How Do You Teach Toddlers To Rhyme?
An appreciation for rhyme comes naturally to toddlers. They love to be read books with rhyme, recognizing that the language is different from what they ordinarily hear. Teaching them to rhyme is an excellent tool for using their language that is, to them, merely lots of fun. Start with simple rhyming books. A favorite, for example, is Jim Martin’s terrific “Black Bear, Black Bear, What do you see?” The answer, as you find out in the book is “I see a red bird staring at me.” Read the lines aloud, emphasizing the rhyming words at the end of each line. After reading the book multiple times, read the lines leaving off the last word—and allowing the child to fill in the missing words. Then you can say something like “Oh, you made a rhyme with “see” and “me. They both make an ‘ee’ sound.” Play a game in the car. Say, for example, “ee, ee, ee.” Then say something like how “bee” sounds like “ee” and so does “knee.” Encourage the child to say “ee” and find rhyming words (or nonsense words—when
