MUSIC speaks to us as nothing else can.  It reaches the mind and touches the heart and soul of the young child.

MUSIC speaks to children.

Music is filled with patterns and that is what math is really about.  What is key is exposing children to all kinds of music, including jazz, blues, dance, country, classical, folk and rock.  The more rhythms a child hears and moves to, the more patterns he will be able to recognize in math.

Multisensory musical behaviors activate both hemispheres of the young child’s brain.

MUSIC exerts a powerful influence on us.

BRINGING MUSIC TO ALL AGE GROUPS …..

INFANTS – Advanced brain-scan technology and neuroscience research reveal that when children participate in music, the brain “lights up like a Christmas tree” in many different areas.  Researchers also remind us that we must look beyond the lullabies and nursery rhymes and play a variety of types of music.  Surround the infant with musical toys and play them one at a time.  Then play them all at once.  Place an autoharp or other musical instrument on the floor for your infant to explore and “play”. Hang a wind chime outside their room.  Put jingle bells inside an empty plastic bottle and roll across the floor.  Plan for a set time for music in your classroom.  Infants can make beautiful music!

TODDLERS – Music can add much joy to your daily life with toddlers.  After the babbling stage of an infant, comes toddler imitations or “tagging on”.  Toddlers copy what they hear being sung and especially love repetition, funny sounds, chants, and playing instruments. Everyday plan for an active music time with your toddlers – “rock n’ roll band time”, marching band time with instruments and flags or streamers, disco dance time.  Use music for transitions and calming activities too.  Make animal sounds and truck/car sounds and sing echo songs often.  Music and movement should happen OFTEN AND CONSISTENTLY each day with toddlers!

PRESCHOOL – Songs, rhymes, chants and singing games have an overwhelming impact on young children.  Music can change a child’s brain as well as their mood.  Children make music naturally.  Singing with and to children increases closeness, boosts memory, increases spatial reasoning, develops humor, helps to develop language skills and calms children.  Even the reluctant participant is still hearing and feeling the rhythms of the music.  Use music throughout your day – as a cue for clean-up or transitioning to another activity.  Set up a music and recording center in your room – complete with a cardboard sound room.  Use rhythm sticks or drums for children to tap patterns.  Get more sophisticated by tapping syllables in children’s name after they have mastered control with tapping.  Play a math and rhythm band game by assigning four drums for the “band” by matching up four people, etc.  Make the sounds quiet, loud, crazy and calm.  Sing as you walk to the gym or playground. Foster creativity by playing different types of music and have children dance with scarves or paint while listening to music.

MOVEMENT IS THE YOUNG CHILD’S PREFERRED MODE OF LEARNING.

IT IT’S NOT IN THE HAND & BODY, IT’S NOT IN THE BRAIN!

Brain research tells us that most of the brain is activated during physical activity – much more so than when sitting.

The brain loves music and rhythm.  Music, music, music! Music can enhance learning, and songs and chants are a convenient way for the brain to “store” information.

Crossover movements “unstuck” the brain.  There is a line down the middle of the body called the midline. Whenever you engage children in cross-lateral activities, it wakes up the brain.  Small motor activities stimulate the brain.  When children do fingerplays, work puzzles, or play with playdough, they are using their brains.

by Nancy Nathanson, Regional Ed Director

There are many reasons that art is such an important part of the preschool experience for your child!

Art Promotes Creativity

Both at home and at school helping children become more creative is a goal we all need to strive for—We need to help our children become more creative regardless of where their creativity will be used.

As parents we know that even siblings are highly individual. No two youngsters express themselves the same way. Creativity brings out the child’s personality and that is of great value to the developing child.

When parents view their child’s artwork, realize the creative process your child was involved in is the most important thing.  In other words, the process is more important than the product!

So, simply stated the goals of art for preschoolers is to:

Express their thinking, knowledge and ideas;

Explore, try out, and create with new and different kinds of media;

Experiment with colors, lines, forms, shapes, textures, and designs;

Express feelings and emotions;

Be creative.

Parents and teachers both have many opportunities to help children to develop mentally, socially and emotionally through art. Art promotes creativity, but it does so much more! Art builds self-confidence, teaches task analysis and participate in group work as well as individuals.

Parents may encourage their children to experiment with art products in the following ways:

Avoid coloring-book-type line drawings or workbooks.

Enjoy your child’s art work and tell them so.

Accept a child’s creative products without placing a value judgment on the item.

Make positive comments as to how the child solves a problem in relating to his work.

Art Builds Self-Confidence

Parents who encourage the creative skills of pretending, imaginative thinking, fantasizing and inventiveness help their child deal with the world in which they live. These skills will help in problem solving, getting along with others and understanding their world. When used in art and other areas, these skills build self-confidence–essential for now and for the future.

Help your child feels good about her art projects.

Encourage your child to verbalize the different ways they used art materials.

Find a special place to display your child’s work.

Encourage our child to share their products with the extended family and friends.

Materials List for Art Projects

To help your child to enjoy art at home provide an interesting assortment of materials and the child’s creativity will follow. Look for castoffs, natural resources and throw-aways. These are often the most suitable for art projects. Store small items in clear plastic shoeboxes for easy identification. Place on low shelves easily accessible for children.

Suggested materials include:

Acorns

Chalk (colored) and crayons

Chenille stems

Cotton balls

Cupcake liners

Egg cartons

Egg shells, crushed

Fabric swatches

Felt tip markers

Magazine and catalogs

Newspapers

Paper (variety of colors and textures)

Sand, salt, sawdust

Seed pods

Stickers

Straws (drinking)

Styrofoam curls and pieces

Tempera paint

Tissue paper (colored)

Toothpicks

Wallpaper books

Yarn and string

Art Ideas:

Creative art can’t be saved for a specific time. Consider it as part of a child’s day.  Some of the following ideas can be tried::

String Painting–Dip short lengths of string into tempera. Place between a folded paper and pull.

Finger Painting–Use slick paper for project. Apply finger or whole hand approach.

Straw Painting–Use slick paper, drops of paint and blow with straws for a design.

Tissue Collage–Place pieces of torn tissue on a sheet of construction paper. Paint over with liquid starch. Allow to dry.

Textured Painting–Add ingredients, such as crushed eggshells, sawdust, sand or coffee grinds and a small amount of glue to paint. Draw a simple design on paper. Sprinkle the mixture on the design and shake off the excess.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS …..

CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Childhood obesity in the US has increased 20% despite a decrease in fat consumption and little change in calorie intake.

1-5 American children are currently overweight!!

Quote from Dr. Samuel Abbate …

“The consequences of denying the body exercise are just as severe as depriving it of food, water, or oxygen; it just takes longer to see the consequences.

Quote from Rae Pica, Movement Specialist, More Movement, Smarter Kids ….

“It is a huge mistake to think the mind and body are separate entities.  The truth is that the domains of child development – physical, social, emotional and cognitive – simply do not mature separately from one another.  There’s an overlap and interrelatedness among them.  And children do not differentiate among

thinking

feeling

moving.

Thus, when a child learns something related to one domain, it impacts the others.

Gone are the days of opening your door and sending your children outside to play for hours on end.  Lifestyles have changed tremendously in recent years and our children’s activities have been affected.  When the American Academy of Pediatrics released its’ “Back to Sleep” policy to help reduce the incidence of SIDS, parents and caregivers were less aware of the second part of the campaign title, “Tummy to Play”.  Tummy time is an essential part of your infants’ day; they should acclimate to this position as early in life as possible.  We know earliest learning is based on motor development.  Infants are now spending 60 hours per week of waking time “containerized” – an alarming rate!  Providing more movement opportunities such as reaching, stretching, and manipulating will help to build strong muscles.  Creeping and crawling is known to activate both sides of the brain – an important exercise!

Toddlers too need safe opportunities to explore their environment and use their bodies in ways that improve coordination and strengthen muscles.  Toddlers cannot resist the urge to climb and we should encourage the opportunity to perfect this emerging skill.  According to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, our little ones should accumulate at least 30 minutes of structured activity and up to several hours per day of daily, unstructured physical activity.  Playing hide and seek, participating in running and jumping exercises in addition to  dancing and climbing will develop physical coordination and have a positive impact on their social/emotional development.

Movement has much to offer in the development of the cognitive domain also.  When young children move their bodies, they are simultaneously stimulating the corresponding areas of the brain that relate to abstract thinking.  Preschoolers need time, space and opportunity for movement  – it develops the “whole” child and feeds the brain!  Climbing on jungle gyms, wheelbarrow walking, crawling through tunnels and around obstacles and working at the easel all help to develop their shoulders and upper arm muscles, which will in turn strengthen the fine motor muscles needed for handwriting.  Children learn from concrete to abstract and their bodies provide the most concrete experience available for planning and organizational skills.  A child must first experience controlling his body in space before he can organize pictures and letters on a page.  Using their bodies to form letter shapes, measuring objects in relation to their bodies, and following directions while moving to Simon Says are all concrete learning experiences.  As Carla Hannaford states in her book, Smart Moves , “movement activates the neural wiring throughout the body, making the whole body the instrument of learning”.

Bottom line is we can all benefit from more opportunities to move!  You can serve as a role model to your children and take part in physical activity yourself.  And be cautious about too much structured, adult-directed games for young children – they often require much more “waiting time” than the desired outcome of movement and exercise. Remember if it’s not in the hand and body, it’s not in the brain!