Tips and resources for creating musical experiences for infants and toddlers
The early childhood years are the important years when it comes to musical development. Children who play or sing music regularly perform better in reading and math when they begin elementary school.
Since playing, singing and dancing to music increases both fine and gross motor skills and helps develop hand-eye coordination, these children are better able to control their bodies. Those actively involved in music also tend to have high self-esteem and are better at playing with others.
It is, therefore, important for child care providers and preschool teachers to provide an environment rich with music and movement, to allow for the exploration of musical equipment, and to engage in plenty of diverse, stimulating musical activities.
Organizations such as the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association and MENC, The National Association for Music Education, recommend ways to encourage music development in infants and toddlers. Child care providers and preschool teachers can engage in activities that involve singing and chanting songs and rhymes that involve a variety of meters and tones.
Music for infants and toddlers should also incorporate a variety of sound sources, and include selected music, as well as improvised songs. Musical choices should vary and include a wide range of culture and styles. MENC also suggests that child care providers and teachers can encourage music development in young children by exposing them to both live and recorded music.
According to MENC, children should also be exposed to a broad assortment of “vocal, body, instrumental, and environmental sounds” and be provided with age appropriate toys that make controllable musical sounds. When the music is playing, child care providers should move with the children and emphasize the beat, patterns in rhythm and changes in melody of the music.
Another important element of which fosters musical development in toddlers is discussion. MENC recommends that child care providers discuss music and its connection to feelings and self expression.
The standards of music programs for four year olds, as they are approaching kindergarten, should involve singing and playing instruments (chanting, singing, and playing age appropriate instruments), creating music (improvising songs and rhymes and short pieces of music), responding to music through movement, and understanding music (describing music and demonstrating their awareness musical elements).
Getting Started
MENC provides a guide titled Ideas and Music Lessons for Specialists, Parents, and Child Care Providers which is good read for the overview of basics of a solid preschool or childcare music program.
There are a myriad of websites that provide music lyrics, rhymes, and musical activities for child care providers and preschool teachers. Preschool Express’ Song and Rhyme Station is a great resource for neatly categorized songs for preschool aged children. Preschool Education’s Music and Song pages provide a wealth of developmentally appropriate music activities. Each song provides the lyrics along with the tune to which it should sung.
For high quality and award winning music products for young children, try the online store at Music Rhapsody or Music Together.
Child care providers and preschool teachers cannot overlook the benefit musical experiences in early child development and should work toward developing age appropriate activities for children involving music and movement education.
For more activities for infants and toddlers, see Online Preschool Lesson Plans.
