In our increasingly complex world, it can be surprising that a simple activity can mean so much in the life of a child. It seems that singing hand-clapping songs is one of those activities. A recent study done at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University revealed a direct link between hand clapping and the development of certain skills in children and young adults.
“We found that children in the first, second and third grades who sing these songs demonstrate skills absent in children who don’t take part in similar activities,” explains Dr. Idit Sulkin a member of BGU’s Music Science Lab in the Department of the Arts. “We also found that children who spontaneously perform hand-clapping songs in the yard during recess have neater handwriting, write better and make fewer spelling errors.” It was also discovered that children who were taught hand-clapping songs who had not done them previously were able to cognitively catch up in a very short period of time. (For more information about this study, go to Science Live.)
In addition, there is evidence that bringing the hands together in front of the body increases communication between the left and right sides of the brain.
Over the next few weeks, I will be making videos of my favorite clapping songs so that you can have fun with your child while boosting brain development.
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