Whether for an infant or toddler, these songs and nursery rhymes can aide in preschool development; while being a lot of fun! For more helpful storytime tips, see Storytime Success.

Infants

Developmental characteristics

• Recognizes and looks for familiar voices and sounds
• Explores objects by touching, shaking, banging or mouthing
• Babbles expresively as if talking
• Imitates sounds, facial expressions and actions made by others

Advice

• It is never too early to begin reading to a child. Hearing the rhythm of stories, even as a newborn, is both soothing and important for developing literacy
• If it is too difficult to hold both baby and book, then just tell stories that you know. Use hand motions, facial expressions and baby's toys to "illustrate" your story
• Speak clearly and expressively. Even if they don't understand all the words of a story, you are conveying meaning through emotion
• Repeat sections when the child shows interest
• Ask questions about the story. (ex: What color is that house?

Multimedia Resources

The Children's Department at the Canton Public Library has many resources that use the phonetic method to teach reading.