SHOWCASE MAGAZINE | 2018
they play. Children in elementary
school learn to sing together as a
group and possibly learn to play a
musical instrument. Older chil-
dren dance to the music of their
favorite bands and use music to
form friendships and share feel-
ings. Try these activities and games
with your children to experience
the pleasure and learning that
music brings.
Infants and Music. Infants rec-
ognize the melody of a song long
before they understand the words.
They often try to mimic sounds
and start moving to the music as
soon as they are physically able.
Quiet, background music can be
soothing for infants, especially at
sleep time. Loud background mu-
sic may overstimulate an infant by
raising the noise level of the room.
Sing simple, short songs to infants
in a high, soft voice. Try making
up one or two lines about bathing,
dressing, or eating to sing to them
while you do these activities. Find
musical learning activities for
infants.
Toddlers and Music. Toddlers love
to dance and move to music. The
key to toddler music is the repe-
tition of songs, which encourages
the use of words and memoriza-
tion. Silly songs make them laugh.
Try singing a familiar song and
inserting a silly word in the place
of the correct word, like “Mary
had a little spider” instead of lamb.
Let them reproduce rhythms by
clapping or tapping objects.
Preschoolers and Music. Pre-
schoolers enjoy singing just to be
singing. They aren’t self-conscious
about their ability and most are
eager to let their voices roar. They
like songs that repeat words and
melodies, use rhythms with a
definite beat, and ask them to do
things. Preschool children enjoy
nursery rhymes and songs about
familiar things like toys, animals,
play activities, and people. They
also like finger plays and nonsense
rhymes with or without musical
accompaniment.
School-Age Children and Music.
Most young school-age children
are intrigued by kids’ singalong
songs that involve counting, spell-
ing, or remembering a sequence of
events. School-age children begin
expressing their likes and dislikes
of different types of music. They
may express an interest in music
education, such as music lessons
for kids.
Teenagers and Music. Teenagers
may use musical experiences to
form friendships and to set them-
selves apart from parents and
younger kids. They often want to
hang out and listen to music after
school with a group of friends.
Remember those days of basement
and garage bands? They often have
a strong interest in taking music
lessons or playing in a band.
There is no downside to bring-
ing children and music together
through fun activities. We are able
to enjoy the benefits of music from
the moment we’re born, as music
can soothe infants and stimulate
child development. From the pure
pleasure of listening to soothing
sounds and rhythmic harmonies,
to gaining new language and social
skills, whatever the setting, music
can enliven and enrich the lives of
children and the people who care
for them.
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