Why You Should Purposefully Rhyme with Your Child
Children love to rhyme just like they love to match clothes. The cheesier a joke is—the better!
But, why should YOU make an effort to include rhymes in your child’s life?
Rhyming is a pre-reading skill. That means the better a child hears rhyme and produces rhyme, the easier the connection will be to reading.
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If you think about how rhyming words switch out the beginning sounds, children can start to hear different sounds in words and where those sounds are placed in the words.
Hat—-Bat—-Mat—-Sat
While rhyming drills can be beneficial, they aren’t always necessary for adequate exposure to rhyming.
Let’s think about some simple ways you can be sure to include rhyming in your daily (and busy) life!
Read Rhyming Books to Your Child
Books that rhyme may only have one word on each page or may have a couple of sentences per page where the last word of each line rhymes. They are fairly easy to find in the children’s section at the library. Usually they don’t have a section JUST for rhyming books, but if you will pick up picture books (larger surface area books that are thinner with pictures that cover most of the page) and open them, you can read a page or two and know if it’s a rhyming book. You can also do this at the local bookstore or even a thrift store.
When you read the book, be sure to stop after a page with rhyme and comment to your child, “Listen to these two words: they rhyme!” Then, repeat the words and allow your child to do the same. Make it fun! Sometimes allow your child to predict what the rhyming word will be at the end of the line.
“Inside the house, there lived a little _________(mouse).”
Listen to (and Sing With) Songs
There are so many opportunities and place to listen to these children’s songs. My children had a collection of nursery rhyme type children songs to listen to in their bedroom at night. You can also use the car ride as an opportunity to listen. Some youtube channels for kids even have songs that rhyme with animations to watch. Just like you do with the books, point out the rhyming words and ask your child about them.
Read nursery rhymes and poems
These options are excellent if you are super busy with not much time or if you are having trouble keeping rhyming books around the house. With a children’s poetry book, you have a collection to choose from. You can even memorize these nursery rhymes and sometimes find hand motions to go with them. This creates exposure to our language and will benefit your child.
Play with nonsense words
You can make up words that rhyme with other words. One way to accomplish this is to play rhyming games while you are driving in the car, in a waiting room, or in bed during story time. Dr. Seuss books used nonsense words that rhymed all the time. They aren’t just silly. They actually help beginning readers as well. Watch my Nonsense Words video here.
Just knowing that rhyming is important and a few ways to implement rhyming into your daily life with your child, goes so far. Many parents just aren’t aware. Some will naturally do these activities just because someone before them did the same. Some just love spending time with their children reading and singing because they are activities they like. However, each family is unique. You might spend quality time with your child doing completely different activities. This blog post is just to help make you aware of the importance of rhyming.
Have you watched my YouTube video on Rhyming?
Get a FREE RHYMING SORT HERE!
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Remember, YOU are your child’s most influential teacher.
Don’t forget! My newest course “A Busy Mom’s Guide to Teaching Your Child to Read” is releasing soon! Get on email list for updates and discounts!