“Sing” a Book – Fun with Language & Rhythm

Toddlers and preschoolers love to play with the rhythm and rhyme of  language. Books set to familiar tunes are a wonderful way to bring singing and reading together to do just that! When our book advisory group helps us choose books for the program, we know we have a winner when people start to read a particular book aloud to each other or start humming the tune. Cows in the Kitchen, set to the song, “Skip to My Lou,” is a fun, chaotic romp through a farmhouse with a group of misbehaving farm animals. In addition to the catchy tune, there’s so much to look at in each picture that we knew children would want to return to the book again and again.

Activity Idea – Make a Musical Instrument

It might be fun to make a musical instrument for your child to shake in time with the music or the rhythm of this book (or other “song” books). An easy musical instrument can be made by taking an empty toilet paper tube and taping a small piece of paper or tinfoil over one end. Put two spoonfuls of dried rice, beans or corn kernels in the tube. Cover the other end with paper or tinfoil and secure it with tape. Now your child has a shaker to shake in time with the words in the story. You can repeat this process with old cans or other recyclables.

More Read Aloud Fun – Follow the Mouse

If you received your copy of the book from Raising Readers, look for additional read aloud activity ideas in the back of the book. Here’s one idea: there is a white mouse on every page of the book. After you have read the book to your child a few times, point the mouse out to your child. See if you can find it together on each page.

Here are more books to “sing.” Learn more about each of them by clicking on each title.

• Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
• There Was a Tree
• Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
• Mockingbird Song
• Hush Little Baby
• Down by the Station
• Fiddle-I-Fee

Let us know about your family’s favorite books to sing by posting a comment on our Facebook page. Happy singing and reading!