Thursday, October 17, 2013

Wee Willie Winkie Bedtime Activity

By Deborah Rowley

Wee Willie Winkie was another favorite bedtime activity we did with the kids when they were little. You can read my Three Little Pigs Bedtime Activity post here.

(Don't you love Katie's-it's-way-past-my-bedtime look!) 

To really get into Wee Willie Winkie you need a long night cap. If you don't have a long night cap handy, you can make a temporary one as easy as 1-2-3. All you need are a pair of leggings, a rubber band or hair tie and a Santa cap or ski hat with a pom-pom on the end.


Step 1: Get a pair of your child's leggings. Put one leg inside the other leg.


Step 2: Push the Santa cap or ski cap all the way down the leggings so that the pom-pom sticks out the other end.



Step 3: Secure the pom-pom with a hair tie or rubber band if desired. This step really isn't necessary but I needed three steps!


Now put the stocking cap on your child's head and the fun can begin.

Turn off all the lights in the house and give your "Wee Willie Winkie" a flashlight. He or she can now race through the house and knock on all the doors of various family members, calling out the famous rhyme to each person he meets.

Wee Willie Winkie
Runs Through the Town
Upstairs and Downstairs
In his nightgown.
Rapping at the window
Crying through the locks
"Are the children in their beds?
For now it's 8 o'clock!"

*You can change the time based on your child's bedtime.


Once the child has raced through the house and repeated the rhyme to all the family members, then it time for Willie to head to bed.

Just like in the Three Little Pigs, my children knew that if they got out of bed or made a fuss after playing Wee Willie Winkie, they wouldn't get to do a bedtime activity with us the next night. It was the perfect incentive. It only took a few minutes but it helped everyone go to bed happy instead of crying and whining or coming out for the 15th drink. Give it a try tonight!

Here are some other nursery rhyme posts you may enjoy:
Humpty Dumpty
Hey Diddle Diddle
Old King Cole
Little Jack Horner Pin It

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