Language Acquisition and Early Literacy
The rhythm, rhyme and repetition of nursery rhymes really help young children recognise the pattern and structure of language. Simple exercises, such as tapping out this rhythm of syllables can help break down long words into bite-size chunks. When nursery rhymes are used, the rhythm is far easier to memorise than learning all the words themselves at first and it is this rhythm that will really help little ones to memorise the words and acquire the language.
It is clear to see how regular nursery rhymes contribute to speech, language, fluency and early literacy skills.
Modelling the rhymes with appropriate intonation and engaging emotional expression will also help little ones to “get the gist” even if they don’t understand every word.
Cross-Curricular Development
New vocabulary is acquired by a certain amount of guess work and context and many subjects across a very wide curricular can be covered in nursery rhymes, for example mathematical language, such as counting, or simple addition, together with cultural topics about the world around us.
Nursery rhymes also help little ones to understand the structure of a short story, with each one having a beginning, a middle and an end. Learning to love nursery rhymes will hopefully lead to a love of longer stories in the form of books as they get older.
Brain Development and Physical Skills
The repetition of nursery rhymes helps with confidence and self-esteem, and promotes brain development, imagination, memory, attention-span and concentration.
If accompanied with actions, little ones can also work on their fine and gross motor skills, as well as their balance and coordination.
Bonding and Social Skills
Reading nursery rhymes together can help with bonding and strengthening relationships. Some nursery rhymes may require the reader to use expressive facial expressions, which can be mimicked, or to show empathy where there is emotional content, which may lead to further discussion topics.
Managing emotions can be tricky for little ones to learn and keeping these in check requires both self-control and social skills.
In a nutshell, there are so many more baby development benefits of learning nursery rhymes, which is why we incorporate 2 or 3 within the structure of our Caterpillar Music classes.
Have you tried a Caterpillar Music class yet? Just enter your postcode here to find and book your nearest session.
This post was written by:
Helen Simmons
Caterpillar Music CEO
Helen is a Mum of 3 boys and was previously a franchisee in SW London
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