A place dedicated to music at home Fun and productive!
- By Natalie Mondou
Singing, dancing and playing musical instruments contribute to the overall development of children. Many studies have shown that music plays an important role in improving social and academic aptitudes. Here are a few ideas to help you explore and have fun making music as a family!
How to organize a place for music at home
Set aside a space at home where you can have a CD player, a portable tape recorder, books of nursery rhymes and songs, some CDs and various musical instruments at your children’s disposal. They can use the portable tape recorder to record songs, sounds and noises around them. Why not record a song as a family every month? Try inventing melodies with your children or changing the words of a song you know. You can broaden the horizons of your children by encouraging them to listen to different musical styles: classical, world beat, children’s music… Go on an adventure! Libraries are full of interesting recordings. To add a touch of the exotic to your music space, add a collection of unusual musical instruments from ethnic artisan boutiques or from trips abroad. Make space for music in your life!
How to help your children improve their ability to express themselves
Music encourages concentration, stimulates memory and helps a great deal with language and learning. It works on all aspects of overall development: emotional and social, moral, cognitive, language, motor and physical. Language specialists often use sound games to enhance the attention and sensitivity of children to the auditory world that surrounds them. First, forget about words and pay attention to their ability to identify what they hear. Over many years working with children, I have accumulated a collection of sound awareness activities for preschool age children. These fun, recreational activities are easy to learn, and children often ask to repeat the experience. Parents often worry when a child shows an apparent delay in language acquisition. While waiting to see a speech therapist, parents can help by initiating the child to music.
Here are a few sound games to play as a family
Box of Surprises
Take a cardboard box and place musical instruments inside that you choose with the help of your child (bell, castanets, drum, spoons….) Blindfold your child and play an instrument from the box. The child must identify the instrument and its name using the instrument to play each syllable.
Variation:
Once your child is able to easily recognize most of the instruments, play a sequence of two or three consecutive sounds with different instruments and ask your child to identify them in order. This is a way to enhance the auditory memory.
