Music is an integral part of a quality early childhood curriculum. It plays a role in setting the tone of the classroom, developing skills and concepts, helping children make transitions, and building a sense of community. Of course, if you ask the children, they will tell you singing is a fun part of their daily activities.
In recent years, with a strong national focus on early literacy, we have begun to examine and redefine the valuable role singing songs and reciting chants and rhymes play in laying the foundation for reading readiness. We know, for example, that these activities can help build vocabulary and develop sound discrimination. Both skills are crucial to the development of literacy. The size of a child’s vocabulary and his or her ability to discriminate sounds are strong predictors of how easily a child will learn to read when exposed to formal instruction (Adams, et all).
Oral language and phonological sensitivity (sound discrimination) are not the only skills that are developed when children are exposed to songs, chants, and rhyme. They can also develop listening and thinking skills. Oral language (vocabulary), phonological sensitivity and comprehension (thinking skills) are the building blocks of literacy. With conscious effort, songs, chants and rhymes become a perfect springboard for developing all three of these critical skill areas.
Just singing the songs and reciting the chants and rhymes with children provides a great foundation for literacy development, but if we really want to capitalize on the full range of benefits in using songs, chants and rhymes as a springboard to literacy, we need to purposefully use them as learning opportunities.