We’re starting this year with a new series on ways to use songs for specific age groups. Music is one of the most enjoyable ways to spend time with children, helping their overall development, working with their skills and interests, and pulling different skills together into a cohesive experience.
Children grow so quickly and change and develop in their own ways and times, so we’re going to look at the different ages at the point where they change the most, starting with Baby. This month we will be looking at babies 0-6 months old, followed by next month’s focus on 6-12 months, and then March’s focus on 12-18 months.
By looking at their typical characteristics, we’ll identify a few songs and describe ways in which everyday activities can be turned into games and activities that not only build on the relationship you share, but also the knowledge, confidence and skills that they are continuously developing.
Following the principles mentioned below, you could use just about any song to encourage healthy behaviours like co-operation, trust, love of learning, and the importance of rules in games, to name a few. However, these songs have been specially chosen because of their musicality – the gaps between the notes are close enough AND far apart enough for childrens’ developing vocal folds to manage successfully.
Singing successfully is particularly important for children where music may not be used much at home. Many adults today were taught so badly that they were told, and now believe, that they can’t sing. This approach not only allows children to learn to sing successfully right from the start, but it is also easy enough for adults to use, too!
Little ones 0-6 months:
– turn their head to sound
– enjoy repeating activities
– listen with focussed attention
– coo along to what they hear
– are body-oriented, (lifting head, sitting up and rolling over)
– smile
– remember faces
– cry when unsure
– anticipate feeds
– enjoy vocal play
These songs and song activities encourage these behaviours:
This Old Man
This old man, he played one
He played knick-knack on my drum
With a knick-knack, paddy-whack
Give the dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This old man, he played two
He played knick-knack on my shoe
With a knick-knack, paddy-whack
Give the dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This old man, he played three
He played knick-knack on my knee
With a knick-knack, paddy-whack
Give the dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This old man, he played four
He played knick-knack on my door
With a knick-knack, paddy-whack
Give the dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This is a great work out song for littlies. With their arms and legs being so flexible, we can help them to get stronger while also giving them a sense of the extent and abilities of their developing bodies. Singing the first verse, gently raise their left arm in time to the beat, up and down, up and down. Second verse, gently raise their right arm; third verse, left leg; finally, fourth verse, right leg. This is a lovely little workout before moving on to more songs!
Hop Old Squirrel
Hop old squirrel, eideldum, eideldum
Hop old squirrel, eideldum, dee
Hop old squirrel, eideldum, eideldum
Hop old squirrel, eideldum, dee
This is a lovely lap bounce for littlies who may not be crawling yet. Not to mention a great work out for your own legs! Comfortably seating littlie on your lap, find different ways to bounce them, even gently lifting them under their arms, with lots of smiles and giggles. Not only does it associate the action of bouncing with hopping, it introduces them to the future joy of jumping up and down, the freedom of feeling weightless, yet safe and secure.
See Saw Up and Down
See saw, up and down
In the sky and on the ground
This easy, little repetitive song is fantastic on so many levels. Lifting little ones up and lowering them on the exact words gives them the experience of what up feels like, what down feels like. Facing other littlies helps them to not only associate how it feels, but also how it looks, to move up and down. The additional words, in the sky, associate the feeling and action with “up”; on the ground, associates the feeling and action with “down”. These experiences improve “proprioception”, the feeling of where your own body begins and ends. And musically, this song uses only 2 notes, a high and low note. Lifting on the high note and lowering on the low note introduces musical concepts of high and low notes. Just like up and down, in and out, on and off, opposites like up and down are a great way to introduce contrasting ideas.
Sally Go ‘Round the Sun
Sally go ‘round the sun
Sally go ‘round the moon
Sally go ‘round the chimney top
Every afternoon, boom!
This is another fun song that helps littlies to begin to associate words with actions and movements, and especially good with other grownups with littlies. Taking turns, one baby/grownup pair become Sally, who goes around the other stationary pair – the sun, moon and chimney top, gently bouncing up and down in place. On “boom”, the pairs swap positions. And if there are no other baby/adult pairs available, carry baby around a chair, a pillar, a small table! This song is also a great introduction to the heavenly bodies, to the way the earth moves around the sun – and musically, the notes used are near enough each other, with a catchy rhythm that little ones can successfully imitate as they grow and start vocalising.
Many songs can be simplified to suit this lovely age group. And creating special, musical memories not only builds early musical skills, but also littlies’ resilience in finding happiness and security in singing, both now and in the future.