My
mother read nursery rhymes to my brothers and sisters and me out of a
blue and gray book. Those nursery rhymes are my earliest memories of
literature. Even at a very early age I had favorites: "Bye Baby
Bunting" and "Mary Mary Quite Contrary." Some of them baffled me: I
didn't understand the sarcasm in A Diller A Dollar. As for Peter
putting his wife in a pumpkin shell--it seemed slimy to me.
Nursery rhymes are a wonderful way to introduce babies to rhythm, humor, imagination, and language. Most of us have a number of them memorized already, so it's easy to pass them on to the infants in our care as we rock them. When my grandson was old enough to start looking at nursery rhymes in a book, I emphasized the rhythm. Sometimes I clapped along. He's a very active toddler, so I read them as fast as he wants to turn the page.
I've also used poetry with my grandson to help him connect the beauty of the words with the real world. When he was five months old, I noticed he was captivated by the effect of wind in the leaves, so I recited Christina Rossetti's "Who Has Seen the Wind" to him. He's a year older now and I've recited that poem to him each time I noticed his fascination with the wind. One time, when he'd first started walking, he gave me a smile, then walked over to a bush. He shook a branch and, like the wind, he made the leaves dance. Two weeks ago, we were outside in a strong breeze. He looked up into leaves and laughed. When he looked back at me, I recited "Who Has Seen the Wind." For the first time, I knew he was listening to the words. His eyes never left mine. He already recognized the poem as belonging to his joy in nature.
There are a number of poems that are easy to memorize. The books I'd recommend are Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses, Caroline Kennedy's book A Family of Poems, and A.A. Milne's When We Were Very Young. I find collections of children's poetry in antique stores and used book stores. If a book is under five dollars, I snatch it up.
Finally, I believe it's important to have a "with-it-ness" with a very young child. We're all busy, but being open to and aware of what a child is experiencing for the first time in life can help us call up those wonderful nursery rhymes and poems that might enrich the child's life.
Nursery rhymes are a wonderful way to introduce babies to rhythm, humor, imagination, and language. Most of us have a number of them memorized already, so it's easy to pass them on to the infants in our care as we rock them. When my grandson was old enough to start looking at nursery rhymes in a book, I emphasized the rhythm. Sometimes I clapped along. He's a very active toddler, so I read them as fast as he wants to turn the page.
I've also used poetry with my grandson to help him connect the beauty of the words with the real world. When he was five months old, I noticed he was captivated by the effect of wind in the leaves, so I recited Christina Rossetti's "Who Has Seen the Wind" to him. He's a year older now and I've recited that poem to him each time I noticed his fascination with the wind. One time, when he'd first started walking, he gave me a smile, then walked over to a bush. He shook a branch and, like the wind, he made the leaves dance. Two weeks ago, we were outside in a strong breeze. He looked up into leaves and laughed. When he looked back at me, I recited "Who Has Seen the Wind." For the first time, I knew he was listening to the words. His eyes never left mine. He already recognized the poem as belonging to his joy in nature.
There are a number of poems that are easy to memorize. The books I'd recommend are Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses, Caroline Kennedy's book A Family of Poems, and A.A. Milne's When We Were Very Young. I find collections of children's poetry in antique stores and used book stores. If a book is under five dollars, I snatch it up.
Finally, I believe it's important to have a "with-it-ness" with a very young child. We're all busy, but being open to and aware of what a child is experiencing for the first time in life can help us call up those wonderful nursery rhymes and poems that might enrich the child's life.
Add a comment