Why is rhyming an important skill? {free printable: 18 nursery rhymes}

Rhyming is a core element in developing phonemic awareness for a child. And it is a fun way for a child to recognize sounds and patterns within words.

Children who can hear and repeat rhymes learn that words are made of separate sounds. Their knowledge will developmentally increase and they will learn that sounds are made with letters.

This teaches a child how language works. 

 

Here are two simple exercises you can try:

What word rhymes with “sit” but starts with a /p/ sound?

A /k/ sound? A /m/ sound?

 

What happens when you change the /s/ sound in “sat” to a /p/ sound?

What is a key tool that parents and educators can bring into every day life of the child? 

 

Nursery rhymes!

They are fun! They are silly! They don’t make sense! They are exciting and open new worlds! Nursery rhymes are hugely important because they teach a child rhymes, even without their knowing they are learning!

Fun and silly nursery rhymes help a child to anticipate and repeat rhymes, expand literacy knowledge, and will aid in spelling and writing in the future!

Help your child with rhyming by reading nursery rhymes together and taking just a couple minutes rhyming while in the car or on the go. (Setting an alarm for five minutes a day could help you to remember! This doesn’t have to be formal, it just needs to be fun!)

 

Here is a Free Printable of 18 Nursery Rhymes that I love. Read with your child and recite and memorize together! You could also print 4 rhymes on one page and make into little cards for in the car or on the go!

 

Nursery Rhymes in this pack include:

• There was an Old Woman
• Hey Diddle Diddle
• Humpty Dumpty
• Hickory Hickory Dock
• Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Mary had a Little Lamb
• Baa Baa Black Sheep
• I’m a Little Teapot
• Kitty Cat
• Mother Goose
• Five Little Ducks
• Three Little kittens
• Little Miss Muffet
• Three Blind Mice
• Little Boy Blue
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• Little Bo Peep
• Five Little Speckled Frogs

 

Download the free printable of 18 Nursery Rhymes by subscribing to our blog here!

 

More rhyming resource links:

Nursery rhyme resources: Why read nursery rhymes with my child?

Fun books that teach rhyming

Beautiful poetry books for children

Simple rhyming prompts {free printable}

This post is Post 2 of 10 in our Learning Language Series. See all of the posts, with Teaching Tools packed into each post, here:

1. What is phonological awareness?
2. Why is rhyming an important language skill? {free nursery rhyme printable}
3. What is phonemic awareness?
4. How can I help my child develop phonemic awareness?
5. How can I teach onsets and rimes?
6. What is the importance of counting syllables in words?
7. How can I help my child create sentences and count words in sentences?
8. How to create a solid vocabulary from infancy?
9. What is phonics and how do we begin reading?
10. How can I help my child grow in language learning before reading?