Here’s a great activity you can do at home to help develop your child’s phonological awareness.

Just click on the image for your own sing-along with this Kindermusik class as they play their egg shakers to A Ram Sam Sam.  A popular childrens’ song and game that has its origins in Morocco, A Ram Sam Sam, provides plenty of opportunities for fine motor development and practicing steady-beat as well as vocal play.  Have fun playing around with all those great sounding nonsense syllables!

Research has confirmed that phonologically aware children begin school better equipped to learn how to read, and also with an appreciation of sounds and the meanings of words. Singing songs with rhyming words and nonsense syllables is a great way to heighten your child’s awareness of the sounds of language.

Don’t have egg shakers? No problem! – keep the beat by patting your knees, clapping your hands or find something at home to tap or shake.  The  kitchen is a great place to find home-made musical instruments – grab a pot or a pan and a wooden spoon and you’re ready to jam!  Better still, make up your own hand actions to accompany the changing sounds. Here is an example:

• A ram sam sam – pound fists, right over left, then left over right.
• Guli guli – roll hands.
• A rafi – extend arms and wave hands above your head as you sway from side to side.