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| Reading to toddler |
Schools are back in session,
a new session for that matter. The bills are new, fresh and increasing, the
more reason why you should not only pay but also be part of your child's
education especially for those with pre-schoolers and kindergarten pupils. CM
finds this foundational article on helping your child to learn easily with
nursery rhymes written by a Montessori Coach - Mrs. Adepeju Falekulo.
Mrs. Falekulo is the Head of
Programs at Addlo Montessori Training Center, where she helps women who want to
establish Montessori Schools acquire the relevant skills needed to become
successful, world class Montessori Directors and School owners. You can find
her opinion on child education the Montessori way at www.ayopejufalekulo.wordpress.com.
Happy reading:
The Importance of Nursery Rhymes – by Adepeju Falekulo
Nursery Rhymes are the main ingredient
that keeps Pre-school environment alive and fun for the children. Music is food
for the soul that is what they say right? Well nursery rhymes fulfill that goal
in the lives of our children.
These simple songs feed the
child with the rhythm and melody of our language and music. Rhymes are the
first introductory steps the child gets to actually putting words together and
making a sentence. Observe the young toddler who is just over a year and a half
old, they haven’t started really talking yet, maybe a word or two, to express
their wants and needs. But if your child has been listening to songs especially
simple nursery rhymes for a while they have started singing after you most of
the time.
I remember one of our young
ones, just about a year and a half, then, they learnt this rhyme about traffic
lights, the teacher taught them this rhyme because she wanted to teach them
about colours, and relate it to something they may notice in the environment.
Well my dear one and a half-year old learnt this rhyme so well that during the
Presentation Day for Parents, she stood out; so small, yet so confidently
belting out her rhyme. She got a standing ovation.
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| Mrs. Adepeju Falekulo |
Traffic Lights , Traffic LightsWhen you see a Traffic lightThere is something you should knowRed means STOPYellow means READYAnd Green means GO!
Her Mum was so proud of her
little girl and said to us that every time they passed by a traffic light, she
would recite the rhyme and even told her Dad when the lights were always about
to go Red to STOP!
So why are these rhymes so important for our children
to learn?
Rhymes introduce children to
a rich use of Language. They learn new words and meanings of the words through
the rhymes and actions that they use. (For example the song Three blind mice {holding
up 3 fingers and covering their eyes} See how they run, They all ran after the farmer’s
wife {running feet}, Who cut off their tail with a carving knife {miming
pulling a tail and cutting it off}, Did you ever see such a thing in your life?
{miming seeing with hands moving out from the eyes/face} As Three Blind Mice.
{the 3 fingers} Children love singing this rhyme and they get it. Doesn’t make
much sense really, does it? But the children do get the meaning of the
words and enjoy singing it.
These rhymes help children
learn the structure of putting words together to make sentences. A child who
sings lots of nursery rhymes will be able to speak and construct sentences.
Rhymes tell a story and give
children the structure of telling stories, they have a beginning, a middle and
an end. Children learn to mirror this and they develop story telling skills
Rhymes are enjoyable, they
make children happy, they sing, move around and dance and all these are food
for the soul.
Rhymes can be used to teach
children social skills and are one of the best ways to help them learn concepts
you are trying to teach them. So as a teacher, or intending teacher, as a
parent or intending parent, start putting together your arsenal of nursery
rhymes they will help you to lay a good literary foundation for your child or
children. These rhymes are hardly ever forgotten. I remember when I was growing
up, my father used to sing and hum, Row, row, row your boat. This rhyme has
stayed with me, as it had stayed with him. I used to ask myself is life a
dream? Well is it? This is something you could even discuss
with the older children. Let’s give our children food for their need to acquire
language. Rhymes are one of the strong ways to get lots of language practice
for the child.