Strike Up the Band: Encouraging inquiry through music
Young children use all of their sense to explore the world around them. Listening to music provides children the opportunity to expand their sense of hearing. When listening to music discuss with your child if the song was fast, or slow. Did they think the song was played softly or loud? How did the sound make them feel?
Discussing the music that you listen to in the house or in your car deeps the experience for young children and makes them establish connections between not only different songs they hear but all types of noises. Increasing your child's awareness to different sounds translates to them being better able distinguish phonemes, single units of sound in a lanauge.
At home, you can provide your child opportunities to explore all sorts of different sounds by using common household items, such as pots, pans, empty boxes, wooden sticks, toothpick box, and even a water bottle filled with a bit of rice or dried beans.
Start by introducing the concept of a band to your child. Talk about how a band is a group of people who play different instruments, tools that make different sounds. Let them know that you want to make a band as well, but you don't know what items to use for your instruments.
Have your child take the lead by finding different items and testing how they sound. Before shaking or tapping on the item they selected, make sure to predict with to your child about what they think the items will sound like.
Young children might respond saying, "it's going to sound good." Make sure to acknowledge their response and add to it. You might say something like, "It will sound good. I wonder if it will make a loud sound or a quite sound." Give your child the opportunity to guess and explain their reason before testing out the instrument. Repeat this process as you add more instruments to your band.
As you put your band together, try to get the whole family involved! See how big you can get your band and how many different instruments you can explore. It's way more fun making music together!
Discussing the music that you listen to in the house or in your car deeps the experience for young children and makes them establish connections between not only different songs they hear but all types of noises. Increasing your child's awareness to different sounds translates to them being better able distinguish phonemes, single units of sound in a lanauge.
At home, you can provide your child opportunities to explore all sorts of different sounds by using common household items, such as pots, pans, empty boxes, wooden sticks, toothpick box, and even a water bottle filled with a bit of rice or dried beans.
Start by introducing the concept of a band to your child. Talk about how a band is a group of people who play different instruments, tools that make different sounds. Let them know that you want to make a band as well, but you don't know what items to use for your instruments.
Have your child take the lead by finding different items and testing how they sound. Before shaking or tapping on the item they selected, make sure to predict with to your child about what they think the items will sound like.
Young children might respond saying, "it's going to sound good." Make sure to acknowledge their response and add to it. You might say something like, "It will sound good. I wonder if it will make a loud sound or a quite sound." Give your child the opportunity to guess and explain their reason before testing out the instrument. Repeat this process as you add more instruments to your band.
As you put your band together, try to get the whole family involved! See how big you can get your band and how many different instruments you can explore. It's way more fun making music together!
