The Importance of Rhyming

 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again. 

 

Why do so many preschools spend so much time teaching children Nursery Rhymes and nonsense songs? Well, simply put, it’s because it’s good for the children! To many parents, it seems like these silly rhymes and songs are meant to just entertain a child. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth! These things teach children to rhyme and rhyming is a key part of phonological awareness. 

 

Why is rhyming so important?

 

1. Rhyming teaches children how language works. By combining different sounds to make both words and nonsense words children begin to take ownership over their language. 

 

1. Rhyming lets children experience the rhythm of language. This will eventually lead to children being expressive in their reading. 

 

1. Rhyming helps prepare children to make predictions in their reading. I.e. Twinkle Twinkle little star. How I wonder what you ____. 

 

1. Rhyming is also important for writing. It helps with teaching children word families, like -at and -an. 

 

1. It’s fun! It’s a fun way to help engage children in their learning. 

 

How can you teach rhyming?

 

• Keep it short. You don’t need to spend hours and hours on rhyming words. You can incorporate them into your child’s everyday learning.
• Books books and more books. 
• Sing silly songs and do finger plays
• Try “The Name Game”