Walk into a preschool classroom and you’ll likely see Morah sitting in a circle of youngsters, all singing and wiggling little fingers. Listen closer – what are they chanting?
For preschool-age kids, finger play has an important role. When children sing, listen and act in response to songs, they develop listening and comprehension skills and increase their vocabulary. Rhythmic patterns strengthen their musical abilities and learning new songs strengthens their ability to memorize.
Way before research showed the effect of simple, playful songs on a child’s mind, the Torah already had what to say.
The Rebbe stressed the importance of a holy and pure chinuch and often spoke of how a child is influenced by everything around him, from the moment of birth. Even the lullabies that mothers sing to their babies should be those of kedusha content. “She should not wait for her child to grow,” the Rebbe said “to begin telling about Hashem, Torah and mitzvos. Rather, the time to educate is when the baby is still in a crib.”
Finger Play in a Proud Jewish Way offers just that. The brand new album, created by Yechiel and Sheyna Elka Marozov, features 20 simple yet meaningful songs, all put to nigunnim.
“While teaching preschool,” Mrs Marozov told Anash.org, “I was told that we need to sing finger play with our students. The Rebbe told us to ‘ker a velt haint!’ We therefore had to bring the א into the גולה of finger play.
“Knowing that the entire point of teaching preschool children is to instill in them a yearning for the Geulah and a love of Hashem, we composed finger play and other simple songs that, while singing them, children will form a strong connection with Hashem and the mitzvos.”
Children will love singing along at home or in school. Listening to the music is a great way to instill simcha while cleaning for Pesach. And most importantly, the songs will instill in the children lessons for life.
Aiming to have as great an impact as possible, the CD comes in both English and Yiddish. For children who communicate mainly in English, the Yiddish version can be a valuable resource to familiarize them with the language.
The CD is available online on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon and Google play.
Check it out with the following links: