Singing with your child is a wonderful bonding experience. Did you know it also helps them get ready to read? When you sing, each syllable has its own note, which helps kids to hear how words break down into parts. This builds an important skill called Phonological Awareness (hearing and manipulating the small parts of words).
Even if you don’t sing well, don’t be embarrassed. Your child won’t mind that you don’t sound like Raffi. Just have a good time!
You probably remember some songs from your own childhood. I would like to share some fun tunes you may not be familiar with. You might also hear some of these in Storytime at the library.
I’ll enlist the help of our friends at Jbrary, who produce great videos teaching the tune, words and motions for popular children’s songs.
Slippery Fish
This one is lots of fun. See if you can get a laugh out of your child at the end!
The Milkshake Song
Watch how the toddler copies the hand motions. Songs like this have the added benefit of building motor skills. And kids love participating.
Zoom Zoom Zoom (pirate version)
This is a new take on a popular song. Many children’s songs use the same tunes with different lyrics. You may even enjoy making up your own words.
The above songs use hand motions, but you can also incorporate props. Scarves, shakers and instruments are all perfect accompaniments to songs.
We Wave Our Scarves (or Shake Our Eggs) Together
Popcorn Kernels
Shake it to the East
Want a little help carrying the tune? Check out these CDs by some children’s music greats:
And don’t forget, Storytime is a perfect place to learn and practice songs. Sing along and wave those scarves! Children are more likely to take part if they see you doing it, too.
Megan is a Children’s Library Assistant at CLP – East Liberty. When she isn’t reading fantasy, magical realism and/or pretty much any children’s book, she enjoys gaming, watching movies and writing fiction, some of which has been published.