Singing is a wonderful readiness activity. It helps to develop auditory discrimination, auditory memory, vocabulary, rhythm, rhyming, language fluency, listening skills, social skills, basic concepts, and that’s only a few. While there are appealing kids artists and great CD’s some of the best songs are the ones that kids and parents/caregivers make up as they go along. For instance, when doing dishes or getting dressed sing This is the way we wash the dishes, or This is the way we put on our socks, etc. When waiting for a bus, sing The bus is coming ’round the corner, when it comes. Sometimes, getting kid’s attention is needed. Try singing one of your kidlet’s favorite songs which usually does the trick. At daycares, songs are often used as signals for some part of the routine. The clean-up song will work at home, too. Getting kids to wash hands for long enough is much easier with a couple verses of a song. Singing can be done in any language and is especially effective tool for learning a second language. Lullabies are used universally to calm and soothe kids. Some children even sing themselves to sleep. But don’t save songs just for bedtime. Sing all the day. What are your favorite kids’ songs?
