Being a parent/caregiver is extremely hard work. I speak from the experience. My 14-month-old is currently waging war on bath
time.
Sometimes when it feels like all our hard work falls flat, it’s
cool to learn that activities we regularly share with our little ones have far-reaching
benefits (and can save our sanity).
This week I want to share about how the simple
and fun act of singing with your young child can help prepare them for later
reading success!
When we sing with children, we are doing much more than
creating a fun and happy environment. We
are also showing how we pronounce words.
We do this by slowing down the way we say the words and by putting
emphasis on each syllable (beat) of the word. It’s really easy to see this in practice.
Try simply saying “old MacDonald had a farm.” Try not to sing at all. You might notice how we tend to race through
our words when we normally speak. This
is called using relaxed pronunciation.
Try it again. But
this time sing the phrase. You may
notice how things really slow down and that we add emphasis while we sing. Each syllable (beat) is sung to its own
distinct note. One of the of most
critical pre-reading skills that kids need to be successful when learning to
read is called phonological awareness (the ability to recognize the smaller
sounds in words). When we sing, we give
kids a major phonological awareness boost!
Another pre-reading benefit of singing is a better understanding
of how stories are put together. This is
really noticeable when we sing familiar folk songs like Old MacDonald Had a
Farm or There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. These songs follow very familiar
structures. Even if we introduce a
completely new animal to Old MacDonald’s Farm, the child who has heard the song
will instantly know how to react… E-I-E-I-O, with a (insert animal sound) here,
etc. Even pop songs often follows very recognizable patterns that kids will recognize: e.g., verse-chorus-verse-chorus.
We call a child’s understanding of how stories work
narrative skills. Like phonological
awareness, it is a very important pre-reading ability.
For more information on the benefits of singing with young children,
visit this wonderful page that was developed by the Shepherd School of Music at
Rice University.
To see a first-hand look at how books
and songs go hand-in-hand, check out this jaw-dropping video from children’s musician and
author Jim Gill’s YouTube channel.
There are dozens of wonderful picture books that build on
familiar songs. Here is a list of 10
books I particularly like (along with links to YouTube versions of the songs):
Title: The Fox Went Out On a Chilly Night
Author: Peter Spier
Find this book at your library
The Fox as sung by Burl Ives
The Fox as sung by Burl Ives
Title: Frog Went A-Courtin'
Author: John Langstaff
Illustrator: Feodor Rojankovsky
Find this book at your library
Froggie Went A Courtin' as sung by Lonnie Donegan
Froggie Went A Courtin' as sung by Lonnie Donegan
Title: Hush, Little Baby
Author: Marla Frazee
Find this book at your library
Hush Little Baby as sung by Lauryn Hill
Hush Little Baby as sung by Lauryn Hill
Title: I Had a Rooster
Author: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Find this book at your library
I Had a Little Rooster as sung by Michelle at the Edmonton Public Library
I Had a Little Rooster as sung by Michelle at the Edmonton Public Library
Title: May There Always Be Sunshine
Author: Jim Gill
Illustrator: Susie Signorino-Richards
Title: Over in the Meadow
Author: Olive Wadsworth
Illustrator: Ezra Jack Keats
Title: Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Author: Jane Cabrera
Find this book at your library
Old MacDonald Had a Farm as sung by the Lawrence Welk Show
Old MacDonald Had a Farm as sung by the Lawrence Welk Show
Title: There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Author: Simms Taback
Find this book at your library
Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly as sung by Judy Collins
Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly as sung by Judy Collins
Title: This Land Is Your Land
Author: Woody Guthrie
Illustrator: Kathy Jakobsen
Title: What a Wonderful World
Author: George David Weiss & Bob Thiele
Illustrator: Ashley Bryan
Thanks for this list! It's a great compilation of books!
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