Music is an important part of early childhood development with music making, singing, and dancing all playing an important role in early years music lessons. Not only is it beneficial for the physical development of children and their hand-eye coordination, but it also develops social skills and is a soothing activity for many young learners.
Music making and singing also support language acquistion in early years and aids in the development of communications skills.
To help young learners get the most out of their early years music lessons all you need are some dance and music supplies, and these handy tips.
Don’t Forget About Singing
Singing is an important part of music making, but one that is often forgotten about. By introducing singing along with music, children learn to express themselves and make music not only using instruments but by using their voice too. By utilising singing in your music making lessons, you can also teach young learners how to multitask, as they will eventually learn how to sing and play an instrument at the same time.
To start with, introduce singing in the form of nursery rhymes that children will already be familiar with, encouraging them to play an instrument to the rhythm of it while they do so.
Incorporate Stories
Music can really bring stories to life and add an element of familiarity to your music lessons that will help you engage your students, especially if you choose to incorporate stories they already know or are learning about in other lessons.
To start with, choose a short story with few words and no rhyming as this can actually make it easier to incorporate music making into the telling of the story. Often, stories which naturally have a more musical rhythm can be difficult to incorporate into early years music lessons as there isn’t much room to add new rhythms in.
Don’t Over Complicate Things
Keeping things simples is essential when it comes to early years music making. Young children naturally have a short attention span and over complicated lesson plan or complex instructions will quickly tire them out. To keep them engaged, stick to simple rhythms and instruments that will be easy to use, like our percussion pre-school set.
There’s also no reason why you can’t repeat lesson plans. Learning a new skill takes time, and by going over the same lesson plan you’ll allow plenty of time for young learners to familiarise themselves with different instruments and how to use them.
