Study: Music Makes Kids Better Readers!
March 19, 2009 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
Filed under Parenting
I probably should stop resisting my son’s passion for music. My husband is to blame for launching Truman interest in music through his CDs and music videos. When my husband brought home Guitar Hero World Tour, my son was so elated he could barely form a sentence. He’s been singing Numb ever since.
Truman rocks with "Captain Jack Sparrow's Dad" and the other Stones
I suppose my husband may be right. Perhaps 5 is not too young of an age to spend money on instruments and get our son into music lessons. And, I’ve recently learned, music tuition may actually help children inch ahead of their peers not just musically, but in reading as well. According to the journal Psychology of Music, children who are exposed to a multi-year program of musical training in “increasing complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared to their non-musically trained peers.” Perhaps if I actually had had an interest in music, I wouldn’t have lagged so far behind in reading as a child….odd for a writer, don’t you think?
Truman seems to enjoy books and he’s just beginning to learn how to read (thanks to preschool Phonics!) I honestly was surprised when earlier this week we cracked open Take Me To The Zoo, which we hadn’t read in maybe a year, and my son was able to identify words and read a bit. After a couple pages of that, though, he’s ready to quit and let me tell the story. I really want do more of these reading activities, especially since the summer break is drawing near and he starts Kindergarten in the fall. (I want him to make a good impression with his teacher!)
I found on PBS Kids’ Between the Lions site (which is a great show if you haven’t seen it) some fun games you can play with your kids to entertain them while secretly developing their vocabularies and helping them recognize new words.
Check them out here:
Destination: Library
Word Worms
Watson’s Word Wall
Matching Games
Sources:
Science Daily
PBS Kids
(photo of girl, Flickr, Edwin Dalorzo)
I think that music can be very affective in not only helping kids read better, but to just help them think more. They will definitely make their minds more active.
I don’t think 5 is to young to start music, but I do think we as parents need to be cautious not to overwhelm out kids with too much extracurricular activity. There are a lot of demands of the time of our children today, ie. school, music, little league, scouts, etc.