Why nursery rhymes?
Nursery rhymes are extremely valuable to support early language and communication development, build confidence and prepare children for reading and writing as they get older.
With so much to fit into your daily routine it’s easy for nursery rhymes to become a transitional tool rather than a planned part of the day. We’ve put together some simple tips for making sure nursery rhymes remain an important part of your curriculum, and included a resource you can share with parents too.
Things to consider:
- Choose the rhymes and songs you introduce with care, ensuring they are relevant and appropriate to your setting.
- Introducing new and alternative versions of rhymes and songs will enthuse children with their quirky rhythms and lyrics.
- Introducing more traditional rhymes and songs, which are likely to be familiar to parents may be more effective in encouraging and supporting singing at home.
- Nursery rhymes and songs also provide an opportunity to invite children, parents, and carers to share or teach rhymes and songs in their home language.
Free resources
Sing With Me
The Sing With Me booklet has been designed to support parents and carers of 0 to 5-year-olds to sing songs and rhymes with their children, increasing the frequency and quality of interactions between parent or carer and child, and supporting their early language development. Download the booklet below along with supporting guidance to use it effectively with families.
Tips posters
Our tips posters have been created to be displayed in settings, for staff to use as a daily reminder to include nursery rhymes within their daily activities to support early, speech and language development.
Useful links for families
Song lyrics, book recommendations and further activities to share with families: