Music and Dance

This school year the children have shown a strong interest in dance and music.  They love learning new songs at group time, as well as new styles of dance.  They are curious about how to produce sounds using instruments and other materials.  The children are becoming more confident with their gross motor skills, so they are trying out new ways to move their bodies.  All of these explorations relating to music and dance have been very exciting for the children!

Introducing Instruments

We have a variety of instruments in our classroom and at the center.  While we have small instruments in the class that the children use daily, we have been bringing in larger instruments for the children to explore.  We have introduced the children to various types of drums, an autoharp, a small guitar, and a keyboard.  All of these instruments have been a hit!  The children really enjoy using the drums, so we have been exploring music from different cultures which incorporate drums. We have also been creating drums using recycled materials.  Many of our instrument experiences are introductory at this point, until we learn more about what types of instruments the children the most.  We hope to create some new type of instruments with the children in the next month.

Dance and Music

Aside from making music and sounds, we have also been exploring different dance concepts.  We have explored different types of dance including ballet and tap.  The children have really enjoyed watching videos of ballet dancers twirling and spinning.  They've been imitating these moves!  We have also introduced tap shoes and ballet shoes, so the children could see what it is like to move with them on their feet.  For our ballet sessions, we have introduced a ballet barre to help with balance and to encourage children to move like dancers.  They love it!  We have been talking about some of the different positions used in ballet.  The children have also shown an interest in animals and movement, so we have been trying different ways of moving like animals.  These dance and movement exercises help the children develop more bodily awareness, as well as encourage the development of gross motor skills.  Children are learning to identify different types of dance moves and building their vocabulary as well.  We are also helping children learn to identify body parts and learning how to move them independently of the rest of their body (isolations).  These are really great exercises for the children to do as their bodies become more coordinated.

We are really enjoying all of these music and dance explorations.  As we continue on this month, we hope to explore more about where sound comes from, and how to produce it.  We have been working on building a tonscope so the children could "see" sound and look at patterns of sound waves.  We're also working on introducing more dance moves and exploring dances from different cultures.