The Elephant 2021 9
Tuneful ~ 'Beatful' ~ Artful It was the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato that said, “I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for in the patterns of music and all the arts are the keys of learning.” What an incredible joy it is to visit our Early Learning classrooms each week and sing songs, speak rhymes, move, improvise tunes, and be immersed in the wonder and creativity that is music. These activities make connections, are powerful for cognitive development, and bring to each child a positive sense of self and community. Our 'First Steps in Music' curriculum is designed to prepare children to become musical in three ways: • Tuneful .......... to have tunes in their heads and learn to coordinate their voices to sing those tunes • 'Beatful'......... to feel the pulse of music and how that pulse is grouped in either twos or threes • Artful ............. to be moved by music in the many ways music can elicit an emotional response Whilst we can all appreciate and enjoy music, making music is a skill. To help our youngest learners develop these skills, children participate in a vast array of music making exercises each Wednesday. Our ‘musical workouts’ include pitch exploration, singing simple songs, echo songs or call and response songs, composition, song tales, movement exploration, movement expression and movement with the beat. Games, puppets, stories and actions are used in multiple ways throughout the classes to engage our young children and create a playful musical experience. Kindergarten children were introduced to a brand new ‘echo song’ in their first lesson of the year where they sing the same words and simple tune after me, prompted by visual cards. As the weeks of Term 1 progressed, I saw the children’s memories for lyrics become stronger, some developing the ability to sing in tune and all learning how to wait for their turn to sing their echo part. In taking the ‘echo song’ challenge, our 3-year-olds have taken ownership of the song, singing the echo part individually, leading the song, and improvising new lyrics. Mrs Bronwyn Pierce Music Specialist
