The other day I watched my 15-month-old grandchildren engaged in a strange move.
They were each touching their knees and then bending down to touch their toes. Hmm. What were they trying to tell me? Their mother knew. She immediately began to sing "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and with great smiles, the kids acted out the movements.
My granddaughter's favourite part seems to be when she gets to her nose and if I simply ask her at any time out of the blue for the location of her nose, her little finger touches the tip of hers and often then moves to touching mine.
The kids are learning the names of body parts through music.
SEG Measurement, an independent research firm, conducted a national study of nearly 300 preschool children, aged three years through five, to test the ability of Kindermusik International's curriculum ABC Music & Me (kindermusik.com/schools/early-literacy-curriculum/) to affect students' literacy development.
During the study, students in both the treatment and control groups were tested with the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening Pre-K Assessment at both the beginning and end of the school year. Results indicated that students in the treatment group showed a 32 per cent higher gain in PALS scores over the control group, indicating greater gains in student's literacy as a result of the curriculum.
"Students using Kindermusik showed significantly greater improvement in literacy and language skills than students who did not use Kindermusik," said Scott Elliot, president of SEG Measurement.
Parents know that kids love it when we sing to them. They are the least judgmental audience in the world; they just love the rhythm and sounds.
If you watch anyone holding a child you will notice that even if they are not singing to them they are rocking and swinging them and, of course, we know that singing lullabies is as typical as changing diapers.
I can remember dancing around the living room with a baby in my arms and later with toddlers holding my hands.
One day we had friends visiting and with no embarrassment we moms and dads found ourselves dancing gaily around the room with babies attached to our bodies or arms. It was an automatic response on the part of parents and music and babies.
Fernando Pullman, an educator and professional musician, notes that there is a lot of value to music. It teaches kids discipline and also they learn to work with others. They learn the rules about making their voices or instruments work and then learn how to break the rules to become creative.
The SEG study showed that music aids in early literacy. They learn how to process language through the singing and the repetition of the sounds and words stick with them.
Interestingly, there is a connection between math, science and engineering skills. Learning how to handle a musical instrument goes a long way to teaching reasoning and spatial skills. My daughter is an engineer and she played the clarinet in her high school band as well as a marching band. I was fascinated to watch how her music education and math classes supported each other.
And, of course, when kids dance or play musical instruments they develop their gross motor skills.
Music is something we can introduce to our children and they can develop a lifelong love of music and possibly dance. Musical experiences can vary from listening to CDs and dancing at home, to playing an instrument, to enjoying musical theatre, the symphony and opera.
When you introduce your kids to music, pay attention and let them choose whether they want to sing, listen or play an instrument. The more we respect their wishes, the more they will benefit from and enjoy a connection to music.
Kathy Lynn is a professional speaker and author. Contact her via parentingtoday.ca.
