Toddler Activities: Hey Diddle Diddle Matching Game

By: Deborah Pace Rowley

Previously I had shared a game you could play with the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. You can find that past post here.

This post involves a fun activity to use with the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle." This nursery rhyme is fun because it pairs objects in fun and surprising ways. One important skill for toddlers and preschoolers to learn is what things go together. This game helps toddlers match things that belong together, both in the nursery rhyme and in life. Print out our free printables for Hey Diddle Diddle below.

Hey Diddle Diddle Printables

Then simply cut them apart and have your toddler and/or preschooler pick out the correct objects as you recite the rhyme together. The first page of images are for the traditional rhyme. Then we made up our own verses to include even more matching fun. Laminate the pieces if you want to use them again.

Here is the Traditional Rhyme with images listed in bold:

Hey Diddle Diddle
The Cat and the Fiddle
The Cow Jumped Over the Moon
The Little Dog Laughed (Dog/Laughing Face)
To See Such Sport
And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon!

Here is our original verse 2 with accompanying images:

Hey Diddle Dee
A Boy Climbed a Tree
A Little Ghost Shouted out Boo!
The Green Frog Jumped (Sitting Frog/ Jumping Frog)
To See Such Sport
And the Sock Ran Away with the Shoe!

Here is verse 3 with the images that go with it:

Hey Diddle Dum
A Baby Sucked His Thumb
Big Kids Built a Castle in the Sand
The Brown Horse Kicked (Horse/ Kicking Horse Silhouette)
To See Such Sport
And the Mitten Ran Away with the Hand

Note: *All of the images are courtesy of the Open Clip Art Library. Thank you very much to all the talented artists who share their work on the web.

Enjoy matching pairs together with your child. You may even want to make up a verse of your own!