Enjoy the rhythm of nursery rhymes. Because these rhymes are enjoyed orally the rhythms have been honed by centuries of use. Some of the lines are among the most satisfying in the English language. In teaching classes of kindergartners and first graders I have come to appreciate the pleasure children and adults can experience speaking certain lines from nursery rhymes. My favorites include:
Sing a Song of Sixpence
"Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye.
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing.
Wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king.
The king was in the counting house counting out his money.
The queen was in the parlor, eating bread and honey.
The maid was in the garden, hanging out the clothes.
Along came a blackbird and snapped off her nose.
But there came a jenny wren and popped it on again.
(See also comments on Sixpence under Sound of the Words)
The Crooked Man
There was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile.
He found a crooked six pence beside a crooked stile
He bought a crooked cat that caught a crooked mouse
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.