5 tips to encourage music-making at home

It’s music time!

5 tips to encourage music-making at home

1.     Music is VERY engaging for babies and children, they love it when you sing to them!  Speaking to your baby in a sing-song voice helps calm them down when upset and promotes a more stable mood and deeper connection with you.

2.     Music can help you with tricky times in your daily routine.  Try a packing up song to help with tidy time or a song to distract your toddler from a tantrum. 

3.     Music time can include singing, humming, chanting, rhyming, tapping a beat, playing with (and making) small instruments such as bells, shakers, drums and rattles, dancing, swaying, bouncing, or copying each others sounds.

4.     You can sing songs you already know or make up new songs to describe what you are doing.  Here are some songs you’ll probably already know.

Baa Baa Black Sheep                      Old MacDonald

Mary had a little lamb                    Wheels on the bus

Twinkle Twinkle                             Incy Wincy Spider

Open shut them                              Row Row Row your boat

5 little ducks                                    It’s raining it’s pouring

Mister frog                                       This little piggy went to market                 

Ring a ring a rosey                          Round and round the market                    

Humpty Dumpty                             See saw marjory daw

5.     Research has shown that music is very enjoyable for young children and can provide benefits such as increased IQ, better social and emotional skills, enhanced literacy skills (comprehension and verbal expression), more physical coordination and increased creativity.  Research also shows that the more musical you are with your baby or child, the more connected you become.

Happy music making!