Getting Back to Basics: 5 Reasons to Use Fingerplays in Sessions

I have fond memories of sitting on my mother’s lap just a few inches from her face, imitating her hand movements, and softly singing, “Where is thumbkin? Where is thumbkin? Here I am. Here I am.” Does this bring back memories for you as well? Unfortunately, from what I’ve observed, fewer parents are using this technique of  fingerplays—hand and finger movements combined with sung or spoken words. And that means kids are missing out on the impact of fingerplays on early language and literacy development. They may seem old-fashioned, boring and nonsensical, but I’ve experienced great success using them in my sessions with young clients. Here are five reasons why it’s worth our time as SLPs to share fingerplays with toddler and preschool clients. Fingerplays promote early literacy skills Fingerplays are rich in phonemic awareness. I use the transition song, “Open, Shut Them” in early childhood classrooms to direct attention and encourage self-regulation. This fingerplay is loaded with early literacy skills such as repetition, rhyme and rhythm. It also exposes children to the concept of identifying and clapping single words (“…give a little clap, clap, clap.”). Fingerplays follow a narrative structure Fingerplays offer story elements such as character, setting, problem, solution and theme. “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” contains each of these elements: “spider” (character), “water spout” (setting), “down came the rain…” (problem), and “c...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Private Practice Schools Slider Speech-Language Pathology Early Intervention Source Type: blogs