How poems, nursery rhymes and songs help kids learn

Posted on 7 June 2009

What is a Nursery Rhyme?

A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song that is used to teach children at home, or in pre-school. Nursery rhymes are generally used to help in the development and overall understanding of vocabulary, as the child grows. Rhymes mainly help your child in counting, memorizing the alphabet and learning about animals and fruits, among other things.

Nursery rhymes have rhythms that encourage children to have fun with the music, and they often incorporate movement, such as dancing and particular actions or motions which children will memorize and associate with a particular rhyme.

Each nursery rhyme, poem and song has a unique rhythm which helps children remember the words they contain, and this aids in the child's memory development. "London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down" incorporates repetition which is easy for the child to remember. The golden age for memory development is widely believed to between the ages 6-9, as during this time, a child is able to memorize quickly, and remember things over a great span of time.

I am sure you can remember all the words to "London Bridge"! It is also believed that children who cannot yet read, remember better than their peers who can, since the non-readers cannot refer back to the text for information, but have to remember everything they have seen or heard.

Nursery Rhymes Are Captivating and Colourful

Nursery rhymes and pre-school songs often have fanciful captivating stories and vivid language, and the characters are largely colourful. These songs and rhymes have captured the imagination of children the world over and fascinated them for centuries. Nursery rhymes and songs have introduced children to a world that does not exist in reality, but they certainly help them expand their imagination. These rhymes and songs tell us about dishes that run, people who live in shoes, an egg-shaped Humptey Dumptey who sits on a wall, and so much more. There is no better way to introduce children to the fascinating world of literature, story-telling, make-belief and play-acting.

Develop Vocabulary and Other Concepts

Nursery rhymes and songs consist of easy to understand vocabulary and a catchy rhyme. These make it very easy for the kids to easily learn the rhymes, thus helping them build their vocabulary. Counting is also often integrated into nursery rhymes, so children learn to count while having fun at the same time. Upon learning a certain rhyme as a child, he or she will start following that particular rhyme or poem on a page, thus learning the fundamentals of reading.

Other concepts that nursery rhymes teach children include mathematical concepts such as time, height, temperature, weather, position, etc.

Most nursery rhymes include songs, illustrations, poems and short stories. Parents are highly encouraged to read with their children in order to get them excited to learn and improve their language skills. If you can, create your own nursery rhyme using objects and places familiar to the child, for instance, using the furniture or utensils in your house.

You'll find an abundance of nursery rhymes you can teach your children over on BusSongs. com.