Ingredients:
- Musical instruments that you can shake or tap (like maracas, bells, and drums)
- A list of multisyllabic words (like the children’s names or their favorite colors)
- Nursery rhymes (like London Bridge and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
Prep Time:
Recipe for Fun!
Say a word aloud and tap/shake your instrument as you say each syllable. Then have the child repeat it along with you. Try different words and then sing nursery rhymes, tapping the instrument for each syllable. Use songs and words that are familiar to the children to improve the material’s relevance and their ability to recognize and recall it later.
Benefits:
- Phonological awareness. Syllables are the building blocks of words. Breaking words up into syllables helps children decode words, improve their reading skills, and learn how to pronounce difficult words.
- Language. Children discover the rhythmic nature of language.
- Cognitive organization. Through music, children learn to organize the information and respond.
Variations:
- Shake a consistent rhythm with your instrument while the child listens. Then have the child repeat the same rhythm.