Centering Music
Ten years later, Palmyra Andrews noted
The time allotted for music is all time, for who can impose a stop / go switch on children freely swinging and leaping in the play yard or imitating fall leaves or gusty March winds or singing their“ babies” to sleep in the homemaking area or singing their own songs as they paint at the easel.( 1976, 34)
She included many examples of children spontaneously incorporating music while painting, exploring grasshoppers, engaging in dramatic play, and cleaning up blocks. Andrews implored adults to pay attention to music and its power in children’ s lives— both as a way to express feelings and as its own experience.
In a 1991 article, Barbara Andress echoed the call to pay attention to children’ s interests as she shared multiple ways to help them move expressively to music. Supports included visuals, teacher and peer modeling, descriptions of movements( such as“ Jeff is moving his arm so slow” [ 24 ]), and invitations to pretend. She even offered movements for different age levels: Bouncing, swaying, and swinging arms for 2-year-olds; galloping, jumping, and walking to a beat for 3-year-olds; singing and balancing on one foot for 4-year-olds.
Centering Music
Children make meaning, express themselves, develop musically, and engage creatively when they sing, play instruments, and move to music( Wolf 1992; Niland 2019). These are just a sampling of the many articles featured in NAEYC journals over the years that celebrate and highlight the importance of music as a central feature in learning settings.
›“ Awakening the Artist: Music for Young Children,” by Dorothy T. McDonald and Jonny H. Ramsey. Young Children, January 1978. Acknowledging the lack of guidance for early childhood educators who want to incorporate music into their settings, the authors present guidelines for choosing materials and planning activities.
›“ Singing with Infants and Toddlers,” by Alice Sterling Honig. Young Children, July 1995. Soothing, showing comfort, transitioning from one activity to another, building selfesteem, building motor skills— these are just a few of the benefits infants and toddlers experience when adults sing to and with them.
›“ Creativity in Music and Early Childhood,” by Carolyn Hildebrandt. Young Children, November 1998. In addition to reviewing ways teachers often include music in early childhood, the author shares strategies to help children make their own musical choices.
›“ The Music, Movement, and Learning Connection,” by Hap Palmer. Young Children, September 2001. American musician Hap Palmer describes how educators can incorporate movement to build on children’ s interests and ideas.
›“ Music Play: Creating Centers for Musical Play and Exploration,” by Kristen Kemple and colleagues. Young Children, July 2004. The authors connect music with play and offer suggestions on how to organize a variety of activities to support children’ s musical play, exploration, and experimentation.
›“ Musical Play in Early Childhood Classrooms: Taking it One Step Further,” by Ellen Cerniglia. Young Children, November 2013. This article shares ways that early childhood educators can offer diverse musical experiences for multiple purposes and benefits. The author also connects activity examples with music standards.
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