If there are two things that resonate with preschool age children they are music and movement. For young children, adding music and movement can really be a magic wand to distract, redirect, calm, brighten and comfort. Stick around and I will share with you a big list of music and movement activities for preschool. I picked up on a lot of these things in my 8 years of working in preschools. These ideas are great at home for parents too!
If you are interested in activities specifically to occupy rambunctious kiddos while indoors, on a rainy day or such, check out this article where I share a bunch of easy ways to wear your kids out indoors.
What is music and movement for preschoolers?
Music and movement for preschoolers refers to activities that involve the combination of music and physical activity for young children. This may include dancing, playing instruments, singing, and rhythm work like banging on a drum or shaking a tambourine in time with the music. Also, telling children’s nursery rhymes in song, special hand and body movements, etc.
What are the benefits of children doing music and movement?
There certainly are well known benefits of children doing music and movement activities. As long as I can personally remember, preschool teachers and parents of young children have had great success is utilizing music and movement into their students/children routines. Here is a review published to the NIH National Library of Medicine that summarizes many studies involving the benefits of music interventions on children’s development. Here’s another interesting article in Sage Journals called Movement Experiences in Preschool Music Classes.
In short, music and movement for young children can help develop cognitive skills, regulate emotions, and build healthy physical strength. It may also help with language development, spatial intelligence, provide a joyful atmosphere and so much more.
What are the goals of music in early childhood?
Music in early childhood can be such a wonderful thing. There is something innate to most preschool age children that makes them just love music and movement naturally. In our early years of development, before we become burdened by our own perceptions of what other people may think of us, we tend to have such freedom in expressing ourselves and so few inhibitions.
Using music and movement as a way to build language skills, gross motor skills and strength, get the mind off of certain momentary frustrations and onto something else are all good outcomes from music and movement.
Throw in there fostering an appreciation for different types of music, learning to move ones body in different ways, learning to pronounce words and the meanings of those words and connecting with others through the joy of music and movement and you may have yourself a great success!
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Story Telling Interactive Songs
5 Little Ducks by Raffi
is such a cute song that has the kids do the part of the “quack, quack, quack” in each verse.
Day O by Raffi
is another interactive song that is a classic and so fun to sing together! Can you tell I like Raffi? His kids music is some of the few that. to me, are so much better than the average “kids music” and adults can actually enjoy a bit more too.
A bunch of great Raffi songs are available on cd. This is his concert album.
Do-Re-Mi from The Sound of Music
is a forever classic that all children should have sung to them! Before long, they will be joining in, articulating the tricky lyrics, you’ll be amazed! It’s great for speech development in my (non-expert) opinion! Plus, it’s hard to not dance while singing this song!
Going on a Bear Hunt
is a story/poem/song that I can’t recommend enough. I love this video, where the creator of this immensely popular book shows how to do the sounds and movements to go along with it! SO FUN and such a wholesome part of childhood no kid should miss! Reading the book together is another layer of learning and fun to add more enjoyment.
Peanut, Peanut Butter and Jelly!
is another little diddy that was sung a lot at preschool and kids always loved it. You sing about the process of making the peanut butter and making the jelly, making your sandwich and then taking a big, juicy bite! For the different steps, you can add in hand movements, like you were doing the mashing and the spreading and eating!
Peace Like a River
is an good oldie that when you add the hand movements to it, is a big winner! The repetitive lyrics are loved by kids. I always would end our school day by singing this song and signing it with the kids and they always looked forward to it.
Classic Nursery Rhymes/Finger Plays
These are probably songs that you already knew and sang as a child. Sometimes it’s just helpful to have things in one place as a reminder to use with our own kids. I will say, don’t overlook the simple old-school finger plays and rhymes like this. They are worth their weight in gold for the nostalgia, connection and sweet traditions they can establish and then remind us of.
The Wheels on the Bus
This Little Light of Mine
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Mr. Sun
The More We Get Together
5 Green and Speckled Frogs
Music and movement for Happy Feelings
To cheer up a sad situation, to distract from a conflict or to brighten a rainy day, happy music and some joyful dancing and movement can be just the ticket! Here are a few ideas:
If You’re Happy and You Know It
is great for combining clapping, stomping, turning and singing!
I’m So Happy
action song with clapping and movements is a peppy and cheerful song to learn together.
Pharrell Williams Happy song
with cute dance moves you can learn along with it! Very young children probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with all the different moves, but they could definitely get their groove on!
Wake Up!
is a darling get up and get moving dance song that would be a great song for first thing in the morning.
Music and Movement Ideas for Calming Down
Shake Your Sillies Out by Raffi
is such a fun song to allow all kinds of silly and goofy wiggles to come out! My preschool kids always LOVED singing and dancing to this song!
Breathe
is a calming song to help signal calming down and bring down the energy.
Move to The Beat
is a perfect calm, sitting down transition song.
Educational Songs
I love this whole YouTube channel for educational songs for kids. They are all lovely and the channel is chock full of almost any type of subject you want put to song. A few of my favorites are:
Alphabet Song
Days of the Week
Letter Sounds A B C
Play Silk Dances and Movement
What is a play silk? even though play silks are technique just scarves or pieces of fabric, they can become a large part of your children’s play and learning life! There are different types of silks/scarves.
Here is a great article by the most popular seller of beautiful play silks, Sarah’s Silks, including 100 things to do with play silks.
Sarah’s Silks offers many gorgeous varieties of silks in many colors.
Play silks/scarves are basically a lightweight, gauzy piece of fabric that is an open-ended play-thing. Meaning children are inspired to use their imagination and come up with many different ways to play and dance and move with them.
Here is a pretty set of three silk in rainbow colors from Amazon if you prefer. You can also use large bandanas!
Blowing in the Wind
The Sea Scarf Activity
Scarf Dance
Rhythm Play
Practicing rhythm in childhood is a very useful skill. There is evidence to show that rhythm can affect language and literacy processes, communications skills and can be improved by training. Check out this study called How Rhythmic Skills Relate and Develop in School Aged Children. There are actually some ideas in it you can use practically to implement rhythm with your preschoolers (any age kid, really).
Stomp Your Feet to the Beat
Clap, Clap, Clap
Rhythm Clap Along
I hope you have gotten some activity ideas to enjoy with your children or students to help inspire them to get moving, dance, sing and explore music and movement!
Dig the Good Life!
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