It’s that time of year. The young children I teach are already bursting to tell me all about their costumes for Halloween. There seem to be a lot of Elsas and Annas this year, along with the usual princesses, ghosts, ninjas, skeletons, and superheroes. I have nothing against Halloween – but I don’t do any […]
Tag Archives: preschool music
“The Owl Song” from the Lynn Kleiner CD “More Kids Make Music, Babies Make Music Too” available on iTunes Yes, isn’t that a cute picture of a baby owl I found? Lots of fall-themed stories seem to feature owls, and I find this song is a nice tie-in. It’s one of those songs, like “Little […]
“The Gingerbread Cowboy” by Janet Squires Cowboys and cowgirls, you are in for a great time with this hilarious version of “The Gingerbread Boy.” This one has boots, a ten-gallon hat, and a rip-roarin’ attitude. Instead of running from farm animals, this spunky little guy runs through the desert, away from a roadrunner, a band […]
As an early-childhood music teacher, I believe that what I do is very important in developing young children’s listening skills. Singing, playing rhythm instruments, moving to music – all these involve auditory cues for children to focus on in a fun and age-appropriate way. There’s generally an enjoyable consequence of careful listening in a musical […]
Nursery rhymes stimulate memory, improve language skills, develop appreciation for music, enrich vocabulary, develop phonemic awareness, encourage thinking skills…..and …..they are fun! – Jackie Silberg Jackie Silberg has written many books of wonderful activities for infants, […]
“One, Two, Three, Whee!” by Eric Litwin from the CD “Smile at Your Neighbor With Mr. Eric” available on iTunes It seems like everyone now knows the amazing story and song of “Pete the Cat,” and it certainly deserves its popularity. But Eric Litwin, “Pete the Cat”‘s creator, has written lots of terrific songs for young […]
“Bumpety Bump” by Pat Hutchins There are fun movements and sounds on almost every page of this charming book. It’s great for this time of year, when many young children are visiting farms for pumpkin picking and hayrides. The ride in “Bumpety Bump” is a wheelbarrow ride, given to a young boy by his grandfather […]
This article of mine originally appeared in Creativity Portal in November 2010. Children Need to Know We Value Their Ideas By Abby Connors It’s wonderful to stimulate and inspire creative thinking in the classroom, but we also need to show children how much we value their creative efforts. When a child, or anyone, feels that […]
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” – Plato In my music classes with young children I see this every day. Music brings enthusiasm, energy, smiles, ideas, more life to children’s […]
“One Little Finger” by Super Simple Learning from the CD “Super Simple Songs” – 1 available on iTunes Usually I don’t care much for “generic” children’s recordings – they don’t seem to have much character or particularly excellent musicianship. This song, though, just hits the nail on the head for an age-appropriate fingerplay song for […]
Music (and Science) For Young Children 