Music and Learning

Incorporating music and movement into your child’s learning activities can reap major benefits. Experts agree that a multi-sensory approach to learning is best — music in particular helps improve concentration and attention levels. Music can also affect energy levels, release tension and provide inspiration.

When you think about it, music and rhythm are an integral part of childhood learning, as little ones are first exposed to their ABCs through song. In fact, many of the books geared towards preschoolers are written with rhyming patterns. My girls and I often incorporate music into our daily learning exercises!

 Here are some simple techniques to help integrate music into the learning process…

• Have your child clap or tap out syllables on a table or drum when practicing new vocabulary and/or spelling words.
• To enhance writing skills, have your child listen to a short song and then ask him to write the lyrics and sing them back to you.
• When studying history, play songs from various eras.
• Use rhymes to help with the recall of facts. Example: "In Nineteen Hundred and Sixty-Two, the Cuban Missile Crisis came into view.
• Have your child clap or tap basic math facts.
• When learning fractions get your little one up and jumping - half turns, quarter turns, etc.
• Chant counting patterns to rhythm, i.e.  2, 4, 6, 8, mommy thinks that Mary’s great….

Movement and sound are both powerful and fun learning tools! Why not start integrating them into your routine today!