A child will learn rhythm quickly when given time each day to explore music with their own instruments. Rhythm is an important literacy tool that comes into play when reading aloud. It is not necessary to purchase expensive instruments. Give your child a pot and wooden spoon, turn on her favorite music and encourage her to listen to the song's rhythm. Demonstrate your request to her with your own pot and spoon.
Dancing is another activity to help promote rhythm. Dancing is also useful for burning excess energy and getting creativity flowing. Turn on upbeat music or a child's dance DVD and start moving with your preschooler. Your preschooler again may not grasp the concept of rhythm at first. However, if you continue to model steps to the music's rhythm, your child will quickly join in. A simple side to side step while clapping your hands will show him the rhythm well.
Put on classical music when your child colors, paints or engages in other crafts. Having classical music on in the background while completing another activity introduces music your child might not otherwise enjoy. According to Dr. Lorna Heyge, classical music optimizes brain development, as well as promotes attention to tasks and inner speech.
Nursery rhymes can give your student an edge when it comes to learning to read and speak well. According to Elaine Danielson, an early childhood educator, nursery rhymes have been proven to help students in understanding the basics for learning to read and write, as well as learn intonation patterns in a language. Read your child nursery rhymes, or better yet, help him to memorize nursery rhymes. The cadence and rhyme of the passage make the rhymes easy for small children to memorize. There are nursery rhyme recordings available that you could also play for your preschooler at bedtime.