From boosting language skills to enhancing memory and social interaction, nursery rhymes can play a crucial role in children’s early development.

Here are eight reasons to include nursery rhymes and songs in your daily diet, along with some practical ideas to spark a love of singing them in the classroom and at home.  

TOP TIP Don’t forget to take a look at 'Out Of The Ark Essentials: Nursery Rhymes', only available in Sparkyard!

1. Nursery rhymes build phonological awareness

When young children sing songs and rhymes, they are learning to recognise and play with the sounds of language. This builds their phonological awareness – a key skill that lays the foundation for learning to read.

Have fun exploring rhyming words in songs such as Hey Diddle Diddle (e.g. ‘diddle’ and ‘fiddle’) and One, Two, Three, Four, Five (e.g. ‘five’ and ‘alive’).

Enjoy the repetition in rhymes (e.g. ‘yum, yum’ and ‘glug, glug’ in Five Little Speckled Frogs).

2. Nursery rhymes build understanding of the rhythms of speech

Research by the University of Cambridge and Trinity College Dublin suggests that babies are sensitive to the rhythms of speech, and this is how they begin to learn language. Nursery rhymes are particularly powerful because they emphasise word rhythms and this helps young children spot where one word ends, and another one begins.  

• Use body percussion to tap the syllables of words as you sing.
• Use fingers to mould playdough in time with your chosen song – a great way to help the children feel the rhythm of each word as they sing.

3. Nursery rhymes build listening skills

The rhyme and repetition in nursery rhymes encourages children to listen attentively and predict what comes next. With each repetition, the structure of the song is embedded, and this helps them to spot patterns. Pattern-spotting and prediction are vital skills in all learning!

Finish the rhyme! Sing a line of a song and get the children to finish it, inserting an appropriate rhyming word e.g. ‘Row, row, row the boat, gently to the shore, If you see a lion there don’t forget to… roar.’

Get the rhyme wrong! Make deliberate ‘silly’ mistakes when singing a nursery rhyme – can the children correct you?

Nursery rhyme conversations: invite children to sing nursery rhymes to each other using toy phones. For an added challenge, ask the caller to begin singing a nursery rhyme, then pause. Can the listener continue the nursery rhyme?

4. Nursery rhymes develop vocabulary

Nursery rhymes introduce children to a variety of words that they may not come across in everyday conversations, helping to expand their vocabulary, e.g. ‘Incey Wincey Spider climbed up the water spout’. The rhythm and melody of the song helps to reinforce the unfamiliar word.

Makaton signing is also a fantastic way of introducing vocabulary in a multisensory way: take a look at the Makaton signing videos that accompany many of the nursery rhymes in Sparkyard. 

(You'll find more signing videos on the song pages, or you can type 'Makaton' in the Sparkyard search bar.)

5. Nursery rhymes promote active learning

Using actions and movement in songs help children to develop fine and gross motor skills, while making it easier for them to remember new words linked to the actions.

Learning action songs also gives children the tools they need to express ideas. Incey Wincey Spider is a great example of this – children use their hands to mimic the movement of the spider, the rain falling and the sun shining – and as they do so, they learn that actions can symbolise specific concepts. This understanding is key for communication and also supports their drawing and writing.

6. Nursery rhymes support self-regulation

Nursery rhymes such as Head, Shoulders, Knees And Toes, The Wheels On The Bus and Wind The Bobbin Up encourage children to work cooperatively, performing the song and actions at the same time.  

Some songs such as Five Little Speckled Frogs and Ten Fat Sausages also require the children to use their working memory, adjusting the lyrics as they change in each verse – such an important skill!

The storyline of a nursery rhyme can also help children to explore and understand different emotions, with role-play making the experience even more effective. 

7. Nursery rhymes develop social skills

With some children entering school with a limited knowledge of nursery rhymes, there is sometimes some work to be done to communicate the importance of songs and rhymes to parents and carers.

Sharing rhymes and songs helps to build relationships and promote a feeling of togetherness. The Sparkyard Share-Link feature is a powerful way of sharing the songs and rhymes the children are learning in class with families at home.

Use the Share Link to share a ‘rhyme of the week’. You can add the link to a newsletter or your school website.

Encourage children and families to share some of their favourite songs and rhymes from the home – perhaps they could record the songs to share in the classroom.

8. Nursery rhymes spark learning across the curriculum!

Nursery rhymes have been a source of inspiration in EYFS settings for years and are a key feature of the Sparkyard Reception Music Curriculum. In addition to the perhaps more familiar rhymes covered in this blog, you might like to explore rhymes from around the world, such as these from France and Poland included in the lesson ‘Singing Puppets’.

Our Essential Nursery Rhymes come with a range of curriculum links that can be adapted to suit the needs of the children and the setting. Here are a few ideas:

Extend children’s listening experiences with an activity linked to Incey Wincey Spider.

Why not create an instrumental version of the Sleeping Bunnies nursery rhyme?

Interested in this topic? We have a brand-new FREE 'Cup Of Tea & CPD' workshop, 'Rhythm, Rhyme, Repeat: Using Daily Songs And Poems To Spark A Love Of Language And Reading' will highlight the benefits of a daily poetry and singing session, and show you how songs and singing are powerful tools for supporting language and vocabulary development. Visit our workshops page to find out more about this workshop and sign up!