Music and movement time

[sarah707]

We plan a music and movement / song and dance session every day.

The children love joining in ... we all sit together and the children choose some of the songs.

We plan activities to link with our songs and rhymes sometimes, to use children's interests to further support their learning ... and share what we have been doing with parents so they can support learning at home.

We make song sheets and illustrate them as well - these can be quickly emailed to parents.

We use inspiration from activities suggested during National Nursery Rhyme Week through the year - World Nursery Rhyme Week - sponsored by Music Bugs.

Here are some of our favourite songs

Song and dance | knutsfordchildminding

[Rick]

Thanks Sarah

[loocyloo]

Lovely. Thank you.

We have a hello song that we sing everyday followed by a 'warm up our bodies' rhyme. We usually have a couple of favourite songs we sing until we get new favourites plus whatever is linked to current books/interests. I also have a bag with a large selection of 'props' that link to all sorts of songs that the children like to look through and choose what we sing.
I've just got the new classic fm cd so looking forward to listening and dancing to that.

[FloraDora]

Thank you again Sarah, a great reminder of how important music and movement is to children's development.

It's a daily activity here too. I have a music room with instruments and a space in the middle, my LO's love exploring the music they make with the instruments and naturally move to their music. One LO loves being a conductor and they play and stop to his conducting, they are playing but watching him and responding, it's a game he developed after a symphony hall outing and the girls love it.

They remind me to practise my scales ( I am learning to play the piano) and love to listen, then copy me plinking.
We have a selection of percussion instruments in a basket that goes to all the rooms and outside, with a ukelele that they use like a guitar.( just the right size, they love an 'air guitar cd to play along to) So When they start to play, if they are up for it, we usually do a music movement session then , rather than at set time. They all choose the music they want and put it on any time ( we have copied the cd's so if they get scratched it doesn't matter).

Favourite music and movement activities here:
Boom whackers - move around and bang surfaces as they move - great fun, good for keeping a beat.

Spaceman Sid/ Early birds : 80's Midlands musician Vo Fletcher produced this music, wonderful songs, catchy all have movement ideas in the book, but children make up their own. My sons grew up on this many a holiday we listened to Spaceman Sid on long car journeys to France.

Nursery rhymes, acting out stories.

A handful of songs - great sing a long, good beats to follow, old fashioned though: the runaway train, Casey Jones, inch worm, there's a tiny house...still loved though.

I have a library of bbc music and movement tapes and luckily still have a tape player - great mixture of music and guidance for children to move to it, they often put this on on their own and just follow the voice!

We listen to music at lunch ( Pachelbel current favourite) quiet back ground.
Because we are music nuts we have speakers in the garden so children love to play and dance out there too. We have a big whiteboard with staves on the wall out there and they draw their own music stories/ notes - then move following their music.
I have just bought a tumble tots dvd - this is growing on them, good tunes, but the dvd just gives me ideas, they like to just move and not follow - I like this - prefering them to explore movement than follow someone else.

My DH listens to radio 6 music all day when cooking, they love to go into the kitchen and dance when stirring! My lads used to do this with him - mainly to Pink flood / U2 , so I love to see them do this.
I did ball room dancing in my youth so we sometimes put our 'strictly' cd on and they copy some basic movements - though in my other life I used to teach the military two step to Lo's with 'two little boys song' -
can't do this now!

[hectors house]

In the summer holidays we went to a Music and dance workshop at the children's centre - we were introduced to some Nick Cope songs and we now regularly listen to them on You Tube (I think he sometimes performs at the Camp Bestivals during the summer)

This is one of our favourites to sing and do lots of actions to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEpg...4Y8eeXI27w1Q0e

[sarah707]

In the summer holidays we went to a Music and dance workshop at the children's centre - we were introduced to some Nick Cope songs and we now regularly listen to them on You Tube (I think he sometimes performs at the Camp Bestivals during the summer)

This is one of our favourites to sing and do lots of actions to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEpg...4Y8eeXI27w1Q0e

That's a good one thank you!

[hectors house]

That's a good one thank you!

Lots of other one's by Nick Cope on Youtube too - we have been listening to "The baby's done a poo" today! https://www.youtube.com/user/nickcopesongs