Children's Nursery Rhymes - Rhymers are Readers

Have you ever wondered if there was a purpose in teaching children nursery rhymes? What do they mean? Are they appropriate for small children? Where did they originate? Some of the nursery rhymes we know today were not originally meant for children. Ancient oral based societies used rhymes to relay news, or spread coded rumors about authority figures in catchy speech phrases easy to memorize.

Over time we found that children enjoyed and thrived on learning these rhymes. They are fun and help improve language skills. Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if a child knows eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they are four years old they are usually among the best readers and spellers.

Other benefits of teaching young children nursery rhymes include but are not limited to:

-Nursery rhymes introduce letters, colors, numbers, and math concepts

-Nursery rhymes teach history

-Nursery rhymes are a great way to learn early phonics skills (the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate letter sounds)

-Nursery rhymes give children practice in pitch, language rhythm, articulation, and voice inflection

-Nursery rhymes follow a clear (and predictable) sequence of events

-Nursery rhymes are easy to repeat so they become some of a childs first sentences

-Nursery rhymes improve/expands vocabulary

-Nursery rhymes are an early form of poetry

-Nursery rhymes build memory capabilities

-Nursery rhymes allow children to develop a sense of humor

-Nursery rhymes help develop coordination through hand gestures and clapping

It's not too early to start. Newborns on up can start receiving the benefits. If you're not sure where to begin, start by getting a nursery rhymes book (buy, borrow from the library, or find some nursery rhymes in an Internet search). Read them to your child. Be silly with it. Play with your voice while saying the rhyme. Repeat the rhymes over again to give your child an opportunity to memorize them. Have fun with your child!