Tag: early years education

WHY PARENTS ARE SO IMPORTANT DURING MUSIC CLASSES FOR BABIES AND TODDLERS?

.Reading time 6 minutes.

ENGLISH / ITALIAN

As children grow, our music sessions also change!

These gorgeous children started their music sessions with me when they were 5 months old, their parents brought them to every single class (based on the Gordon’s Music Learning Theory) since when they were curious and happy, little babies.

During these years, these parents have discovered a different way to interact, relax and play with their children, through sounds, rhythms and music. You should hear how they sing during the sessions!

Their children are growing fast and soon they will enter in the music room just with their friends – they will turn 3 soon – so right now we are working on their autonomy and independence, to facilitate this change.

Our classes follow in fact the musical and cognitive development of the children; every session is planned based on their needs, to stimulate not only their musical skills but also their general growth.

Parents are fundamental for us during this process so it’s really important to have them on board during the sessions, enjoying the music activities as much as their children.

WHY PARENTS ARE SO IMPORTANT DURING MUSIC CLASSES FOR BABIES AND TODDLERS?

They are their children’s reference so everything they do is an example for their children:

  • Everything a parent feels during the class affects their child. If a parent is anxious or doesn’t feel comfortable during the session, this will probably influence their child similarly. If a mum or dad is relaxed, then the baby will feel relaxed too 🙂
  • When parents sing or move to rhythms, they are showing their child how to enjoy music; they’re basically saying “It’s fine, we can sing, dance and move in this space”. This will help their child to feel comfortable, safe and enjoy the session.
  • In our classes, we ask parents to accompany our songs with easy ostinatos (repetitive notes or patterns): in this way children will be surrounded by richer music (called polyphony) that will support children’s musical development.
  • Playing and singing together with other parents is also an amazing example for children to collaborate and work as a team.

ITALIANO

Man mano che i bambini crescono, anche le nostre sessioni musicali cambiano!

Questi stupendi bambini hanno iniziato le loro sessioni musicali con me quando avevano solo cinque mesi, i loro genitori li hanno accompagnati ad ogni singolo incontro (basata sulla Music Learning Theory di Gordon) sin da quando erano dei curiosi piccolissimi

Durante gli anni, questi genitori hanno scoperto un modo diverso di interagire, rilassarsi e giocare con i loro figli, attraverso suoni, ritmi e musica. Dovreste sentire come cantando durante le sessioni!

I bambini stanno crescendo rapidamente e presto entreranno nella stanza della musica solo con i loro amici, senza i genitori – avranno quasi tre anni in Settembre – e ora stiamo lavorando sulla loro autonomia e indipendenza, per facilitare questo passaggio.

Le nostre lezioni seguono infatti lo sviluppo musicale e cognitivo dei bambini; ogni sessione è pianificata in base alle loro esigenze, per stimolare non solo le loro abilità musicali ma anche la loro crescita generale.

I genitori sono fondamentali per noi durante questo processo, quindi è molto importante per noi che siano coinvolti durante gli incontri, godendosi le attività musicali tanto quanto i loro bambini.

PERCHÉ I GENITORI SONO DAVVERO IMPORTANTI DURANTE LE CLASSI DI MUSICA PER I BAMBINI?

Sono i riferimenti dei loro figli, quindi tutto ciò che fanno è un esempio per i loro bambini:

  • Tutto ciò che i genitori sentono durante la lezione condiziona i loro bambini. Se un genitore è ansioso o non si sente a suo agio durante la sessione, probabilmente influenzerà suo figlio in modo simile. Se una mamma o un papà sono rilassati, allora anche il bambino si sentirà rilassato.
  • Quando i genitori cantano, tengono il tempo o rispondono in maniera musicale, stanno mostrando al loro bambino come godersi la musica; stanno praticamente dicendo: “È tutto ok, possiamo cantare, ballare e muoverci in questo spazio”. Ciò aiuterà il loro bambino a sentirsi a proprio agio, sicuro e a godersi la sessione.
  • Nei nostri corsi, chiediamo ai genitori di accompagnare i brani con facili ostinati (note o pattern ripetuti): in questo modo i bambini saranno circondati da musica più ricca (chiamata polifonia) che supporterà lo sviluppo musicale dei bambini.
  • Giocare e cantare insieme ad altri genitori è anche un meraviglioso esempio di collaborazione e lavorare di squadra.

CHILDREN’S MOTOR RESPONSES TO MUSIC

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Today we’d love to talk about one of the ways in which we get more in touch with our students’ musical learning progress: the observation of their motor responses to music.

Some of the easiest reactions to notice are the little legs (or little hands) moving to the beat. Finding ourselves moving when we listen to music happens to all of us, most of the time unconsciously.
Rhythm, although, is something that gets stable later in the age (if properly supported).

So, how should we consider these little movements showed by the children during the sessions?
We should remember that children’s body movement is in resonance with what they’re listening to, namely the music that surrounds them.

We can say that music moves the child even before the child knows it.

Children move unconsciously, in a space that is specially created for their freedom to experiment.

Furthermore, during the sessions, we can often observe children swaying with their whole bodies to the beat, shifting the weight from one leg to another, most of the time accordingly to the tempo and the speed of the music. Their centre of gravity is perfectly linked to the ground.

What else can we observe? 
Children move, run, jump. They fall. 
We can pay attention and notice exactly when that happens. We will then see that children fall on the musical cadences; at the end of the musical phrases; or at the end of the songs, meaning that they are constantly listening and following the music (even if they’re not looking at us).

Now is the moment to ask you… have you ever observed your students’ movement? Have you ever paid attention to these details? 
By doing it, you will be able to evaluate children’s rhythm development in a very natural way.

Why don’t you try to catch their motor responses in your next sessions and share with us your discoveries? 
You can describe them here in the comments or use the hashtag #firststepsinmusic on Instagram (remember to tag @gordonukinstitute so it will be easier for us to find you).