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This current 6-part series of early years music articles features a new early years music activity each month from a number of arts activities trialled for 1 and 2-year-old children, along with musical suggestions, with recordings on You Tube. A Finnish study, (Lehikoinen, 2023) considered 6 different ways to explore creativity with 1 and 2 …
Read more ““Thank You For The Music”: Musical Drawing In The Early Years”
This current 6-part series of early years music articles features a new activity each month from a number of arts activities trialled for 1 and 2-year-old children, along with musical suggestions, with recordings on You Tube. In our last article, I commented on the passions of individuals leading to change, specifically technology gurus Elon Musk, …
Read more ““Video Killed The Radio Star”: Creative Digital Drawing In The Early Years “
This current 6-part series of early years music articles features a new activity each month from a number of arts activities trialled for 1 and 2-year-old children, along with musical suggestions, recordings on You Tube. Creativity comes naturally to children, and research has shown that younger children have more creative ideas than older children. How …
Read more ““Dough A Deer”: Using Magic Dough Creatively In The Early Years”
Most people recognise the value of creative childcare ideas, and often early childhood is seen as the best “training ground”. Most developments in society can be traced back to creative approaches that were taken, seen in medicine, technology and even business. Psychologists believe that we naturally respond to things that are new and innovative, and …
Read more ““You Can Dance, You Can Jive”: Artistic Expression In The Early Years”
Most children are naturally drawn to animals, insects and fish from a young age – we see this in the preschool shows and stories available. Unless there has been a significant negative experience, even the youngest child seems to see animals as different types of “people”. This is significant when considering the importance of ecology …
Read more “Musical Beasts – Singing About Animals in the Early Years”
Spring is a lovely time to celebrate new life in nature! It is no wonder that so many religions and cultures have traditions that honour this natural display of hope and promise in the world. We end this article with 5 children’s songs about flowers, with links to You Tube, as well as suggestions of …
Read more “Blooming Music! Songs about Flowers in the Early Years”
What are the essential “ingredients” of an early childhood music session? As an early years music specialist with a particular interest in movement in learning music, I love the concept of SPACE, so used it as an acronym for the skills that develop in music sessions. One of my first articles looked at the life …
One of my jobs involves researching the effects of singing on health, so this month, we are looking at what happens to your health when you take the singing home. There have been a few articles and tv programs on the benefits of singing for neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s (memory related) and Parkinson’s (movement related). …
Read more “Taking Singing Home: How Singing Helps Your Health”
Moving around can be and should be fun at every age, but the way we need to move can make a big difference to how enjoyable we find different activities. Knowing that we should move regularly and often is not usually enough to keep us motivated, especially when the benefits are not immediately seen but …
Read more “Getting Fit? Get Musical: Working Out In The Early Years”
Lullabies have been a curiously common feature in the history of humanity. In fact, it was found that in 315 societies, 28 languages, and 45 countries around the world, researchers found love songs, religious songs, healing songs … and lullabies (Mehr et al., 2019). Looking at such a wide variety of influences, this paper (with …
Read more “Snuggle And Sing: Songs To Keep You Warm In The Early Years”
