Why Nursery Rhymes You Say?

1.                  For starters, nursery rhymes are just fun and every country has an important collection so there is oodles of material to choose from.

2.                  Nursery Rhymes are miniature nuggets of literature that have survived over the centuries and helped us raise our children. They are complete. They are incredibly theatrical. They have wonderful use of words, rhythm, rhyme and have interesting, easy to digest little morals to the story. Some rhymes are nothing more than nonsensical hilarity that are simply delicious to say.

3.                  Nursery Rhymes are extremely compact; within a few lines there is a story line with a beginning, middle, and end, a mini plot, and character development. For instance, let’s take a look at There Was a Crooked Man:

There was a crooked man,

And he walked a crooked mile.

He found a crooked sixpence,

Beside a crooked stile;

He bought a crooked cat,

Which caught a crooked mouse, and they all lived together,

In a little crooked house.

This is not only clever and visually funny; it is unique and yet uncomplicated with a very clear thread for a child to follow. The first line tells us everything we need to know; there is a man and he was crooked. Everything else in the rhyme fits the crooked man’s paradigm. In 7 brief lines the crooked man finds a little cash, decides to buy a companion, the cat catches a companion, and they all live happily ever after in their little crooked world. The sound, repetition, and visual component of the word “crooked” aids in making a complete package. We all learn in our studies as actors that certain sounds have more comedic impact than others. The hard “C or K” sound of “crooked” has that built in comedy. Children love this because it’s catchy, humorous, and warrants massive repetition!

4.                  When we become parents Nursery Rhymes are part of our past that instantly become part of our present and our children’s future.

5.                  For Nursery Tap, we used dance as the visual and physical stimulant and the audio portion as the mental stimulant.

6.                  Finally, words, rhymes, repetition, rhythm and movement through nursery rhymes can excite and energize a child into a love of reading and dance for a lifetime.

So, there you go! Let me know what your favorite rhymes are!