Nursery rhymes are short stories set to music for young children. They help build vocabulary, counting skills, rhythm, and reading basics. Mother Goose is a famous collection of nursery rhymes with old language and hidden meanings. Parents can read and create their own nursery rhymes to pass on through generations.
A nursery rhyme is a short rhyming story, often set to music and usually meant for young children, such as those in a daycare center. Children’s songs are a part of many cultures and often serve as an oral record of important political and historical events. They can also preserve archaic forms of the language. In the English language, most of the commonly used nursery rhymes date from the 16th-18th centuries, some originating in Europe and others, such as Mary Had a Little Lamb, originating in North America.
A learning tool
Typically, a nursery rhyme has simple vocabulary and a catchy rhyme. Children can quickly learn to sing along with a nursery rhyme, and nursery rhymes are often used to help children build their vocabulary. Counting is often built into nursery rhymes as well, so even children can learn to count using nursery rhymes. They also show children how to find and keep a rhythm, and can be used to get them to start reading. When a child learns a nursery rhyme, he may also learn to follow it around a page, so many children learn the basics of reading this way.
Collections
Nursery rhymes are often consolidated into collections, such as Mother Goose, a famous collection of nursery rhymes that actually originated in France. Translations were published in England and the United States, and later authors added rhymes or new interpretations to the collection. Many English-speaking children are familiar with at least one collection of Mother Goose rhymes. Some of these collections use very old nursery rhymes, so the language of a Mother Goose nursery rhyme can be confusing to modern children at times, but it provides an interesting window into how people once spoke.
Hidden meanings
In some cases, a nursery rhyme might actually have served as a mode of political expression or social commentary. Nursery rhymes sometimes dealt with controversial topics or carried hidden messages. In these cases, the nursery rhyme would have been meant for adults more than children, in times when people didn’t feel comfortable or safe speaking freely. Some of these adult rhymes have taken the form of satire or derision, as was the case with Yankee Doodle.
Ideas for parents
A collection of nursery rhymes typically includes songs, poems, short stories, and illustrations. Parents are encouraged to read to and with their children to get them excited about reading and improve their language skills. Enterprising parents could make up their own nursery rhymes, creating a nursery rhyme using objects and places that are familiar to the child. Over time, these nursery rhymes may be passed on from generation to generation through the oral tradition of singing nursery rhymes to children.
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