Picking up rhymes supported by physical actions seems to be innate in children. But how adults mediate is important for later literacy development, says Opal Dunn

Adults become conscious of children's verbal play from their first babbles, while pre-schoolers can be heard playfully listing rhyming words and non-words - sat cat fat tat rat mat wat yat.

This ability to pick up, play and have fun with language anywhere, any time, appears to be innate to most young children in many cultures. Innate too is spontaneous child-led play with language, individually, in pairs or small groups. It is through this natural repetition and reflective browsing that holistic learning is reinforced.

Finger rhymes are an ideal way to explore repetition - an important part of literacy and fundamental for later more formal aspects of literacy including reading, spelling and handwriting.

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