Poetry has been an integral part of human culture for centuries — in fact, the oldest surviving poem is dated around 2500 BC! To this day poetry remains an essential tool for self-expression, as well as supporting children’s development in early childhood education.
The ability to memorise rhymes and poems has many benefits for children. Let’s unpack a few of them.
Poems improve memory in children
Focusing on memory, the ability to recall information is a crucial aspect of learning and development. Memorising rhymes and poems can significantly improve a child’s memory capacity and recall ability.
Improve focus and concentration
Memorising poetry exercises the brain and helps create new neural pathways, which are essential for cognitive development. Children who memorise poems and rhymes also improve their focus and concentration, which are vital skills for success in life — and very useful when laying the foundation for learning from a young age.
Strengthen language and communication skills
Incorporating poems and rhymes in early childhood education strengthens language and communication skills. Children learn new vocabulary and grammatical structures through poems, and they also develop an appreciation for the beauty and power of language. As far as language goes, poems also help children work on their pronunciation and diction — valuable skills for effective communication throughout life.
Promote creativity and confidence
Children’s creativity and confidence are closely aligned – poetry can give children a tool to get creative and have some fun exploring language and expressing themselves. All the while, they can discover the fun of performance through reciting their poems and showcasing something they have created.
With these benefits in mind, it is essential for educators and parents to encourage children to learn and memorise poetry as part of their early childhood education. Mother’s Day is always a perfect opportunity to bring poetry into your service!
Speaking of poetry and Mother’s Day, we invite you to explore our new resources for mums on the Bonkers Beat website. Our resources are designed to help educators and families join in fun and engaging activities that promote their child’s learning and development.
As a special offer for you, we are offering a 20% discount with the code Gift4Mum. Give children the gift of learning for life, while also celebrating mums and the other special women in children’s lives! Get your Mother’s Day digital download pack here and make Mother’s Day extra special!
