The average adult may not find poetry to be a significant part of his or her life, but it has proven itself to be a great medium that benefits children greatly. Reading childrens poems is an excellent way to develop certain life skills, such as learning rhythm, recognizing rhymes, and being able to tell apart different pitches. It is also a good way to get children to read, write, and sing.
Nursery rhymes are the earliest known form of children's poetry. Early nursery rhymes were called lullabies, originally intended to help children fall sleep, hence the name. They were first recorded in the 1700's and have been a part of our childrearing process ever since.
Over the years, nursery rhymes developed more distinct melodic lines as well as references to historical events. "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" was a reference to the slave trade and the wool tax in Britain in 1744. "London Bridge is Falling Down" was a reference to the Vikings' conquest. And "Ring Around the Rosie" was a dreadful euphemism for the Bubonic Plague of 1790. Little nursery rhymes such as these were easy to memorize and sing because they were short, rhymed, and had simple melodies.
Children learn quickly from repetition and speech. Children will develop language skills through reading, speaking, listening, and even singing. Children who are constantly read to and spoken to tend to have improved rates of cognitive development and language comprehension skills by the time they are 3. Poems can improve many aspects of these life skills.
Take for example, the well-known nursery rhyme "Ring Around the Rosie". All of its syllables are in rhythm with the song's beat, and it has a rhyme in every one of its lines. Little poetry pieces such as these could easily teach a child reading, singing, and attentive listening while keeping the energy level up. Children who are talented at music, reading, and spatial reasoning were most likely raised listening to nursery rhymes and reading poetry.
Poems work so well at improving cognitive development because children enjoy poetry. It is important that the work is short in order to compensate for the lack of focus kids tend to have. Visual stimulation from a funny picture also tends to help. Children would probably find it boring to sit though an entire narrative. So today's poetry for children is focused primarily on entertaining children while accelerating their cognitive capabilities. Works by poets like Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein come to mind. Short poetry with humorous illustrations would be a lot more stimulating and fun to a child than would a long, arduous novel.
Poems can be viewed as the initial step to a bright future. Once a child develops a love for poetry, books and novels would most likely be the next step, leading to sophisticated vocabulary, excellent conversational skills, and a good writing style. Gaining an interest in reading through poetry is a great way to start off one's childhood.
But academics aside, there are personal benefits to reap from reading poems. It promotes the use of a child's imagination while keeping them entertained. Research shows that creativity and the use of imagination keep children from social and academic delinquency. Not to mention, creativity has use in application in adulthood, helping one invent creative solutions to problems in life.
Reading childrens poems is such an innocent and unassuming act that one might be surprised by how much good it does for the child. But there are reasons why poetry and nursery rhymes from the 1700's are still around today. Reading simple poetry every night may almost be the best thing one can do for a child's future.
Nursery rhymes are the earliest known form of children's poetry. Early nursery rhymes were called lullabies, originally intended to help children fall sleep, hence the name. They were first recorded in the 1700's and have been a part of our childrearing process ever since.
Over the years, nursery rhymes developed more distinct melodic lines as well as references to historical events. "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" was a reference to the slave trade and the wool tax in Britain in 1744. "London Bridge is Falling Down" was a reference to the Vikings' conquest. And "Ring Around the Rosie" was a dreadful euphemism for the Bubonic Plague of 1790. Little nursery rhymes such as these were easy to memorize and sing because they were short, rhymed, and had simple melodies.
Children learn quickly from repetition and speech. Children will develop language skills through reading, speaking, listening, and even singing. Children who are constantly read to and spoken to tend to have improved rates of cognitive development and language comprehension skills by the time they are 3. Poems can improve many aspects of these life skills.
Take for example, the well-known nursery rhyme "Ring Around the Rosie". All of its syllables are in rhythm with the song's beat, and it has a rhyme in every one of its lines. Little poetry pieces such as these could easily teach a child reading, singing, and attentive listening while keeping the energy level up. Children who are talented at music, reading, and spatial reasoning were most likely raised listening to nursery rhymes and reading poetry.
Poems work so well at improving cognitive development because children enjoy poetry. It is important that the work is short in order to compensate for the lack of focus kids tend to have. Visual stimulation from a funny picture also tends to help. Children would probably find it boring to sit though an entire narrative. So today's poetry for children is focused primarily on entertaining children while accelerating their cognitive capabilities. Works by poets like Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein come to mind. Short poetry with humorous illustrations would be a lot more stimulating and fun to a child than would a long, arduous novel.
Poems can be viewed as the initial step to a bright future. Once a child develops a love for poetry, books and novels would most likely be the next step, leading to sophisticated vocabulary, excellent conversational skills, and a good writing style. Gaining an interest in reading through poetry is a great way to start off one's childhood.
But academics aside, there are personal benefits to reap from reading poems. It promotes the use of a child's imagination while keeping them entertained. Research shows that creativity and the use of imagination keep children from social and academic delinquency. Not to mention, creativity has use in application in adulthood, helping one invent creative solutions to problems in life.
Reading childrens poems is such an innocent and unassuming act that one might be surprised by how much good it does for the child. But there are reasons why poetry and nursery rhymes from the 1700's are still around today. Reading simple poetry every night may almost be the best thing one can do for a child's future.
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