Sort of Nothing Like A Book Club: Issue 35

This weeks' editor:
Kate

Hello,

Welcome to Sort of Nothing Like A Book Club, the newsletter from Creative CoLab.

This month saw the celebration of World Nursery Rhyme Week. Launched in 2013, this week promotes the importance of nursery rhymes in early childhood development and education. They aim to encourage children to sing nursery rhymes and take part in supporting activities.

Inspired by this I have been taking a closer look at nursery rhymes, their origins, how they fit into culture and their importance.

Read on to find out more...

Sing a Song of Sixpence
- Exploring Nursery Rhymes

Over on the blog I've been looking at nursery rhymes. I explore their origins and how many have a dark history. I look at the stories behind some of the most popular songs and the cultural significance of these entertaining ditties.

Children and music: benefits of music in child development
This piece looks at the benefits that childhood musical experiences can have on child development. It considers how exposure to music impacts children of different ages and suggests activities and resources to integrate music into children's lives.

The dark side of nursery rhymes
This article looks at the 'dark side' of nursery rhymes. It looks at the history of the nursery rhymes and where they originate from. It looks at some classic nursery rhymes and explores the meaning behind them such as: 'Mary, Mary Quite Contrary' being about bloody Mary, 'Ring a Ring o roses' about the Great Plague and 'Ladybird Ladybird' being about protestant executions.

Nursery rhymes from all over the world - a gallery to share with children
This is a lovely gallery compiled of nursery rhymes and illustrations by 77 international artists. Taken from Elizabeths Hammill anthology 'Over the Hills and Far Away', it is a beautiful collection.

Mother Goose: Every culture as verses that reflect the history and customs of the people
This article looks at nursery rhymes and how every culture has rhymes that reflect the customs and history of the people. It looks at how many rhymes contain adult humor and jibes about social issues of the time they were originated and how rhymes have changed over time to reflect social changes.

Childhood Ruined: A Series
This youtube playlist is a complication of videos from Mackenzie Barmen. In these comedic videos, she explores the history and meaning behind many popular nursery rhymes.

And Lastly...

Nursery rhymes are so interesting, with their complex history and unique origins. It's fascinating to see how these historical rhymes are still alive in the 21st Century. With new children's TV shows creating original rhymes, it'll be interesting to see which of those stand the test of time.

If you have any thoughts you'd like to share about what we've touched upon in this issue we'd love for you to get in touch.

Bye!