Safety Issues!

Before going much further with describing musical adventures to try with your children, let's address a few really important issues! Just as with all toys, props and activities for very young children, there are certain safety considerations in the vibrant music classroom. While many of these primarily apply to group situations, there are aspects that also apply on a one-to-one basis.

1) Teacher supervision - This means being attentive and watchful, and maintaining the same ratios of teacher/student as is appropriate for the children in a regular classroom. One must be vigilant for any child mis-using a prop, or for the excitement of the group overtaking what is safe.

2) Any props must be checked for choking hazards for children under the age of 3, and any others who may be less mature than the norm for the classroom. Note: Any hand-made shakers should be carefully sealed with glue and tape in order to be sure that small pieces don't come flying out!

3) Rhythm sticks made of wood should be checked periodically for splintering, and should have rounded ends or rounded edges just in case!

4) Streamers are best kept at a length not to exceed 2 - 3 feet. Some commercial streamers are very long, and require much more height and longer arms. If the streamers are too long, trim them so that the children can manipulate them more easily, and not trip over them.

5) Ideally, children should be spaced appropriately for large motor activities. If they are using streamers, they need enough for their movements plus the outreach of the streamer, if at all possible. PLEASE NOTE: If you have a child who refuses to adjust his space, or who refuses to participate, without making a huge issue of the refusal, just help the child move while explaining that he needs to be in a safe spot where he can watch and/or listen - and that he may rejoin the group for the next activity.

6) Last, but not least, ideally, all props/instruments should be sanitized at the end of the day according to childcare guidelines. If at all possible, it is helpful to have enough extras to where, if a child mouths the prop, it can be set aside and replaced with another while the mouthed prop is set aside.

What can young children do?

The quick answer to that question is, "Often more than we expect!"

But what can we really expect developmentally from little ones in terms of their musical experiences? Of course, sometimes they will surprise us, but these are some fair expectations of the different age groups. Not a complete list by any means, but it gives us a starting point!

1. Infants and Toddlers can listen, be soothed, sort musical sounds (like rattles, bells, sticks), chant, enjoy instrumental music, have sounds they make imitated back to them, rock, pat, bounce on their bottoms, sway, enjoy active vs. quiet activities and use the "Universal Chant."
(the one that goes "You ca-an't catch me!")

2. Twos can do simple fingerplays, move freely to music, play shakers, sticks, maracas, hand drums, and sing some songs as they develop some language skills.

3. Threes can sing a song in their own key, and they may or may not play with a beat. They enjoy creating "kitchen bands", and like to play triangles, cymbals, and xylophones (though these may present coordination challenges). They are often very receptive to musical play.

4. Fours love to invent new verses to songs they already know - they love word play! They like follow the leader-type games, call and response songs, and echo songs - all of this in addition to everything else above.

The point is to be observant of the child, provide experiences that appeal to a child's sense of play , curiousity, and adventure, and guide them toward expressing themselves in musical way, according to the way in which they learn.

Multiple Intelligences

Anyone who is in education for any length of time comes across Howard Gardner's "Theory of Multiple Intelligences" which discusses the ways through which each of us learns. The point is to realize that it is important for teachers especially to use techniques that appeal to as many of these learning styles as possible in teaching concepts, in an attempt to reach as many students as possible.

The magic of music is that it can appeal to everyone. If a student learns through the:

1. Linguistics - Song lyrics or musical stories will be the connection.

2. Logical - Sequences and the organization of the musical sounds will be the connection. The mathematical relationships of the notes will be the draw.

3. Body Movements/Kinesthetic - Dances, fingerplays, and instrument playing will be the connection.

4. Interpersonal - Interacting, performing, and communicating with the music will be the attraction.

5. Intrapersonal - The connection between the musician and instrument/voice, and the self-assessing, reflecting, goal setting and planning that goes into performing will be the draw.

6. Visual/Spatial -The movement in space of performing or watching the performance of music or dancing, and/or the reading of written music will be the connection.

7. Natural - The discerning of patterns, categories, and classifications of musical sounds and the observation of it all will be the attraction.

Brain research is showing us that the connections between right and left brain made in the first 5 years of life are critical to a child's future thinking and recall abilities. Music is an ideal stimulus for making those connections!

A word of explanation...

Or perhaps a point of view...

My thought is that if any activity contains one of the musical elements, it can be claimed as being a somewhat musical activity - especially with young children.

So what are the elements?

1. Pitch - the high-ness or low-ness of the sound, or the number of vibrations in the soundwaves if you want to be technical. Melodies and harmonies come out of this.

2. Dynamics - the loudness, softness, or anything-in-between-ness of the volume of the sound.

3. Timbre - the "color" of the sound, as in the difference between the sound of a voice and a piano, or a violin, or flute, or drum.

4. Rhythm - the beat or pulse of the sound, which also includes the meter (the way the beats are organized) and the tempo (whether the beat is fast or slow).

5. Form - the way the melodies are organized into a whole composition.

6. Texture - the number of different melodies, sounds, etc. going on at one time.

Enough theory, right?