Singing for Speech and Language Development: Nursery Rhymes and Preschool Songs
Nursery rhymes are great to expose your baby to from infancy. Rhyming becomes so important in literacy development in preschool and elementary years, so get an early start!
Some nursery rhymes to sing to your baby include: Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Mary Had a Little Lamb, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Baa Baa Black Sheep.
Tip: use visuals (like this book) and gestures to support what the child is hearing.
Preschool songs can be those you remember from your toddler years. Think The Wheels on the Bus, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, If You’re Happy and You Know It, Five Green and Speckled Frogs, Five Little Ducks, Mr. Golden Sun, and Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, to name just a few. Of course, there’s always Baby Shark, if you’re not tired of it.
Skills targeted with nursery rhymes and preschool songs:
gestures and sign language
animal and environmental sounds
basic concepts like body parts, colors, and numbers
core vocabulary like up, down, open, eat
spoken word production
Let’s break down a few songs, beginning with The Wheels on the Bus.
gestures: round and round, open and shut, up and down
sounds: beep beep beep, wah wah wah, shh shh shh
words: up, down, open, shut, wheels, doors, windows, babies, mommies, daddies, etc.
tip: increase engagement and vocabulary understanding by manipulating a toy school bus while singing.
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
gestures: I pat my knees or hold the animal if using a manipulative (this songs calls for either the animal picture or object to put the sounds and animal names into context)
sounds: moo moo, baa baa, neigh neigh, oink oink, bock bock, and more!
words: animal labels
tip: use the expectant pause strategy to allow the child to fill in sounds or words.
sing “Old MacDonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o, and on that farm he had a…”
hold up the animal and wait 5-10 seconds
if the child needs your model, say the word: “COW!” and continue singing
“with a moo-moo here and a moo-moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a…”
again, wait 5 seconds and see if the child fills in the last moo.
If You’re Happy and You Know It
gestures: clap, stomp, arms up for hooray
sign language: happy
tip: turn this into an emotions extension activity by adding “If you’re sad and you know it, cry boo-hoo” or “If you’re excited and you know it, do a dance!”
Five Green and Speckled Frogs
gestures: show number of frogs on your fingers, rub tummy for “yum yum,” fan self for “where it was nice and cool”
sign language: sit, eat
sounds: ribbit ribbit
tip: make a simple document with five frogs and a log, print, cut out frogs, and play with them during the song.
While singing to your little one, remember to face them, give eye contact, use an upbeat intonation and exaggerated facial expressions, and HAVE FUN!
How do you sing for your baby’s communication development?
