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Why are Nursery Rhymes/Songs Important for a Child's
Development?
 First
and foremost, children get "hooked" on listening
to language, and they also learn valuable skills. Children
learn the patterns and rhythms of their language, how
words can be put together in a fun musical way.Patterns
are very important for early reading and for math. Reading
specialists have advised that a child's ability to
discriminate and create rhyming words, as well as their
internal sense of rhythm,are closely related to early
reading ability. A child who has absorbed over and over
through the ears and not the eyes - such common rhymes as
"fun, sun, run" or "fiddle, diddle,
middle" as well as the melody of their language, is
statistically destined to have an easier time learning to
read.
In the same way, songs incorporating rhythm are an
important teaching tool. Even before they are born, babies
are comforted by the rhythms of their mothers' bodies.
After birth, rhythm continues to be a comfort. Early in
life infants learn to respond to music by moving their
bodies and swaying. Later they imitate rhythms and sounds.
Through music activities, children learn important
pre-language skills naturally - listening, paying
attention and concentrating - which lead to anticipating
what comes next and being able to follow directions. All
of these things form the foundation for learning
conventional communication. Singing songs together also
involves physical contact, repetition, turn-taking,
non-verbal responses, vocal play, actions and an awareness
of the appropriate timing for action and/or words. The
rhythm and melody of a song help a child to anticipate and
recognize when it's his or her turn. This
"timing" is a very important conversational
skill.
But nursery rhymes and songs aren't just for the
development of speech and reading, they are also excellent
for strengthening emotional and intellectual development.
The bond between caregiver and child is enhanced, there is
practice with language, listening and memory, there is
pleasure in the auditory stimulation and there's lots of
enthusiasm and fun! So let's turn off the radio, TV, tape
recorder, computer and the VCR and let's turn on our
children by helping them become active participants with
us in songs and rhymes.
What is INTERACTIVE READING?
Interactive Reading is when you involve your child in the
reading process even if they have not begun to read on
their own.
How can this be done?
Reading to your child is the Number 1 requirement to help
your child become a successful reader. By reading to you
child, you will bestow upon them, the love of literacy, a
gift of loving to read, which is a gift of a lifetime.
Interactive Reading is when you have them participate in
the reading process by involving all the senses of see,
hear, say and do and even touch.
When children are as young as 6 months to 4 years old, you
can choose "fabric type of books" where they can
touch and feel the pages and characters as you read to or
with them. When reading with or to children of all ages
follow some simple guidelines:
1. Stop every
now and then and ask them questions to see if they are
listening and understanding the story.
2. Enjoy every
page of the book, looking at pictures if any and talking
about What if and Why situations.
3. Stop in the
middle of sentences with because… and see if they can
predict what happens. Encourage critical thinking and
creative thinking.
4. Place your
finger under the text so that your child begins to
understand that reading is from left to right and this is
helpful if your child is dyslexic or suffers from any
attention deficit disorders. It helps them keep track with
the story and helps them read along and begin to follow
the left to right order.
5. Re-read
books to your child, choosing large texts for little
children so they begin to recognize and follow the stories
and begin to try reading.
6. Pretend to
play or be the characters in the story.
7. Ask
questions that teach important life lessons such as.
Should Red Riding Hood have talked to the Big Bad Wolf,
why or why not? Was it right for Goldilocks to go into a
house of strangers?
8. Using
rhyming books such as Dr. Seuss are great for easy reading
and language development since rhymes are easy to remember
and follow.
SEE, HEAR, SAY AND DO… AND
SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN YOUR CHILD
Your child has 5 main pathways into their brain and they
learn by see, hear, touch, taste and smell. If you can
help your child develop these 5 acute senses, you will lay
the foundation and basis for a better learning. The first
6 years are critical in development since this is when
science has proven the brain soaks up information. The
more effective the stimulation you provide to your child,
the more you do with your child, the more they will learn.
Maria Montessori, the Italian born educator believed that
children go through 6 sensitive learning periods in their
life.
Language - the sensitive period of language begins at
birth and continues for the first 3 years of their life.
Order - the sensitivity to order appears in the first few
months, and continues through until the child is 2, but 18
months is the strongest time of this sensitivity when the
child is moving objects around and trying to find things
they have seen or placed in the same place.
Walking
- sensitivity to walking begins between 12-15 months and
once your child learns to move, they keep moving.
Social
Sensitivity - this begins around the age of 2-3, when
children begin to notice the other children around them
and want to make friends and play with others.
Sensitivity
to small objects - children begins to touch things around
the age of 1 and are attracted t insects, bugs, pebbles,
grass etc.
Learning
Sensitivity - this begins at birth as the brain begins to
develop, with the sense of sight, hearing, then movement,
touch, taste and smell. Children learn by doing. They walk
by moving around, they learn to talk by listening and
talking, they learn to ride a bike by riding, they learn
to sing by singing and they learn to read by reading.
There is no magic process. It is a simple process of See,
Hear, Say and Do!
Children
learn by touching and feeling, listening and doing, using
all their sensory experience as much as possible.
It
has been said that we remember:
 What
kind of stimulating activities can you do with your child
to ensure that you provide them with the necessary
developmental tools for stimulation?
1.
Young toddlers should have plenty of time to crawl, move,
feel, grasp, touch and experience new things. Encouraging
them to feel their toys and safe objects around them can
do this. Give your child as much opportunity to play and
learn, a chance to exercise and develop their motor
muscles.
2.
Spinning, Balancing and Rocking Exercises - these are
important exercises to develop balance, coordination and
the balancing centers of the brain. Play these games to
music and have fun with your child. Enroll them in dance
and movement classes that encourage free movement and
expression. The Hip Hop Dance and Bollywood Dance Classes
at Safari Kid starting September 2003 are perfect and fun!
3.
Dancing - a critical part of any development. It has been
proven that music is an important part of developing
"synaptic" connections in the brain e.g. Mozart
and Beethoven classical music in the evenings at bedtime
or when they are studying or in quiet time. Enroll your
child in as much variety of dance classes from the
classics to country, which teach movement, coordination
and team spirit and social skills. Check out the new dance
programs at Safari Kid Performing Art Academy.
4.
Hugging and Loving - spend as much time hugging and
expressing love for your child. Children need to learn how
to feel and develop feelings through listening and
touching. A great way to teach and develop empathy and
emotional security.
5.
PlayGrounds, Parks, Swimming - visit parks and playgrounds
as much as possible giving your child as much outdoor
activities as possible Swings, slides and merry go around
are great for developing balance and posture. Swimming is
the best exercise for muscle and development, confidence,
while developing parent-child bonds.
If
you have any questions, please email Rennu Dhillon DSc. at
rennugenius@yahoo.com or visit www.geniuskidscal.com. |
