We’ve looked at using music for quiet time and using music to build emergent literacy skills, but today we’re going to look at making music the center of play. Using music to engage your little one in play is the main message of Laptime Songs for Mommies. The energy in an upbeat song is contagious, not just for our little ones, but for us as well!
It’s easy to get up and move around to songs like “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes
” or “Dance All Day
” or “See Me Run” or “Here We Go Looby-Loo
” because the words to the songs describe the actions we should do. When looking for a surefire hit, you want to make sure the lyrics are easy to understand with a lot of repetition. Bari Koral’s Clap It! Is a great example of this. It repeats the same action to the point where I wonder if it can go on any longer, but what I’ve noticed is it’s about this time that the girls have figured out the action, know that it’s coming again and are actually able to do the action with the song. That kind of timing is magical for little ones!
Another way to incorporate music into play is to use songs to help you teach games to your little ones. We had a fantastic experience this week with this. We listened to Aaron Nigel Smith’s Simon Says
. Then we talked about the rules (again) with Sammi. Brent was Simon for a while. Then Sammi had a turn to be Simon. Then I had a turn to be Simon. After playing this for at least 15 minutes, I said, “Freeze!” and Sammi hesitated then said, “You didn’t say ‘Simon says’ so I’m still dancing!” Yep, she finally figured it out. But the song was a great introduction to the game. It provided to reason to play, an example of what the game was like, and some really fun ideas for what Simon could say.
What music do you turn on when it’s time to play? A comment on today’s post is an extra entry in this week’s giveaway!
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With the 3-year-olds I work with, the songs with instructions or actions are the songs that get them involved the most. Sometimes when they are the most rambunctious, We do the wiggle song, in which I just tell them when to wiggle and when to stop. It’s their favorite song. Thanks for the post on these kinds of songs. It helps validate what I think
My favorite music to turn on with kids is Rafi music, And for some reason I love the syncopated clock song. It’s not really a kids song but I think the kids like it.
I love learning about kids and fun ways to teach them. I’m so glad I found this blog. I’m always looking for new ideas. Thanks!
All this information makes me anxious to try with my little one! So fun!
We love the “See Me Run” song, but we don’t have the CD, so we have to sing it ourselves. (We have our own variations now, of course)
For a while, my daughter wanted us to turn on “Ring Around the Rosie” music and play it with her all the time.