Category Archives: music and dramatic play

Music and learning in the early childhood classroom…

Posted on February 28, 2017 | Leave a comment

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Throughout history, music has been used as an instrument of sociality for cultures the world over. Its power has been touted as the great elixir of both physiological as well as emotional ills. Researchers have studied its effect on emotional/social development, physical development, and intelligence.

The role of music in the education of the young child is at the forefront of all other early learning since the child’s musical intelligence overlaps and intersects with all other intelligence defined by Gardner (Thurman, Chase, and Langness, 1987). Music is a precursor to the development of the other intelligence: linguistic, musical, bodily kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, spatial, and personal (Boyd, 1989).

Visualize the following scenario. Ten kindergarten children are singing the song Five Little Bunnies. Their musical intelligence is used as they sway left to right in rhythm with the music. Their logical-mathematical intelligence is piqued in the counting of bunnies. Their linguistic skills are developed when they create their own personal interpretation of the song. Their spatial and personal development is stimulated as they move around like a bunny.

Children love to sing. Singing generates emotional dimension and is extremely important in social/cultural development since it and culminating activities are invaluable to establishing group identity. Ritualized singing at the beginning and end of play periods develops a meaningful bridge between the child’s home life and school life. (Boyd, 1989).

Meaningful, well-constructed songs are easily memorized and will come to mind at any given moment providing the child singing it a comforting reminder of earlier activities or learning experiences.

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Posted in Early childhood, early childhood learning songs, listening skills, Multiple Intelligences, music, music and curriculum, music and dramatic play, music and learning, songs for learning

Tagged Curriculum, Early childhood, Motor skill, Music, Music education, optimal learning, Performing Arts

Music use in the primary classroom…

Posted on February 22, 2017 | Leave a comment

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Posted in classroom transition, Early childhood, early childhood learning songs, listening skills, Multiple Intelligences, music, music and curriculum, music and dramatic play, music and learning, music and self-esteem, music brain connection, musical harmony, Pre-Reading Skills, songs for learning

Music and Multiple Intelligences – Partners in Pre-Reading Success…

Posted on February 22, 2017 | Leave a comment

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According to researcher Howard Gardner, there are nine ways of being smart. Children are “natural” learners and learn best in ways that are “natural” to their innate learning style(s).

Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences…

Body Smart
Music Smart
Picture Smart
Number Smart
Word Smart
People Smart
Self Smart
Nature Smart
Existential Smart

It’s interesting to note that music lends itself to all ways of being smart when it comes to acquiring pre-reading skills in early childhood. Here are just a few examples of integrating “music smart” with “partner smarts” to make learning basic pre-reading skills interesting and fun.

Body and Music Smart

Move body to form letter shapes to music.
Jump rope to the alphabet song.

Music Smart

Sing vowel sounds.
Use lyrics to simple songs to find and circle letters.

Picture and Music Smart

Illustrate and label pictures to a song.
Create an adaptation songbook.

Number and Music Smart

Count the number of bunnies in a song.
Order events in a songbook.

Word and Music Smart

Sing the “Word Family Song”.
Find and circle words in a song or lyrical poem.

People and Music Smart

Share and teach favorite songs with someone.
Sing with a buddy.

Self and Music Smart

Sing aloud to a stuffed animal friend.
Listen to a rhyming songbook on CD.

Nature and Music Smart

Text to real world connections. Name the living things you see outside? What songs do they remind you of?
Sing and dance to “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” while circling a tree or bush.

Existential and Music Smart

Find letter blends in the song “Giving”.
SIng a friendship song. Brainstorm the ways to be a good friend.

Multiple styles can and should overlap in any learning activity but it should be noted that including music turns a not so interesting lesson into one that piques a child’s curiosity and attention span!

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Posted in Early childhood, early childhood learning songs, Multiple Intelligences, music, music and curriculum, music and dramatic play, music and learning, music brain connection, Pre-Reading Skills, songs for learning

Music and curriculum

Posted on June 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

Music is a positive supplement to any curriculum. Using music to enhance curriculum – especially in early childhood, stimulates the brain’s neural coding which aids learning in later years. Here are just a few of the ways music can enhance your classroom curriculum:

Singing encourages language development. Music is generally processed on the right side of the brain and language on the left. Singing involves both words and music and results in stimulating hemispheric interactions.
Music is not just for listening, but can be expounded upon the same way any good literature choice can. In a study of preschoolers’ responses to auditory and vibroacoustic stimuli, J.M. Standley found that comprehension of literature was greatest for those students listening to the music-only version of the story.
Children can listen to music with eyes closed and create a picture in their minds. Writing about their picture enhances phonemic awareness and focus skills.
Singing favorite songs develops pitch and intonation skills required for vocal cord development, thereby improving oral language skills.
Discussing the meaning behind song lyrics is a positive way to develop higher order thinking skills.

How do you use music in your classroom or home?

Campbell, D. (1997). The Mozart effect: Tapping the power of music to heal the body, strengthen the mind, and unlock the creative spirit. New York, New York: Avon Books.

D’Agrosa, E. (2008). Making music, reaching readers: Making powerful connections possible for young students. General Music Today (Online), 21(2), 6-10.

Standley, J.M. (1992) Child development and music. Psychology of Music, Vol.20, pp. 80-85.

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Posted in music, music and curriculum, music and dramatic play, music and learning, music and self-esteem, music brain connection, Uncategorized

Tagged Early childhood

Music and curriculum – a “win-win” situation for all

Posted on February 22, 2013 | 3 comments

Infusing curriculum with music is one sure way to heighten targeted academic development. Children acquire skills easily in relationship to what they know. The songs and rhythms of early childhood spark enthusiasm for learning and build self-esteem. There are six elements to incorporating music into your daily teaching routine. How do we effectively incorporate them?

Ensure a strong bond between music in the classroom and music at home.
Incorporate music use with all elements of curriculum.
Use music to facilitate effective transition times.
Steer appropriate classroom behavior with background music.
Develop a “Music and Sound Spot”.
Allow time each day for movement with music.

Each of these areas will be presented in following posts to allow time for discussion of each separately. Be sure to look for future posts.

Also, this is a new blog and I would love to hear from you on the types of information you would like to see presented. Thanks!

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Posted in music, music and curriculum, music and dramatic play, music and learning, music and self-esteem, music brain connection

Tagged Arts, Background music, Curriculum, Early childhood, Elementary school, Language acquisition, Music

Music Lessons Early In Life Increase Brain Development

Posted on February 21, 2013 | Leave a comment

New findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, state that
musical training at the age of seven or younger has a significant impact on brain development – especially as it relates to connections between motor regions – areas of the brain that support movement and coordination.

I learned this early on in my teaching career when kindergarten students rotated through classrooms on special occasion days to participate in different learning activities with each teacher. My activity was always based on music and movement. My students – taught with music and movement on a daily basis, were able to pick up on rhythm and movement routines quickly, but students from the other classes had a more difficult time.

Here’s an article to encourage everyone’s view on the importance of music to brain development and learning.

Music Lessons Early In Life Increase Brain Development.

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Posted in music, music and dramatic play, music and learning, music and self-esteem, music brain connection

Tagged Education, Journal of Neuroscience, Motor skill, Music lesson, Neural development

Music and Language: A natural rhythm to learning…

Posted on February 21, 2013 | 2 comments

Tony was a kindergarten student of mine who carried the weight of a speech impediment with him, much to his chagrin. Other children laughed when they couldn’t understand what he said.

Tony loved to sing and play with puppets at choice time. To compensate for no puppet stage, I turned a table over that Tony could sing and act out his favorite songs and nursery rhymes behind. While there, Tony’s speech problem didn’t matter. He couldn’t see the other children laugh and they couldn’t see him strain to sing. Tony, in his own world, was happy. He shied away from speaking in front of others, but over time, in his “safe place”, Tony became confident with language skills.

One day, coming back from lunch, Tony tugged my sleeve. “Ms. Ellington,” he said excitedly, “I wrote a song!”

“Wow, that’s great Tony!” I said. “Would you like to share it with…” I paused, and then said “the class?”

He nodded “yes” and I said, “Great! We’ll do it as soon as we get back to class!”

In class, I told the children Tony wrote a song he wanted to share. The children glanced at each other. No one said a word. Tony stood up and sang a song about how much he loved the class, school, his friends, and me! He sang and sang… and sang and sang… and sang and sang … The others sat listening with mouths wide open. When Tony finished, a rousing throng of applause echoed throughout the room.

From that day on, Tony didn’t play behind a puppet stage. He was out in the open, communicating with friends!

From that day on, I realized the power of music to create enthusiasm for language learning and build self-esteem.