History of the song Farmer in the Dell: The song was published in 1862 and it is unknown who wrote it but it was written as a folk song probably in Germany. It was brought to the United States most likely by immigrants. It was written as a nursery rhyme, singing game. It is popular in a number of languages. Each country has its own version and some versions vary in that country as well. The most popular is the United States version. With a few exceptions to the original translation, it remains the most well known.
What skills do children ages 0-5 learn when introduced to this song: The song is a similar to “A Hunting We Will Go” and is also an interactive hand game song. Children form 0-5 will learn to follow a tune, hand eye coordination, follow directions, memorization and communication skills. The kids will also learn to associate with other children in a social manner including following movements and processing thoughts similar to others. Socially performing the game along with the song will encourage interaction with other children and will facilitate interaction with teachers and other adults as well. Rhyming will also be learned here as the song is a rhyme.
What topics will children learn: In a classroom setting, the song will be teaching kids about marriage, having children, and family structure. The rhyme will be sung in a way that will allow children to continue to work together and interact with adults and prepare for rhyming and memorization. Recently the nursery rhyme has been published in a book and is also found in some pop culture areas such as television shows. Children will recognize it from the shows and be able associate it with their favorite show.
How can parents and teachers use this rhyme to foster educational experiences?: This song in early childhood education will foster learning in a variety of ways like learning vocabulary. Building a good vocabulary is a big part of early education. Vocabulary comprehension is also something that children will be gaining as well. Comprehension is also a needed skill for continuing on in education and will be assessed in later grade levels. Literacy development is also attained by rhyming, repetition, reciting and observation. These developmental skills are essential to building the foundation for learning skills for the student’s future. For further educational experience and fun try to mix up the words in the song so that the children are not learning it in a pattern. This can be done after the core is learned completely. Mixing the words around or using opposite words will help the child to know learn that it is not a constant and will ensure clarity of the correct lyrics and rhyming.
In conclusion, Early childhood development and learning is fun and engaging.Using nursery rhymes is a great simple start to memorization and accomplishing smaller lyrical songs.