Three Tips For Great Preschool Music and Movement
Feb 06, 2022
After 27 years of working with preschoolers and music I have discovered the three simple factors needed to create successful music and movement time in the early childhood classroom and I want to share them with you now.
Here are my Three Tips For Great Preschool Music and Movement.
Energy and Attitude
When presenting a music and movement activity for young children, you must be energetic and enthusiastic! You energy and your attitude about what you are presenting is key in determining how it will be received by your students.
When you are cheerful and excited the children will reflect that attitude. They will be interested and they will be active and engaged. I can’t overstate how important this is.
Class Management Tools
The flip side of Tip #1 is that it can create a too energetic and even out of control group. You must balance the energy of your presentation with appropriate boundaries and limits on the children’s behavior.
I have been training teachers in how to teach ECE music groups for decades and I know from experience that striking this balance is vital. If the energy is too low the children will lose interest. If the energy is out of control, the children will be too manic and you may even create an unsafe environment with children colliding with furniture in the classroom and with their fellow students.
Here is a link to my Ultimate Guide To Preschool Music Time Class Management.
The Music & Curriculum
There is a lot of great (and not so great) preschool music available but what you need is an effective, high quality and intentional program and system. A collection of Greg and Steve CDs is a good start but at best you will be scattered, disorganized and find yourself going in circles instead of progressing an a path toward greater development, enrichment and achievement with your students.
Some of the programs that do exist tend to err on the side of being too academic and restrictive.
Congratulations! You are on your way to creating great preschool music and movement groups! You are sharing a wealth of enrichment with the children that you work with. Please let me know how your music groups are going. I am always happy to share my experience with fellow teachers.
