Children are often fascinated by music, whether they are beating pots and pans or dancing along with the characters on television. Music, like art, also offers a wonderful opportunity for kids to express themselves creatively. So, along with many others here at LeapFrog, I’ve been thinking about incorporating music learning into our products in fun and innovative ways.
I think about music and learning in two ways:
1. Music as the curriculum – melody, pitch, rhythm, etc.
2. Music supporting learning in other domains - literacy, math, etc.
At the moment, I’m thinking about the first goal. Infants can recognize differences in pitch and inflection, and toddlers will sing along to music at their own pitch. As their gross motor skills improve, toddlers also begin to move to music at a consistent tempo. Don’t worry if your child is singing off key or dancing to a different beat than the music – this is a natural part of the learning process!
Listen to Hazel singing her ABCs in the video below and you’ll see what I mean. To an adult, this song is about learning the alphabet in order, with a catchy melody to help your memory along. To Hazel, the ABC song is an opportunity to explore music. She may not have the alphabet in order from A to Z yet, or understand that she’s singing about individual letters. Notice that she’s particularly fond of “W X” - she is clearly using the music to group the letters by their familiar musical phrases.
As preschoolers and beyond, children improve their ability to sing independently and match the rhythm and key of a musical piece. They can listen to and appreciate different styles of music and match it to different moods and activities, such as cleaning up toys or a character’s happiness in a story.
I’d love to hear what’s happening at your house. How do you support your child’s love of music? Do you have some great ideas to share?
Happy learning!
