Why Music?
Why music?
Why should you incorporate music as an everyday element in your educational activities? There are many answers to that question, and all are equally true. In this text you can read more about this. Parts of the text are taken from my educational material Musicolandia which you can order via the website with accompanying recordings.
Let's first take a look at what the preschool curriculum says.
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According to the preschool curriculum for the Swedish National Agency of Education - Lpfö 98/10,
Preschool will:
[...] offer all children the opportunity for lifelong learning and the preschool activities should be fun, safe and educational for all children. Music and singing should be used as content and method in the activity and the educator should promote the children's ability to communicate with music and singing as tools. Preschool shall strive to promote children's development and learning with the help of various means of expression, such as music, rhythm and movement.
The above gives a clear indication that music should be part of the preschool's daily activities. Music and singing should be seen as tools to communicate, not just a complement to other subjects.
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The preschool's approach to stimulating language development is very much in line with how we choose to teach music and rhythm. Music and language have very strong ties. The curriculum emphasises the importance for the child to be able to express and communicate through movement, singing and music, not only from an educational perspective, but also because it is simply enjoyable. Singing, music and movement not only help language, but also develop motor skills, coordination, body awareness and the ability to function individually and in groups.
Music also develops the ability to process emotions and moods and, not least, it promotes our ability to listen. Music can also be helpful in understanding mathematics. Following the pulse, playing, singing and moving to different rhythms can clarify the building blocks of mathematics for the child.
In preschool, you often work with different themes or projects to make the learning as interesting and graspable as possible for the child. Music enriches and facilitates the learning process. Through singing, we can reinforce what the child is learning. Singing gives the words more flow and also a better understanding of their meaning. This can contribute to not only making learning more efficient and easier, but it also makes the content of the various themes more meaningful for the child.
Music promotes the child's emotional development.With the help of music, the child can communicate and manage his/her own and other people's feelings. Music also has a calming function. Sometimes it can take a long time for the child to feel secure in a preschool environment. During singing and music sessions, it can be just as great an experience to sit next to and observe and listen to the teachers and friends who participate. Witnessing music and rhythm is also a way of understanding one's surroundings and the sense of security, self-concept and self-esteem, even if you do not participate actively.
Singing has a positive and health-giving effect on people. Music, singing and movement create joy, security and community. It gives all children the opportunity to participate based on their own conditions.
Last but not least I would like to highlight that music helps to support the child's social development, strengthen the child's sense of security, self-concept and self-esteem.
Thanks for reading!
Johanna