From the soothing lullabies of infancy to the playful chants of the preschool years, all of us cross a universal bridge on music and rhythm to language. Songs, nursery rhymes and fingerplays are much more than mere amusements; they are effective and scientifically proven strategies in developing phonological awareness, vocabulary and early literacy skills in young children. At Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready, we embrace this natural synergy between music and language as one of the essentials of our approach to education. With the multi-sensory, interactive Kinder Ready Tutoring, we can incorporate the songs and rhymes into learning without much ado; the development of languages becomes an enjoyable, memorable, and most effective experience that instils basic confidence in reading and communicating.
The greatest benefit of songs and rhymes is a unique faculty to build phonological awareness, i.e. to listen to the sounds and to combine and break them into words. The rhyme scheme, repetition and predictable rhymes used in such familiar classes as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” or “Hickory Dickory Dock” also humanise a child to the musical pattern of language. Listening to and expecting rhymes assists the children in recognising that words are composed of smaller units of sound. Educators are purposeful in using such musical instruments during the Kinder Ready Elizabeth Fraley tutoring session. They could applaud the number of syllables in the song lyrics, pause in front of a word that rhymes to allow the child to fill in the gap, or they would play games where they identified words that began with the same sound as a word used in a song. This audio play is the vital precursor to phonics and decoding, and the abstract idea of sounds in words is very concrete and entertaining.
Additionally, songs and rhymes are a rich source of vocabulary learning and syntactic construction. They tend to use words and phrases that are not frequently used in daily use, e.g., fetch a pail of water ” and ” over the moon. This exposes the children to richer and more diverse language. Songs also help in remembering, as they are repetitive and melodic, and this assists in retaining new vocabulary. The mission of Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready is to expose children to various learning options, and music is one of the best examples. It is easy to teach a child who may have a problem sitting down during a vocabulary lesson, new words, and using a catchy tune. Also, the regular sentence formations in rhymes offer an example of grammar and syntax, and children unconsciously learn the inherent rhythm and grammar of the English language in a natural, easy and fun manner.
In addition to language mechanics, musical practices lead to social-emotional development and confidence. When group tutoring together in the tutoring session or at home, one feels a sense of community and joy. Dancing songs and fingerplays, where the child moves (such as the Itsy Bitsy Spider or Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes), also build coordination and enable the child to use the body to express language, which is especially useful to the kinesthetic types. At Kinder Ready Tutoring once a child manages to remember the words of a verse or is able to repeat actions that accompany the words, they will have a real feeling of achievement. This enhances their self-esteem and their confidence in their language skills. Kinder Ready Tutoring makes language development not a burden by incorporating songs and rhymes in the personalised education, which makes it appear not as a burden but a joyful occasion.
For further details on Kinder Ready’s programs, visit their website: https://www.kinderready.com/.
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