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Beginning with Peekaboo
March 25, 2015
Children are apt to live up to what you believe of them.
-Lady Bird Johnson, 1912-2007, US First Lady
-Lady Bird Johnson, 1912-2007, US First Lady
When our children were preschoolers they loved the stories of Robert Munsch, especially The Paperbag Princess and Mortimer. When it turned out that an Exchange article writer, Ann Beeler Munsch, was his wife, we were able to convince him to write the article, "Beginning with Peekaboo - Storytelling as Interaction," which is now included in the Beginnings Workshop Book, Literacy. In the article Munsch observed...
"Peekaboo, the most well-known interactive game for very young children, involves a prescribed set of words and actions. It doesn't work very well if just the words are used, or if just the actions are used. It is an interactive sequence, which demands both words and actions for the child to enjoy the situation. In fact, actions without words may arouse fear in the child, rather than delight.
"There are many finger plays for young children which work upon this same principal. The child's interest is held by the physical actions that go along with the words. This type of play makes a great deal of sense because young children become adept physically much sooner than they become adept verbally, and they learn and experience things physically before they learn and experience things verbally. So, the physical aspect of the story can be looked on as a sort of crutch, which eases the child to the verbal element."
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Comments (3)
Displaying All 3 CommentsAor International
Dallas, TX, United States
The rhyme Itsy Bitsy Spider is a classic example of action and rhyme put together. Children always can't get enough of that one. Each classroom builds their own repertoire of these very enjoyable and instructive rhymes that they can start group time with. And let the children choose which one to sing, and then keep working on new ones...much fun!
Country Childrens Center
Yorktown Heights, NY, United States
I'm just about to retire from my current job in early childhood education in NYS planning to pursue it in the state of Vermont. I have never read an article that clearly defines the importance of fingerplays as this one. I am so very glad to have stuck around this long; this is truly a gift and hopefully will be a gift to those teachers who have a hard time presenting and having fun with fingerplays. Thanks, Jean
Annandale on the Hudson, NY, United States
Wonderfully said! I believe we have ancient wisdom in these primal games like peekaboo. It reminds me of the chants we sing when we bounce the baby on our knee... The one my parents sang was "giddy up a pony go to town, watch out baby, don't fall down..." More than ever - it's our privilege to preserve these games for the next generation!
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