Music is a language even the youngest children understand. Even a newborn can be soothed by song, and hearing Mum's voice croon or sing is part of the bonding process. When a mother sings to the baby in her arms, their whole body receives and internalises her rhythms.
Lullabies are probably the oldest form of song and can be found in every culture. Their lyrics, like those of nursery rhymes, are often 'nonsensical' as they were never intended for adult ears ('When you wake you will have cake, and all the pretty little horses ...').
Parents and caregivers also use songs or chants for play, dandling the child on their knee to a tune or rhyme: 'Trot, trot to market to buy a pound of butter, Trot, trot home again, Drop her in the gutter!' Babies love the accompanying rhythm, clapping, tickling and bouncing. Other jingles go with bath time, dressing time ('This little piggy went to market') or washing up after meals ('This is the way we wash our face').
If you sing, routines like nappy change become an opportunity for quality time with an individual child.
Singing engenders a sense of community, so it definitely belongs in every nursery. It is very important for even the youngest children to feel their connectedness with others, including their connectedness with older children in the centre who love to come to the baby room to visit, play and sing with the babies.
Here are some collections of poems, songs, finger games or nursery rhymes that young children enjoy:
- Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes, Chancellor Press, 1986
- Poems to Read to the Very Young, selected by Josette Frank, Random House, 1977
- Sing through the Day, Eighty Songs for Children, compiled by Marlys Swinger, Plough Publishing, 1999
- This Little Puffin, Nursery Songs and Rhymes, compiled by Elizabeth Matterson, Penguin Books, 1969.
What Happens in the Baby Room? Supporting under-2s practitioners looks at the essentials of practice and provision if settings are to meet the developmental needs of babies and toddlers. Topics include sensory explorations, physical development, tuning in to children and the key characteristics of a baby room practitioner.
Accompanying the guide is a training pack, including a 50-slide PowerPoint presentation and trainer's notes.
To download the guide, visit: www.communityplaythings.co.uk. For the training pack, call 0800 387 457 or email sales@communityplaythings.co.uk.
