Music has a profound impact on children's lives, yet it is often overlooked in early childhood classrooms. Music instruction enhances children's spatial-temporal reasoning skills--skills that are crucial to learning math and science. For children who received formal music lessons, there was a positive long-lasting correlation with IQ and academic…

Music is vital to the development of language and listening skills. Both music and language arts consist of symbols and ideas; when the two content areas are used in combination, abstract concepts become more concrete. This article provides information that shows the role of music in helping children meet early learning standards, including those…

Research suggests that young children's active participation in music supports emergent mathematics knowledge, such as patterning and one-to-one correspondence. The authors define and explain steady beat, rhythm, melody, tempo, dynamics, rhythm, and style. They suggest ways teachers can use these elements of music with infants, toddlers, and young…

Suggests inexpensive rhythm instruments children can make from familiar materials found at home. (NH)

This article explains how children learn to sing and discusses criteria for selecting songs suitable for young voices. Teachers should begin with the familiar, proceed with what is comfortable, move on to what is functional, and reach out to new ideas. Provides sources for and examples of appropriate records, tapes, songbooks, and story songs.…

Gives examples of how music can be incorporated into activities throughout the school day, showing how musical and rhythmic expression enables children to grow in their capacity to experience, respond, and relate. (MS)

Presents guidelines for planning musical experiences for young children. Describes research and learning experiences related to listening, hearing, singing, and movement skills. (BD)

Describes the Montessorian basic music program for young children, a system that teaches children to listen, play instruments, sing, and move rhythmically. (BJD)

Discusses how creating a musical climate in early childhood classrooms can give children a way to express feelings and ideas, and can smoothly blend the activities and routines of the classroom day. Provides suggestions for making new songs from old and creating new songs. Includes sample songs. (KB)

Discusses ways for early childhood educators to encourage young children's creativity in music. Argues that teachers often present music as a teacher-guided activity used to control children, and that musical education can be facilitated by allowing children to guide their own musical explorations. (JPB)

Challenges early childhood teachers to sing to and with young children, with parents, and with other adults. Discusses singing as an often neglected physical and emotional experience in American culture. Makes suggestions for singing and effectively involving children in music activities throughout the school day, including selecting songs…

Describes the benefits of a curriculum that includes musical experiences. Discusses methods teachers can use to incorporate focused listening, singing accuracy, beat competency, and music appreciation into classroom activities. Suggested records and tapes are listed. (LB)

A discussion of ways an adult can encourage and participate in a child's self-expression through movement and dance. (BD)

Discusses how adults can infuse music in young children's routines to nurture powerful learning connections. Includes discussion of musical development, its impact on other developmental domains, and brain development and music. Highlights four music activities to illustrate developmentally appropriate music experiences, asserting that…