As we celebrate Dr. Suess’ birthday this week, it inspires us to have fun with language. Part of the joy of Dr. Suess is his stories filled with nonsensical words and rhymes. It reminds us, that language and literacy development does not have to be solely reading and writing, but should include playing with language and learning how to make language fun.
“Nonsense wakes up the brain cells. And it helps develop a sense of humor, which is awfully important in this day and age. Humor has a tremendous place in this sordid world. It’s more than just a matter of laughing. If you can see things out of whack, then you can see how things can be in whack.” ~Dr. Suess
As educators and parents we should spend time each day playing with language, singing silly songs, making up tongue twisters in whatever language we are the most comfortable with. Already established songs and rhymes are fun, but giving children the opportunity to create their own allows for a deeper understanding of language and literacy. These activities will help promote language development, help children understand that language has rhythm and encourage creativity and thinking skills.
Dr. Suess provides us with the opportunity to step away from normal structured learning and reminds us that learning can and should be fun. I leave with this excerpt from his book, “On Beyond Zebra!”
In the places I go there are things that I see
That I never could spell if I stopped with the Z.
I’m telling you this ’cause you’re one of my friends.
My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!
So, on beyond Z!
It’s high time you were shown
That you really don’t know
All there is to be known.