I hear so many times in my classes “oh I can’t sing”, “I’ve got an awful voice” but to your baby your voice is perfect, because you are their world, it's the voice they know and love the most. If singing isn’t at the top of your list of favourite activities there are so many different ways you can be musical with your little one and bring music into your everyday life without having to be Beyoncé. Here are some ways that I like to get musical with my little one.
1- Play music that you love and have a kitchen disco
This is one of the cornerstones of Baby Band. We use music that our parents love resulting in a love of music being passed to our children. If you love Guns n’ Roses, play Guns n’ Roses. If you love S Club 7, play S Club 7. If you love 70’s disco, share that with your child, put it on, preferably loud, and get that kitchen disco started.
Dancing to and feeling the beat of the music is so important for so many areas of your little one's development. You’ll be amazed to know that being able to feel the pulse in music will help later in life when your little one is learning how to crawl, walk, use scissors, climb up stairs and of course when they begin to use sounds and words to communicate too.
2 - Get the pots and pans drum kit out
Dig out your saucepans from the cupboard and grab the wooden spoons. Start by getting your child used to the noise and show them where to hit the pans and then begin to experiment with different patterns of sound and beats. You could try being fast and slow, or loud and quiet. Once you’ve got the hang of it, put on your favourite tune and bring out your inner Phill Collins.
‘Development Matters’ is a non statutory curriculum for Early Years educational settings to follow. It’s filled with guidance on how to support your little ones' learning. One of the sections, ‘Playing and Exploring’, suggests that you need to provide opportunities for your little one to “Plan and think ahead about how they will explore or play with objects.” Playing their saucepan drum kit would be a big tick for this section of the guidance. You could encourage your little one to tell you about how they might play them before they begin, e.g. encourage them to say “I’m going to hit it hard so it’s loud”.
3- Seek out some live music
It always makes me smile when I spy a little one transfixed by live street musicians. Have you noticed how they get such joy from hearing live music and instinctively jump up and want to dance. Go find some live performances to watch together. Start low key, find performances at your local library or community centre then if you and your baby love it look for something bigger, different styles of music, somewhere you can go with family and friends.
4- Make up silly songs
You don’t have to make time for music, you can just add it into your daily activities. Make up silly songs about putting your little ones shoes on; sing a funny song about what you are having for
dinner; sing a song while you change their nappy. Your song doesn’t have to make sense or be musically perfect, the single most important thing for your little one's musical growth is to see you make music and enjoy doing it.
As part of the Communication and Language section of Development Matters your child will be learning to “enjoy singing, music and toys that make sounds.” By making up silly songs you are building a love of singing and music and you’ll also be developing their listening and attention skills too. Bonus!
5- Have instruments around
You don’t need a grand piano in your living room, I’m thinking more like a few small instruments, homemade shakers (like rice in a bottle) and percussion instruments in a basket that are easily reachable by small hands. You’ll be amazed by the music your little ones will naturally make as they grab the instruments and begin to sing and dance. Parents of newborns you’ll find yourself reaching for a maraca to entertain your little one with a little improvised song when they are feeling a little sad.
By making these homemade instruments you are supporting your child's learning in Expressive Arts and Design . Children will learn to “Explore a range of sound makers and instruments and play them in different ways.” You could use ‘found objects’ too, suggest tapping a bottle onto the table or running a twig along a fence.
I’d love to see some of your musical moments with your little ones at home. Please take a photo and tag us (@babybandmusic) on instagram and facebook.
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