Nursery Rhymes Analysis
There are many reasons why nursery rhymes continue to be a big hit in children’s lives. The fact that nursery rhymes are usually accompanied by a chant or a physical trait (performance) makes it easier for children to internalize the rhymes. The frequency in which children use these nursery rhymes is quite high. Yet, children themselves are oblivious to how often they use them. They use them at school during instructional time, but most important, they use them at play. Nursery rhymes have elements that assist with cognitive, lanugage , physical and social/ emotional developments. Some of these rhymes have significant meaning (historical meaning), some even include a moral lesson.
Transition times are often difficult for preschool children and their teachers. These early childhood rhymes and songs help children move from one activity to another. When children become familiar with just a few transitional rhymes they become secure in their knowledge of what comes next. Many nursery rhymes use the classic number three. For example, The Three Little Pigs, portrays this classic number three. This pattern seems to add drama and suspense while making the story easy to remember and follow. The third event often signals a change or ending for the audience/reader. A third time also dismisses coincidence such as two repetitive events would suggest. The number three’s popularity has been considered powerful across history in different cultures and religions. Some have considered three to be the perfect number because it represented everything: beginning, middle and end.
In The Three Little Pigs, the wolf is used as the villain. The wolf is common used as fairy tale and nursery rhyme villain. This nursery rhyme also includes some sort of humor, for example, the knocking at the door in which the wolf is essentially knocking to be admitted to eat the pig in its own home. The pig and the pigs’ individual dialogue at each of their houses is repeated three times throughout the rhyme. It is probably the most important element of the rhyme. These lines are anticipated by the reader/ audience and can be used to encourage their participation. This repetition and anticipation in a story or nursery rhyme may be what aids children’s internalization of rhymes.
Nursery rhymes help children’s cognitive development. Since nursery rhymes are patterns, they help children learn easy recall and memorization. Nursery rhymes usually tell a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. This teaches children that events happen in sequence, and they begin to learn how to understand stories and follow along. Nursery rhymes use patterns and sequence, so children begin to learn simple math skills as they recite them. Many rhymes also use numbers, counting, and other math words that children need to learn, such as size and weight. Nursery rhymes also introduce alliteration (“Goosie Goosie Gander”), onomatopoeia (“Baa Baa Black Sheep”), and imaginative imagery. Children hear these rhymes and act out what they imagine the characters are doing.
Children’s language development also grows with the use of nursery rhymes. When children hear nursery rhymes, they hear the sounds vowels and consonants make. They learn how to put these sounds together to make words. They also practice pitch, volume, as well as the rhythm of language In nursery rhymes, children hear new words that they would not hear in everyday language (like fetch and pail in “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water”). Nursery rhymes are short and easy to repeat, so they become some of a child’s first sentences. A child’s physical and social/emotional developments are also aided through the use of nursery rhymes, both when being recited and when they’re being acted. Children develop their mouth and tongue muscles by using the different sounds in the rhyme. Rhymes that involve movement help with coordination. In dramatic play, children use their whole bodies to act out the nursery rhymes they hear. Sharing nursery rhymes provides a safe and secure bond between parents and children. Positive physical touch between a parent and a child or between children, for example, during clapping rhymes, is important for social development. Funny nursery rhymes allow children to develop a sense of humor. Nursery rhyme characters experience many different emotions. This can help children identify their own emotions and understand the real emotions of others. When children act out the nursery rhyme stories they hear, they learn to imagine, be creative, and express themselves. Nursery rhymes also teach history and connect children to the past.
The history and origins of most nursery rhymes reflect events in history and where available we have included the meanings, history and origins of everyone's favorite nursery rhymes. An example of these types of nursery rhymes history and origins is 'Ring around Ring the Rosies' which refers to the Bubonic plague. Many of the words and nursery rhymes lyrics were used to parody the royal and political events of the day, direct dissent would often be punishable by death! Strange how these events in history are still portrayed through children's nursery rhymes, when for most of us the historical events’ relationship to the nursery rhymes is long forgotten.