As a child of the 1980s, I grew up singing nursery rhymes. Whether my mum knew it or not, she was improving my memory, my spatial intelligence and multiple other areas through the repetitive language patterns and steady beats of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and The Wheels on the Bus.
A few decades on, research tells us that nursery rhymes are no longer such a popular resource for many parents. Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise; modern family life is fast-paced and children have access to a world of instant entertainment at their fingertips.
But perhaps, as educators, we are also failing to effectively communicate the early childhood benefits of nursery rhymes. They support language development and communication. They prepare children for reading by introducing the youngest to the ideas of storytelling and poetry. They are free and easy to use.
And they are powerful: popular wisdom has it that children who know eight nursery rhymes off by heart at age 4 are significantly stronger readers by Year 3, and research shows that nursery rhymes offer an optical rhythmic input for the brain, which helps the growing linguistic brain. Yet an increasing number of children start school knowing few nursery rhymes, if any.
So how can you embed nursery rhymes into your setting to ensure that children are getting these myriad benefits?
Making the most of nursery rhymes in EYFS
Sing your routines
The tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush can be adapted to almost any routine being undertaken in the classroom. For example: “This is the way we wash our hands/store our toys/eat our food.” The repetition of a simple tune assists children in comprehending the phonemes that make up words and increases their understanding of rhyme and rhythm.
Have a nursery rhyme of the week
Pick a song and make sure to sing it every day, at least once, ideally more. You can send a copy of the lyrics home and invite parents in at the end of the week to sing with you, too. Getting them involved will hopefully help them to see the benefits of singing together.
Act the nursery rhymes out
Collect props and make storytelling baskets or bags to keep them in, to be used when you sing particular rhymes. For example, a toy cow and toy dog along with a dish and a spoon will bring Hey Diddle Diddle to life in a tangible way. Exploring nursery rhymes like this can also be useful in introducing story sequencing and the concept of a beginning, middle and end.
Play with plots
Place objects representing elements from familiar nursery rhymes around the room to trigger play around those stories. You could have Five Little Ducks in your water tray, for example, or cinnamon Play-Doh to create currant buns at the Play-Doh table,
Feel the rhythm
Clap, pat, stamp or tap chopsticks to mirror the rhythm as you sing nursery rhymes; experiencing the beat and rhythm in their body can make learning the tune much easier for children (as well as even more fun!).
Sitting the children in a circle and giving each a pair of sticks is a cheap and easy way to implement rhythm patterns into your setting. Play a rhythm pattern with your sticks on the floor and then encourage the children to copy this with their own sticks. Allowing willing children to have a turn at being the leader is also great for promoting independence and building self-esteem.
Above all, enjoy yourself. Nursery rhymes should be light-hearted and enjoyable, so embrace belting them out, safe in the knowledge that you are equipping the children in your care with the ability to become strong and competent readers in the future.
Michelle Windridge is a lecturer in education at University College Birmingham, and a former assistant headteacher and EYFS aspiration leader
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