The importance of rhymes in a toddler’s is too big to ignore. The small innocuous rhymes are often the words which are most repeated by parents and children together. The nursery rhymes are a powerful influencer in the pre-school years. This nonsensical string of rhyming words is often sung out in a sing song voice that is attractive to the little child.
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Importance of rhymes in preschool education
There are many parameters that are met by the repetitive nonsensical verses. Although they appear meaningless, the sing song voice that is used by the person saying it is often the trigger for great learning opportunities.
Cognitive Development
Cognitive Development is increased by repetition. It builds memory capacity and the basics of language development. The toddler learns inference skills, where she learns to identify new words, and distinguish between the new learning and old. The patterns that the simple alliterations create help to be the child’s first memorization attempts.
Speech development
Speech development is helped by nursery rhymes. The auditory skills that the child learns are the stepping stone to learning how to speak. The nursery rhymes are the first thing the child learns to recite. She learns voice modulation, inflection and pitch through saying the rhymes out loud. The art of listening finds its foundation in the repetition of nursery rhymes.
Creativity
Creativity is expanded when kids recite and act out the nursery rhymes. the dramatization of the ditty takes creativity and imagination.
Reading skills
Reading skills start with nursery rhymes. They serve as an introduction to stories. Working with verses helps the toddler make sense of the phonetic segments of the words and lays the basis for future comprehension and reading skills.
Maths skills
Maths skills are also taught through these small rhymes. The toddler learns to count sequence and recognize numbers with the rhymes. There are many rhymes like ‘one two, buckle my shoe’ that teaches maths to the child. The patterns in the sequence are the beginning of finding mathematical patterns throughout life.
Continuity is Key
These rhymes have been around for generations and children can bond with the extended family over these rhymes. The connection with history and family is established with nursery rhymes at great depth.
Physical coordination
Physical coordination is also needed to enact some of the nursery rhymes. The coordinated activity in sync with the rhyme teaches the child to fine tune motor skills and fine motor skills.
There are so many practical considerations about the need for nursery rhymes. The most important fact is that it is an activity that mother, and child do together. It enforces a strong bond. The repeated singing and actions are fun and lively. You can have a rhyme for all the activities you do with your baby. The activity rhymes are fun to act out and is a great way to initiate structured play in kids. Enjoy this time with your child. In fact, the rhyme recitation activity can be enjoyed by grandparents, uncles and aunts as it is a common ditty that all of us have sung at some point in childhood.
