Music and movement

The topic of music and movement in the curriculum is an area that has long been neglected up until recently. Educators are now becoming more aware of the benefits of a quality music and movement program because of increased studies. Researchers have found that music and movement programs have a positive impact on child development for children between birth and their primary school years in many of the developmental domains. Singing songs to children and with them will teach them about beat, tones, and lyrics which are all important in developing auditory discrimination. The use of instruments will promote fine motor development and encourage creative development. Creative movement helps children learn many concepts such as balance, coordination, rhythm, and is also an important tool for developing self-esteem and body awareness and the own development of the child itself. Music and movement has been added to the curriculum in a larger effort to bring and keep Arts Enrichment courses in the schools. Many organizations and businesses have been developed to bring programs to schools and the rest of the community. With the use of music children can develop cognitive skills, such as counting, the alphabet, days of the week their address and phone number, just to name a few.

Annotated Bibliography

This annotated bibliography will help educators learn about the importance of music and movement programs, and create their own programs within their classroom. Below are links to external websites that provide information in the form of online articles, lesson plans and activities, and sites to purchase materials. Providing this an annotated bibliography will allow the reader to know what the website contains before accessing it.

Online Articles

Baney, C. E. (2002). Wired for sound: The essential connection between music and development. Exelligence Learning Corporation. Retrieved October 27, 2004, from http://www.earlychildhood.com/Articles/index.cfm?FuseAction=Article&A=69

This article focuses on the link between music and intellect. It goes on to discuss the many different research experiments that have been conducted that all seek to prove that there is a link between music and children’s functioning. All of the studies that were discussed did find that music was beneficial for children and in most cases seen an improvement in the area that was being studied which included math and science skills, spatial skills, and even music aptitude. This article also focuses on what educators and caregivers can do to incorporate music into their daily routine. It concludes with giving direct points regarding the benefits of music and movement.

Boyd, K. S., Chalk, M. S., & Law, J. S. (n.d.) Retrieved November 3, 2004, from http://www.creativekidsonthemove.com/Dance.htm

This article discusses the importance of creative movement and its many benefits. Creative Movement is an exciting way for children to explore movement through music. Creative movement also teaches children a lot about their own personal bodies, the space around them, and their other classmates. This article also goes on to discuss the many other benefits of creative movement. It outlines many findings in relation to child development, sensory awareness, social development, health and fitness, language development and cognitive learning, self-esteem and so much more. While the article isn’t very in-depth it does give a great overview of the benefits of creative movement.

Levinowitz, L. M. The importance of music in early childhood. General Music Today, p. 1-4. Retrieved October 27, 2004, from http://www.musictogetherphila.com/music.pdf

This article gives a very general description about how children progress in their individual music development. While the article was very short it did give a lot information about how children progress for infancy to childhood. Siting a lot of research has been done in the area of children and music. One of the most interesting findings is that young children develop musically through a predictable sequence to basic music competence. The article also went on to describe what parents and caregivers can do to ensure that their child is developing appropriately.

Start the music: A report from the Early Childhood Music Summit. (2000). Retrieved October 27, 2004, from http://www.menc.org/guides/startmusic/stmreport.htm

Start the music was a report based on the early childhood music summit. The meeting was held as a way to educate the public about the importance of music and to make it an essential component in early childhood development. Many of the benefits of music and movement programs/activities which have been found in extensive research studies were addressed. The summit also addressed three needs that they viewed as very important that needed to be met. They are;

1. Music educators and providers of early childhood education need to identify and create ways that enable music to be treated as a basic and integral part of every young child’s education,
2. Both teachers and care providers must be encouraged to provide quality music instruction to all children, and
3. Those with "authorization authority" i.e., legislators and politicians, school board members, state- and district-level administrators, principals, and in the end, the general public, are a target for the Summit’s messages.

Strategies were created for each of the above needs. This can help educators who do not have a strong music program to create one. Overall the notes from the summit were very informative and provided a lot of great ideas that school boards need to implement.

Lesson Plans/Activities

The perpetual preschool. (2004). Retrieved October 27, 2004, from, http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/music.html

This site allows educators to share their music and movement ideas. There are different links which make it a lot easier to find what you’re searching for. The links are everyday songs and finger plays, creative movement activities, holiday songs and finger plays, musical instruments, themed songs, sharing classical musical with children, music links, and CDs and cassettes. This site is a great resource for educators to have.

Early Childhood Music & Movement Association. (2004). Retrieved October 27, 2004, from http://www.ecmma.org/

The Early Childhood Music and Movement Association (ECMMA) is an organization of professional educators dedicated to the ideal that all children should be given the advantage of music and movement instruction during their early years from birth to age seven. The website lists the many focuses of the ECMMA which have to do with the advancements in music and movement development, educating and encouraging early childhood educators, and supporting the family system. This website also provides information about certification programs, links to readings, and information about conferences.

Kids Imagine Inc. (n.d) Retrieved September 26, 2006 from http://www.kidsimagineinc.com/

Kids Imagine Inc. is a group that provides the highest quality in music and movement lesson, directed towards preschools. Their M&M program is called 9th Street Music.

Kindermusik International Inc. (n.d) Retrieved October 27, 2004, from http://www.kindermusik.com/

Kindermusik is a community of families and teachers passionately committed to bringing music to children's lives through developmentally appropriate curricula, CDs, books, instruments, and activities. They offer classes to the public throughout Canada and the United States. There is even a class locater so you can search for a class in your area. Besides offing classes this site educates about the importance of music for young children. They have a lot of statistics posted on their site from numerous research studies that they have conducted. There is also a section where parents/caregivers/educators can purchase materials that are used during the Kindermusik sessions. This would allow families to continue the songs that they have learned within their home. Kindermusik is truly dedicated to bringing music and movement into the lives of families. This site provides a great deal of information about their programs and the importance of music in a young child’s life.

Classroom Materials

Best Children's Music. (2003). Retrieved October 27, 2004, from http://www.bestchildrensmusic.com/

The Best Children’s Music website provides quality materials and resources for both home and school. The website is broken up into age categories to make searching for materials quick and easy. What is available are CD’s and cassettes that the website claims are kid tested and parent approved so you can be sure your getting a quality product.

Environments Inc. (n.d.) Retrieved October 27, 2004, from http://www.eichild.com/category.cfm?Category=327&CFID=15935&CFTOKEN=760d6a598487e407-DB9F7386-C30C-3AE8-ACDCEB543F1B3DB6

This website provides many resources for teaching music and movement. This online catalogue has many different brightly coloured musical instruments. The first two pages contained instruments, while the last page has books and scarves. All of the materials on this site are geared towards young children. They are all brightly coloured and incorporate animals (bear tambourine and monkey bells). The prices seemed somewhat reasonable ranging from $8.75 for one rainmaker to $58 for a bundle of rhythm materials. For an early childhood educator this site would provide a lot of useful resources to add to their collection.

FUNdamentals of Music and Movement. Retrieved June 10, 2006, from http://www.fundamentalscenter.com/

FUNdamentals of Musicand Movement offers arts enrichment programs in schools, daycare and through classes at the center. Educators and parents can purchase the Fundamentals of Music and Movement self produced CD "Let's Pretend" with songs that teach music concepts and encourage interaction. Visitors to the center can purchase cd's, instruments and instruction materials.

West Music Company.(2004). Retrieved October 27, 2004, from https://www.westmusic.com/pages/home.htm

West Music Company is a site dedicated to music. Educators can browse online and find exactly what they are looking for or they can request a catalogue. It was very easy to find what I was looking for on this site because of a search option. This option listed all of the musical resources that they have available so you can easily find what you need (there was even a section for early childhood). There were resources available that were appropriate for all ages. There were the typical brightly coloured early childhood instruments, guitars for all ages, and even full drum sets. Educators who are teaching children how to play a certain instrument would also be able to find instruction books for their students. Overall I think that this website provides everything that an educator would need to create a successful music and movement program within their classroom.

Additional Sites

Harman, M. (2002). Music and movement-Instrumental in language development. Excelligence Learning Corporation. Retrieved October 27, 2004, from http://www.earlychildhood.com/Articles/index.cfm?FuseAction=Article&A=361

Ontario Specific Information

The Arts. (1998). The Ontario Curriculum. Retrieved October 27, 2004 from, http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/arts/arts.html

This is the section in the Ontario Curriculum that focuses on the arts. The site explains what children will be learning and specific outcomes for Music and Drama and Dance in their primary and junior years.

See also the Early Childhood Music Association of Ontario, [1].

See also

• Music education for young children
• Music education