The Origin of Nursery Rhymes
Nursery rhymes date way back to the middle of the 16th century. However, the more popular nursery rhymes didn’t take shape and form until the 17th and 18th centuries.
In London of 1780, the term Mother Goose was first inducted into nursery rhymes, when John Newbery’s stepson, Thomas Carnan, published Mother Goose’s Melody in a compilation of English Rhymes.
The Benefits of Nursery Rhymes Go A Long Way
A book called, “Reading Magic” written by, “Fox M., states that child development and literacy experts found that the be8-year-olds on 8-year-olds are those who could recite at least eight nursery rhymes when they reached four years old.
However, the benefits of nursery rhymes for infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers, go far beyond that of just reading skills, they also encourage growth, development, creativity, imagination, learning skills, and more.
Early Learning and Development.
• Memory skills: When kids listen repeatedly to the same rhyme, not only is it fun and exciting for them, but, they will also develop memory skills at the same time, and learn how to remember patterns.
• Counting: Songs like, “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” contain learning benefits right in the lyrics, as they teach kids to count in a fun way.
• Build a Vocabulary: Rhymes introduce new words to kids that assist in building their vocabulary.
Building a Childs Train of Thought
• Distinguishing between differences and similarities: Phonemes, help a child to detect sounds that are different opposed to the similar sounds they are used to hearing. A good example is, although bag sounds like bat, It doesn’t rhyme with it, but hat does.
• Develops confidence: When a child recites rhymes it helps them build confidence in where they are capable of speaking in public.
• Teaches Patience: While rhymes are entertaining for pre-schoolers, some of them make you wait for the next verse, which can aid in developing patience.
Movement and Social Skills
• Motor Skills & Coordination: There are numerous rhymes that require organized body movement to participate, which helps kids to develop motor skills and coordination. Some good examples are; the song, “Where is Thumbkin” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”.
• Promotes Social Skills: Most rhymes suggest performing group actions, or teamwork, which can encourage children, not only participation but to participate in unison with a group.
• Speech and Communication: Children acknowledge the words that are connected to sentences when they listen to rhymes, which can help to build communication and speech.
Having Fun With Nursery Rhymes
Kids need to have a good imagination to be able to learn and enhance their creativity, and both are introduced at a very young age with nursery rhymes.
By allowing your child to listen to nursery rhymes, you are doing so much more than just keeping them entertained and happy, you are also giving them the tools that will provide them with a head start to grow, develop and learn while having a lot of fun in the process.
So go ahead and play those lullabies and Nursery rhymes for your child and don’t forget it also helps to sing-along!