Today's magical activity highlight is singing! I am a big fan of singing, especially in storytime. Singing is so important in early literacy. It slows down language so kids can hear the smaller sounds in words. That helps when it comes time to sound out words when reading. Songs also teach through rhythm and rhyme and often include vocabulary not typical of every day conversation. Even before children talk, they babble which is kind of like their own singing. Plus it's adorable! It is easy to incorporate singing into your day. For example, take a page out of my 8 1/2 year old daughter's book. She literally sings about things she is doing and narrates the whole experience. It's like living with a Disney princess sometimes, but this girl has been going to storytime since her days in the womb. I can definitely see how songs helped her early literacy development. Another benefit of songs is that we tend to remember things better if they are in song form. Try naming countries of the world right now. Go ahead, I'll wait. Now sing the countries of the world song from Animaniacs! I don't know about you, but it's been a hot minute since that was a thing and I can still sing along with Yakko like it was just yesterday! I remember having to memorize a poem in junior high. It took a lot of practice and repetition. On the flipside, I could quote every lyric off of the New Kids on the Block Hangin' Tough album right off the top of my head like you were asking me about the weather. There's just something that makes our brain come alive when you put things to music. It truly is magical.
One of my favorite things to do in storytime is to sing the story. It doesn't even have to be a book that is an illustrated song (think Jane Cabrera.) Some books just have a good natural rhythm, so go ahead and sing them! A good example of this is I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont. Not only does it rhyme, but it lends itself well to being predictable which leads to participation from the kids. Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth and Stephen Gammell is another great book to sing. It also includes a repetitive line, "Shoo fly, shoo fly, shoo!" Kids will be able to anticipate when it's coming and sing along. Then there is Eric Litwin, the ultimate matchmaker when it comes to music and early literacy. I adore Eric Litwin. The day I got to sing and dance on stage with him is definitely in my top 10 favorite days of all time!
Another fun thing to do is change up the lyrics to songs or add new verses. For my annual Seussapalooza storytime, I have created custom verses that I sing during "Down By the Bay" like "Did you see Cindy Loo, tying her shoe?" or "Did you see Thidwick the Moose ride in a caboose?" I also like to sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" with additional lyrics. He drives a car and even plays baseball! Sometimes just making up silly nonsense songs can be fun. I took my rhyme and created a PowerPoint that I like to use that I share with you!
Books that encourage participation through rhyme, repetition, and even sound effects (think animal sounds) are wonderful tools to promote early literacy. There is so much that you can do. Explore and have fun. Below are some of my favorite books that I like to use in my Music & Movement storytime programs, but believe me when I say there are many, many more!
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