Family Music: Kids Learn Music Best in a Family Setting
Music Helps with Family Bonding
Nothing quite beats music for bringing people together and creating memories. When families make music together, they are connecting on a deep level. Singing and movement release our emotions and are just plain fun!
There's also a time factor in introducing music to kids. Of course, it's never too late for any of us, and we can enjoy learning a new instrument or using our voices at any point in life; still there's a window of opportunity when it is easier to learn music.
As in most things, that ideal time to learn music is when we are very young. When you learn music as a child, especially before the age of nine years, you can learn it more easily. That's one factor in introducing an instrument to a child during the elementary school years.
Preschoolers, too, can develop their musical talents by singing and playing with rhythm sticks and shakers. Give a shaker to Grandma or Great Grandma, too. This is where everyone in the family can get into the act!
This hub explores the joys of family music. I have included some resources for making your experience of making music in your family even more enjoyable.
Photo credit: pdsimao @http://www.sxc.hu/photo/658704
Children Are Exposed to Music Prenatally
A Baby Hears Mom's Voice While Still in the Womb
Somewhere between the 16th and the 24th week of gestation, a fetus is able to hear his Mom and Dad's voices. This is a wonderful time to start singing to your little one. Songs you sing to your baby while he is still in the womb will recall that special loving place when he hears those songs later on. And singing to your baby after birth will help calm him and aid in bonding.
So don't be shy. Your baby thinks you are the best singer in the universe -- at least for a few years anyway. Take advantage of that fame! Because your baby responds to the love in your voice most of all, you don't have to worry whether you sound like a diva or a frog -- baby will prefer your voice to anyone else's, bar none.
So shine like a star!
Music Together
Music Helps a Child Develop Language Skills
Singing Helps Children Learn
It is quite common for a child to learn to sing words before she can even say them. A child responds to the rhythm and cadences of the words when they accompany a melody. Singing aids in memory, too. Think about how much easier it is to recite the alphabet if you sing the alphabet song than if you just say the letters.
Through music and songs, a child learns the meaning of opposites such as fast-slow and high-low. Songs can tell stories and a child can learn how to predict what comes next, especially when there is a refrain to chime in on.
Sing Out!
To your child, you have the best voice on the planet because it is filled with love!
Check Out These Links to Early Childhood Music Programs! - Family Music Programs
- Music Together
Music Together pioneered the concept of a research-based, developmentally appropriate early childhood music curriculum that strongly emphasizes and facilitates adult involvement. - Kindermusik
A music and movement program for children to stimulate early childhood development. - The Parent-Child Mother Goose Program | Discover the power and pleasure of rhymes, songs, and storie
Using rhymes, fingerplays, songs and stories, young children and their caregivers celebrate life and strengthen their bonds with each other. Storytelling is one of the strengths of this program.
Music and Your Child - Information About How Kids Learn Music
- Welcome! | Birth Psychology
Discusses how music affects a fetus and a newborn child. - Ask Dr. Sears
7 Ways to bond with your prenatal child.
