Singin' in the Brain

Singing helps children learn to read

When my son was little, our life was a musical. If I could sing something rather than say it, I would. "We're... puttin' our shoes now, tying up the laces, goin' to the park!" (to the tune of Top Hat, White Tie and Tails). "Let's cross... to the sunny side of the street!"

I also frequently sang another ditty: "A says ah, A says ah. Every letter makes a sound; A says ah!" And I'd get him to join in. "B says... what?" "Buh!" "Right! B says buh. B says buh. Every letter makes a sound. B says buh!"

I'm not a spokesperson for LeapFrog, just a fan. It was their fridge magnet toy (which we didn't even own - another friend had one) that taught me this catchy tune. It helped my son to learn the sounds the letters make. And that's a huge step towards reading.

Singing has major teaching benefits. For one thing, you're happy while you're singing, and fun and passion always aid understanding. And facts that are sung are much more easily memorized. Singing also creates synapses in the brain, so you're really doing two things at once - learning and increasing the capacity to learn.

I'm going to ask the LeapFrog people if they can send me a music file so you can hear the fridge magnet song. I don't know how to post a music file, so I'm a bit scared of that. But I'll do it for literacy.