Another handy idea for encouraging your child’s kindergarten readiness is singing. A hand song that is loved by kids is, of course, The Hokey Pokey: You put your right hand in, you put your right hand out…
Do you know the song If You’re Happy and You Know It? The first verse goes:
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.
If you’re happy and you know it, then you really ought to show it.
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.
Instead of the usual variations of stamp your feet and shout hurrah, you can add others such as:
If you’re happy and you know it, touch your feet.
If you’re happy and you know it, jump and clap.
The only limit to the actions you can use is imagination.
Songs help with all kinds of learning. Singing:
- promotes language fluency and acquiring new words
- stimulates brain connections and development for patterns
- exercises remembering skills for words, tune, patterns, etc.
- helps for learning math by using a system of notes that go up and down like numbers go up and down
- provides repetition and rhythm
- encourages careful listening and predicting
Plus, there is a social aspect, because children need to listen and respond to others so they can sing together. Just for fun, here is a link to an older munchkin playing the Hokey Pokey on the piano. Hmm, maybe that could be the activity for another post on handy learning and fun?