You’ve probably heard that rhyming is important for your beginning or pre reader. In fact, your little one should be able to hear and create rhyming words. This is an important skill for phonological awareness. In plain English please? Phonological awareness is the ability to hear and interact with the sounds of a language. This is all well and good, but why is a rhyming story better than another kind of story? What makes it important, and when should your kiddo be able to recognize rhyming words?
When a child hears lots of rhyming words, this helps them to predict what sound will come next. This skill will be important as your child grows as a reader, because prediction skills are an important part of being a good reader. 
Rhyming also helps with writing and spelling skills. When I child can hear words that rhyme, they also know that the word endings sound the same and are many times spelled the same way. For example, the words set and get have the same ending sound and the same ending letters. Check out this blog for more info!
Rhyming stories, poems, and songs also help early readers learn the patterns in language. When listening to a rhyming story or song, your little one will be able to hear the rhyming words better than when they are trying to sound out the words. This enables them to hear the patterns and also the syllables in the words. Being able to break words into syllables is another very important skill for young readers, because it will help them to be able to easily sound out the words later.
Rhyming words also help to develop your little readers vocabulary! As your kiddo listens to rhyming stories, they may hear and interact with new vocabulary. The other cool thing about rhyming stories and songs is that they are fun to listen to and fun to repeat. 
Repetition also helps littles ones learn and interact with new vocabulary.
Want to know how to help your pre reader learn how to recognize rhyming words? This is simple. Check it out!
- Children’s Poetry
- Simple rhyming songs
- Finger plays
- Rhyming stories
- Nursery rhymes
Kids love to hear and repeat anything that rhymes. Here are some ways to add a little extra musical something to the rhyming experience:
- Use your sing song voice to sing the nursery rhymes – Think “nanny nanny boo boo” like you used to say as a kid! And DON’T worry if you don’t think your voice sound good. Your little one will love it even if it sounds like noise to you!
- Pick an instrument and keep a steady beat with it as you read or sing
- Use your instrument on certain words for emphasis – For example, the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty says “Humpty Dumpty had a great fall”. You could add a triangle sound to the word fall to give it more oomph!
- Use your voice to dramatically emphasize words – For example, in Humpty Dumpty, you could make your voice slide down on the word fall and clap at the end of the slide down to dramatize how he splats when he falls (he is an egg, after all)!
Want more info about how to use music with your rhyming nursery rhymes, songs, or stories? Check out my Instagram live today, April 13th at 5pm Central! Click here for a link to my Instagram account! The replay will be available on IGTV under Literacy Tips. Don’t forget to turn on notifications so you don’t miss my lives!