different colors of tempera paint. Let the children paint their toilet tissue tubes any color they wish. When the paint has dried, give each child a tongue depressor and a yellow construction-paper flame shape. Have the children glue their flame shapes to the tongue depressors. Then show the children how to “light” their candles puppets by pushing their tongue depressor flames up through their pointed cardboard tubes.

Flannelboard Fun – Copy a pattern of Jack and a candlestick. Laminate them for durability and then attach strips of felt to the backs. Place the patterns on a flannelboard. Recite the rhyme “Jack Be Nimble” with your children and move the patterns accordingly.

Matching Game – Using 2 sets of the game cards in “Nursery Rhyme Theme-A-Saurus”, have the children play a game. Mix up the cards and let your children take turns finding the matching pairs.

Color Game – Let your children sort a variety of large birthday candles by color. Then have them count how many candles of each color there are.

Number Game – Label five boxes or other containers from 1 to 5. Set out 15 candles. Let your children take turns placing the appropriate number of candles in each box. For kids that need a little challenge, then do the numbers 1 to 10.

Jumping Games – Have your children recite the nursery rhyme “Jack Be Nimble” as they do a variety of jumping activities. A rope or a strip of tape on the floor is easy to jump over. Practice big and little jumps, tall and short jumps, quiet and loud jumps. Jumping off something is lots of fun and safe if there are soft pillows to land on and an adult to supervise one-at-a-time jumping. As each child jumps, say the rhyme with his or her name in place of Jack.

Candle Salads – To make each salad, place a pineapple ring on top of a lettuce leaf. Stand half of a peeled banana upright in the center of the pineapple ring. Cut off the pointed end of the banana. Use a vegetable peeler to peel off a strip of carrot. Roll the carrot strip into a ring, overlapping the ends. Stick one end of the toothpick through the ends of the carrot strip and one end of the banana. Pinch the carrot ring to make it look like a pointed candle flame.

Once Their Was a Boy Named Jack – Sing this song to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”

Once there was a boy named Jack,

He loved to jump over and back.

He jumped over candles,

He jumped over sticks,

He loved to do his jumping tricks.

Once there was a boy named Jack,

He loved to jump over and back.

Positions by the Book! – Youngsters are in control of Jack’s actions in this clever booklet! Copy page 35 with positional word on it from “Nursery Rhyme Theme-A-Saurus” and a copy of Jack and a candlestick for each child. You will also need a class supply of 4” x 5” construction paper covers and a 12-inch piece of yarn. To begin, give each child a Jack pattern, and have her color it as desired. Laminate the patterns and then have each child cut out her pattern. Hole-punch the pattern and tie one end of the yarn length to the hole. Next, give a copy of page 35 to each child. Instruct her to cut out the pages on the dotted lines. Help each student stack her pages and then staple them between covers. Hole-punch the corner of each booklet. Next, tie the opposite and of the yarn length through the hole in the booklet. Instruct each child to trace the dotted words on the pages and color each picture. Discuss the similarities and differences of the positional words in the booklet. Then have each child appropriately manipulate Jack as she reads each page. Jack, get moving. (Teacher Note: The pages say Jack stand above. Jack stand below. Jack walks under. Jack jumps over.)

Savvy Candle Sorting – Brighten students’ interest in attributes with this activity! In advance, ask for donations of used and unused candles of various shapes, colors, and sizes. Place the candles on a table and invite a small group of children to join you. Then discuss the candles’ similarities and differences. Next, select two attributes, such as tall and short, and have students sort the candles into two groups. After several rounds of sorting using different attributes, sort the candles yourself without identifying the distinguishing attribute(s) you used. Challenge youngsters to determine the sorting attribute(s) by observing the sets of candles.

Candles Measure Up – Jump into this idea, which has youngsters measuring birthday candles. Give each child a recording sheet that has a picture of a chair, a pencil, a table, and a book on it and a supple of birthday candles. Instruct each child to find each object depicted on his paper and then use candles to measure it. Instruct him to count the candles and then record his number on his paper. After each child has completed his recording sheet, compare the measurements. There could be more than one correct answer for each measurement, depending on the sizes of various tables, pencils, and books in your classroom!

Going the Distance – After reciting the rhyme, spark students’ enthusiasm for practicing positional words with this fun activity! Make a class set of a Jack pattern and one copy of a candlestick pattern. Cut headbands from bulletin board paper to make a class set plus one. Have each child color, cut out the Jack pattern, and then glue it to the headband. Size each child’s headband and staple it. Make a candlestick headband in the same manner. Have students stand in a circle. Choose one child to wear the candlestick headband in the center. Discuss the positional words near, far, and around. Then have students stand in a circle and hold hands. Instruct the group to move near the candle, move far from the candle, and move around the candle. Repeat the activity until each child has had a chance to glow in the center of the circle!

Webpage Last Updated On July 8, 2008