When you listen to music what does it do to you? Bring up a memory? An emotion? Or does it just make you want to dance? Whatever the answer I think we can all agree music is a huge part of most people’s lives. It will come as no major surprise that music is also important for the development of our children. We want to share with you the importance of incorporating music into learning and why we make it a priority in our settings.
Music at home supports the development of family bonding and mood. It provides a great tool for encouraging self-expression and it’s an inclusive, uplifting activity that can be accessed by all children. At whatever stage of development, it builds self-esteem and self-regulation.
Music helps children to tune in – it activates all areas of the brain. Once we have their attention, music can develop aural processing and the neural responses that are the basis for communication and understanding. Songs can introduce new concepts and words – and they stick!
Music makes us move! These activities have a direct impact on physical development – exploring the movement of our bodies and even using fine motor skills by handling instruments. But children’s motor skills, their balance, and their coordination is just the beginning. The songs can also teach children how to stay physically healthy in a fun and memorable way. Songs about nutrition, brushing teeth, the health of the planet, self-care and exploring the outdoors can be found in the Boogie Mites repertoire.
Research shows that children with the strongest phonological awareness when starting school are the strongest readers and writers by age 7. The EYs National Strategy for Literacy (L&S Phase 1) recognises the important part that music plays in strengthening phonological awareness – through musical sequencing of sounds and actions, developing sense of rhythm and rhyme, developing sense of syllabic and phoneme awareness.
Music – like maths – is built on sequences and patterns. Children will develop mathematical thinking as they take part and respond to these sequences and patterns (counting, keeping the beat, moving, and playing with different rhythms). In action songs, we use positional language, such as ‘high,’ ‘low,’ ‘more than,’ ‘less than’ which contributes to understanding and communication of mathematical thinking.
Songs can provide an engaging vehicle for introducing exploration of all forms of life, from the bugs and worms in the garden to frogs or a fish’s journey in the sea. Or about countries in the world (using traditional music), about how you might get there and the animals that you might find.
Children are inherently curious and imaginative – they are constantly exploring the world in which they live. Music will encourage role-play, creating their own actions, dancing, or even inserting their own lyrics into a song; however, they respond to music, they are stretching and moulding their confidence and creativity.
The information in this blog was supplied to us by our friend Sue at Boogie Mites and due to their support in our nurseries have offered our parents a discount on any products bought through https://www.boogiemites.co.uk/product-category/parent-products/ , use code BMA4C20% to receive 20% off.
