I remember the overwhelming feeling of having a newborn baby and realizing how much of a blank little slate he was! Up until that point, most of my experience with children was of the 5 and up set, as I had been teaching for several years at that point. Fortunately, I quickly learned that children’s minds are designed to learn!
The best part: their play is their learning and having fun with language through silly poems and rhymes is an important part of their language and literacy development!
More good news: it doesn’t have to be another task on the check-list because it can be a fun and natural part of your day! Better yet, children have been found to retain more information when it is set to music!
Here are 3 ways to have fun with poems and rhymes with your young child:
- Use time you normally spend together to fit it in: while cooking or getting ready in the morning! It doesn’t have to be a dedicated time for rhyming! In fact, connecting these rhymes or songs to activities increases the connections that your child’s brain is making! We used to sing and do “morning songs” while I changed my son in the morning when he was really small.
- Car time Karaoke! : Use travel time as a time to sing poems and nursery rhymes. The car was the place where my boys both learned their address by singing it.
- simple songs, such as the Name Song, hold a lot of fun and are great for children’s development of sound mastery. (Think “Jane, Jane, Bo Bane…”) In that song, there is all kinds of sound manipulation that really encourages neuroplasticity in the brain.
For more tips and information, check out my website at http://www.deannawestedt.com or follow me on Facebook at dr.homeschoolingmomma!
Deanna Westedt 