Nursery Rhymes And Language Development

My son, who is 2.5 years old has been learning a few nursery rhymes over the past 6 months. He has been hearing it since he was a baby. Recently , I bought a second hand book of common nursery rhymes which had a CD in it too. He was just too captivated , listening to the CD and also following the song in the book. It's only been a few weeks and he has learnt 3 rhymes and 2 rhymes (earlier heard and learnt)have become clear, speech vice.

Some observations:

• He pays more attention to the words and music. Consequently, I have seen he plays more by himself (giving me some time to do things)(Increased attention ans concentration span with creative play)
• Tries to follow the words in the book for each individual rhyme, thus building awareness of print and sounds heard( building up Phonological awareness). Exploring the illustrations and talking about them.
• Sings along with the music and has improved catching up with the words.

Some researchers have found that children’s early knowledge of nursery rhymes is related to their development of emergent reading abilities, specifically phonemic awareness skills (i.e. the awareness of sounds and their association with letters within words). Reading skills are the not the only skills they develop. Listening and thinking skills are developed along with singing rhymes.

What you can do:

1. Expose your child to a rhyme either through you singing or through a CD repeatedly. So they will become familiar to it.
2. Associate actions along with those that you know. Encourage them to participate but don't force them.
3. If you have a book with the rhymes , show them and read along with them pointing your finger to each word. Explain the illustration and talk about the rhyme.Stimulating discussions are a great way to build oral language and comprehension skills.
4. Repeat , Repeat and repeat. Is the key to your child learning and enjoying the rhymes.

Have fun singing and dancing with your children!