Singing is good for your mind, body and spirit. It helps to nurture imagination and language skills: the patterns of traditional nursery rhymes follow the rhythm of the spoken language, which stimulates your child's phonological awareness and songs let you practice new vocabulary and introduce the concept of rhyme. You are also exercising your memory by recalling lyrics. Group singing lifts your spirits and develops a sense of community and team work. It’s physically good for you too: it releases endorphins, and can improve your posture and breathing.
The 18th-22nd November is World Nursery Rhyme Week but with all these benefits we should be singing with our children every day! To get you started why not make a song box? Choose your box and fill it with props that link to your favourite songs. (You’re bound to have some around the house already, but keep an eye out for them in charity shops too). Then take it in turns to pick something out – and sing about it! Listening and attention can be enhanced through these props, enabling a child to keep their concentration and focus on something visual whilst listening to instructions. Understanding skills are also enhanced, allowing children the time they need to process what they are being asked to do. Being allowed to make decisions and having control over learning also help to raise a child's self esteem and confidence, as well as supporting behaviour through turn taking and positive praise.
This is what I’ve currently got in mine:
a toy rabbit - Peter Rabbit's got a Fly Upon his Nose
a doll - Miss Polly had a Dolly
a Humpy Dumpty toy - Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall
a star - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
a spaceman glove - Five Little Men in a Flying Saucer
a currant bun glove - Five Currant Buns in a Baker's Shop
a duck glove - Five Little Ducks Went Swimming One Day
Younger children love using the song box – it’s one of their most frequent requests. You might also like to have a look at the World Nursery Rhyme Week website which is packed full of information about singing, including a song bank full of songs to watch, listen to, learn and sing along to.
Happy singing!
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