1. The Period of Babyhood

This period is from birth to three years. The story interest begins with lullabies, rhymes, and jingles. Every thoughtful mother must notice that even before the little one can speak it responds to rhymes repeated over and over. Half of the baby’s pleasure is in the frequent hearing of a familiar strain. The baby enjoys also, largely for rhythm’s sake, the shortest and simplest stories with refrains and repetitions; also cumulative stories like the “Three Bears,” “This Little Pig Went to Market,” “The House that Jack Built,” and many others to be found in Mother Goose, Æsop, Grimms, and Jacobs. Mothers should begin singing and repeating rhymes, rhythms, and nursery ditties from the child’s very earliest days. The child’s delight in rhyme and rhythm will be satisfied, the ear will be trained to listen, the power of concentration will be cultivated, and, best of all, a preparation for a love of poetry, a most valuable asset in education and in life, will be begun. A keen interest and enjoyment in rhythm is found in almost every normal infant. It is the rudiment or germ of a sense of balance and harmony, and as such should be carefully nurtured. The Greeks laid great stress on this sense of harmony through music and poetry.