Sing, Sing a Song-Why Singing is Important

Singing: I think it’s one of our inalienable rights, something everyone should be able to fully engage in and enjoy. Unfortunately too many (my husband being one) have been told at some point in their lives…usually as a child…that they can’t sing and, traumatized, they stop.  That is flat out cruel. YES, some people have better pitch than others, so what! Singing makes you feel good and is good for you by exercising your lungs and heart and releasing endorphins…Nature’s feel-good hormones. So go ahead, channel your inner Ethel Merman, Barbra Streisand, Chita Rivera or Lea Salonga and belt out your song…and if any questions you tell ’em you’re doing it ‘my way’!

In addition, singing to and with your child is beneficial for many reasons. Among those reasons:

*Singing improves literacy skills. Language is a song of its own, with rhymes and rhythms, tone, beat and inflection. So when you sing you’re naturally introducing your child to these aspects of language!  Also, it is a developmentally appropriate way to introduce new words into children’s vocabularies. Singing songs gives children a context for new words which aids in their comprehension. Additionally, when you sing to your baby or child it improves their listening skills, another component of literacy.

*Pairing singing with movement or visual aids can stimulate a child’s senses. This allows them to not only hear the music, but also feel and move to the rhythms. Allowing them to play instruments, to make the music, turns it into see, touch, and hear experience!

*Studies have shown music and rhyme increase a child’s ability in spatial reasoning. This is important because spatial reasoning directly impacts their mathematical and scientific abilities.

*Babies and kidlets don’t care how you sing, they just want you to sing! So shake off any reservations that you might not sound ‘right’—it’s a form of LOVE!

Your in Play!
Teacher Karen