Rhythmic training, literacy, and graphomotor skills in kindergarteners

Abstract

IntroductionThe aim of this manuscript is twofold: first, to investigate the relationship between rhythmic, phonological and graphomotor skills in kindergarten children; and second, to evaluate the possible impact of rhythmic training on the two other skills.MethodsTo that end, we selected a sample of 78 children in Québec. Forty-two children received rhythmic training (experimental group) and 34 arts training (active control group) during the same period (10 weeks). Before and after training, children in both groups were assessed for general skills (forward and backward memory span, vocabulary, non-verbal ability), rhythmic skills (synchronization and discrimination tasks), literacy skills (phonological skills - syllable counting, syllable deletion, rhyme discrimination – and invented spelling skills) and graphomotor skills (legibility of letter writing, quality of copying of geometric shapes).ResultsResults showed correlations between the child’s rhythmic and literacy skills, as well as between rhythm synchronization and pen pressure. In addition, rhythmic training showed improvement in rhythmic abilities, but this did not transfer to literacy or graphomotor development (apart from a significant increase in the duration of pauses in both groups at post-test, with a larger improvement for the rhythm group).DiscussionThese results are discussed in terms of duration and intensity of learning, and they highlight the possible benefits of informal rhythm practices in the classroom.

The Relationship between Young Children’s Graphomotor Skills and Their Environment: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Home literacy environment refers to activities undertaken by family members at home that relate to literacy learning [30], as well as the literacy resources in the home and parental attitudes toward literacy [31]. Our motivation to include the literacy component in the immediate system stemmed from the established association between both those developmental skills, when graphomotor skills play a key role in the development of early literacy [28,32].…”

Which factors modulate spontaneous motor tempo? A systematic review of the literature

“…Hence, the tempo of the external rhythm has to be adapted to the actual tempo of the participants. Recent studies individualize the parameters of the intervention by adapting the tempo of the metronome to be synchronized (Benoit et al, 2014 ; Dalla Bella et al, 2017 ; Cochen De Cock et al, 2021 ; Frey et al, 2022 ). This is done by measuring the individual's SMT before an intervention.…”