I have always loved reading nursery rhymes to children. And they are good for them! It is amazing how fast even a one and a half year old or two year old can learn to recite a simple nursery rhyme like Humpty Dumpty or Wee Willie Winkie!

I found Shirley's wonderful website and she has a good list of why to read them-

"The Benefits of Preschool Songs and Nursery Rhymes

There are many benefits to learning nursery rhymes and preschool songs:

1. Nursery rhymes, poems and songs will provide your children with opportunities to develop an appreciation for rhyme and rhythm, as well as to develop their memory and auditory skills .

2. Research in the field of early childhood development and reading has shown that children who struggle to recognise words that rhyme, often have difficulty in learning to read. Hence the importance of familiarizing children with rhymes and preschool songs.

3. The rhythm of songs, poems and rhymes help children to remember the words and helps to develop auditory memory skills .

It has been said that the golden age for memory is between ages 6-9. At this age a child can memorize more quickly and remember for longer than at any other time in his life (Raymond Moore, Better Late Than Early, p197). I have also heard it said that children, who cannot yet read, remember better than their peers who can read, as the non-readers cannot refer back to the text for information but have to remember everything they have seen or heard.

4. Listening is an important skill to encourage – and it is an important step towards one day learning to read.

5. Poems and verses use words to paint word pictures and nursery rhymes help to activate that awareness.

6. While you read, sing, play and act out nursery rhymes together you are conveying to your children that sounds make words and that words are fun!

7. Nursery rhymes also help children to appreciate and develop an understanding of humour.

8. Since many nursery rhymes also include mathematical concepts, like counting, time, height, measurement, position, volume, weather, temperature etc… you should use them as opportunities to develop vocabulary around these concepts.

9. Fingerplay rhymes and clapping songs are a delightful way to help children develop motor skills and co-ordination .

10. The intriguing and fanciful stories, colourful characters and vivid language of nursery rhymes and preschool songs have fascinated children for centuries and helped expand their imaginations. People who live in shoes, dishes that run, eggs that sit on walls – what an enchanting introduction to the world of literature, storytelling, play-acting and make-believe.

11. Since there are always new children, there is never a need for new preschool songs and nursery rhymes. Children and their parents have kept them alive for centuries and maintained them as an integral part of our language and cultural heritage."

Here are some books I read to children that have rhymes in them-

I recently found this wonderful set of "Vintage Nursery Rhyme Cards" on Amazon- they are brand new, but look vintage and are very durable, and the kids love to pick them up and pretend to read the rhymes-