Rhythm and Reading

Why do we sing weird and silly nursery rhymes?

Dec 09, 2025

Setting the Tune

Jingle Bells, Cody smells. That dog's really stinky!

I bet you didn't expect those lyrics, and yet I'd also bet, you sung them to the same tune as the more popular (some say boring) lyrics. This is the rendition most recently sung in our home. For clarification, Cody is our dog and yes, he's quite stinky.

See, my husband is goofy. Very goofy, and he constantly makes up ridiculous little songs that our girls find hysterical. Sometimes, okay a lot of times, the songs involve our dog. Sometimes it's about me or our daughters. And sometimes it's about the boring things like laundry or the dishes. And unfortunately for me, his voice isn’t great, but that’s beside the point.

What he doesn't realize is that he's doing much more for our girls then filling our house with humor and fun.

Age Old Nursery Rhymes

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.

Do you sing along? Now that song will be stuck in your head all day. You’re welcome! It’s a song we all know and immediately recognize. It’s also centuries old, dating back to 1744, and yet, it’s still an extremely popular tune throughout many cultures.

What about this one?

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed to see such fun
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

I bet you know that one, too. It’s also over 250 years old, dating back to 1765. But why do we still sing it?

A little rhyme about a sheep and its wool is still prevalent 281 years later, in a culture that has become less agricultural. Most kids never see a sheep outside of a petting show at the county fair.

And what does “hey diddle diddle” even mean? I searched and no one is entirely sure, with speculation that its simple nonsense. A rhyme that’s nonsense and a rhyme that’s less than relevant are still well-known centuries later, sung in preschools everywhere. But why?

Because they work. Just like my husband's dog songs work. These silly little tunes help teach 2–5-year-olds the concept of rhythm and rhyme, which in turn, help them learn to read.

The Rhythm Research

According to the National Library for Medicine, “improvements in reading fluency were positively correlated with enhanced rhythmic timing ability”.

In another study published by the National Library for Medicine, on rhythm, reading, and sound processing, “preschoolers who performed well on the beat synchronization task outscored their peers on all pre literacy measures”.

It makes sense when you think about it. The best kid’s books practically sing as the words flow off the page. Rhythms are based on patterns and while the English language is a little wild, ultimately, its pattern based as well. Phrases, letter sounds, vocabulary, grammar use- all patterns. So, when we learn to recognize simple tunes, we build the capacity to recognize more complex patterns. “The brain must keep time with the flow of speech, predict the next sound, and segment language into meaning.”

This is why we keep singing songs about black sheep and cows jumping over moons. This is why my husband belts out odes to our dog (even if he doesn’t realize it). We sing because they are fun, engaging, and most of all, helpful. Children may never carry three full bags of wool, but they can recognize the rhyme and apply the rhythm to other words. This sets the foundation for reading, a lifelong skill vital in almost everything we do.

Who knew my husband’s off-key singing was so beneficial? I hesitate to say this, since I know he’ll read it- but keep singing those ridiculous tunes. Keep repeating the nursery rhymes that make no sense but get stuck in your head. They get stuck in your kid’s head, too, and improve their reading one tune at a time.

December Book Recs

I may have shared these before, but the Singing Dad book is too pertinent to not share again. This is a great series for early readers- fun and simple!