5 Brain-Stimulating Rhymes to Bond with Your Child
There’s a reason that rhymes from the mid-16th century have lasted through time and been told to children for generations. Rhymes can be a captivating way to engage your child and enjoy cuddles and giggles together. And as a great big bonus, they add rich language and sound to your child’s auditory senses, helping them acquire language skills. The short repetitive nature of rhymes helps children learn vocabulary and feel a strong sense of steady beat. Hand motions accompany the words to further enhance a child’s engagement and focus their attention. Here are 5 rhymes that you can use to stimulate your child’s brain while creating lasting parent/child connections.
One, Two, Three, Four, Five
First I caught a fish alive.
Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten
Then I let him go again.
Why did you let him go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Which finger did he bite?
The little finger on my right.
This counting rhyme uses one to one correspondence showing numbers on your fingers as you count. The concept that an object equals a number is necessary for learning to count and to understand numbers. In addition, we use a contrasting high and low voice in this chant. This teaches aural discrimination which children will learn to explore their voice and distinguish pitches. Children love the rhythm of this rhyme and the high and low sounds capture their attention.
Rhyme #2: Diddle, Diddle Dumpling
Diddle, Diddle Dumpling my son John
Went to bed with his trousers on.
One shoe off and one shoe on,
Diddle, Diddle Dumpling my son John.
This rhyme is a great excuse to share tickles and hugs. Insert your child’s name into the rhyme (“my son Tyler” or “my daughter Anna”). Use it while getting dressed, changing diapers, during bath time, or use it for the sole purpose to look into your child’s eyes and connect with them. Move the child’s legs to the beat and use different tones in your voice to draw their attention. Your child’s brain will find the alliteration and rhythm alluring and will decode the language through repetition. Try it loud, soft, fast, and slow.
Rhyme #3: My Hands
My hands upon my head I place.
Upon my shoulders, on my face.
At my waist and by my side,
And then behind me they will hide.
Then I will put them way up high,
And let me fingers fly, fly, fly.
I’ll clap, clap, clap and 1, 2, 3,
My hands are quiet as can be.
1, 2, 3, Boo! There they are.
Children love to see your movement and hear the fluctuations in your voice during this wonderful rhyme. Neuroscientists have discovered that saying a word and acting out its meaning simultaneously creates neural pathways in the brain paving the way for language learning and reading. We do this in this rhyme as we say the words “way up high” and move both our hands and our voice pitch up. Use this rhyme to gather a three or four years olds attention before you give them instructions, or make it a game with your baby/toddler by counting and bringing your hands out on the word “boo!”
Rhyme #4: Little Miss Muffet
Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey
Along came a spider that sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.
Using simple instruments to act out the story in this rhyme is a great way to model improvisation and imitate the language expressed with sound. Doing this demonstrates the idea that you can communicate through rhythm, pitch, and dynamics. It’s also intriguing to children when you imitate a spider with your fingers and create opportunities for tickles and laughter. There are many benefits to nursery rhymes and purposeful child development reasons why they are used so often. Nursery Rhymes can enhance motor skills through steady beat practice and can develop cognition and increase memory capacity. See more benefits of nursery rhymes.
Rhyme #5: Jack Be Nimble/Jack and Jill
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick,
Jack jumped over the candlestick.
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water,
Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.
Bouncing to the beat of these rhymes creates an internal metronome in your child. This foundation of steady beat is the foundation of music and has been linked to developing gross motor skills like walking, running, jumping and fine motor skills like, writing, cutting, and typing. Children will delight in this fun bounce especially if you end with a giant hug or swing in the air. For more ideas on how to use these rhymes, see this video.
