Our teachers, at Ready Set Grow Pre-school, in Nassau County know music is important for the neurological and physiological development for babies and toddlers. Every day we entice the children to dance and sing in our movement room. The children enjoy singing and performing numerous songs such as, Wheels on the Bus, If Your Happy and You Know It, and Three Little Monkeys. The all time favorite is Animal Action! The children have a blast imagining they are horses, frogs, bees, cats and bunnies. All of these different genres of songs help them with their language, memory, and motor skills. One of the important aspects of singing and dancing together is that the children learn to enjoy each other’s company. This is one of the building blocks for developing social skills.
During singing and dancing activities the children get a chance to gain confidence and perform in front of others. This activity normally starts with children humming along and catching a few of the words, here and there. Within a few weeks all the children are sining all the words together and having a blast. It’s always fun to watch them sing the lyrics as loud as they can, excited to enter the new verse. You can see in their eyes the excitement when they get the words of the song right. We also play different games to teach them rhythm and incorporate instruments to teach them all about music.
We also invite the children to bang the tambourines and learn the sounds of different instruments. We always encourage parents to sing at home with their children and can provide a list of songs the children learn when in school.
