There is the obvious - songs and rhythms help with language acquisition and speech development. What might not be as obvious is that songs elicit pictures and force your child to use their imagination. There is no book or screen to look at it - it's just their mind. They get to picture the bus, the people on it, how the windows work, and what the driver looks like. Allowing children to make their own mental pictures is a gift.

There are also other purposes to rhyming songs. They help teach your child about movement and where your body is in space , which is called proprioception. For example: when playing Duck, Duck, Goose at the age of 3, they may just slide their hands across all the heads and shoulders, but by the age of 5, they should be individually touching each child's head. During circle time, or when they are following the teacher in a line, it's an important milestone that they are not bumping into other children and knowing where their body is in relation to others.

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If you feel you have any concerns about your child's gross motor skills, seek out an evaluation by an Occupational Therapist.