Musical Mornings to Bedtime Good Nights…Early On Conference 2012
Chinese Proverb: I hear & I forget-see & I remember-I do and I understand…
Children have to involve their bodies as well as their minds in order to understand the world & experiences.
If he may not engage body, as well as mind, he will switch off. Ambron
Childhood Should be a Journey…Not a Race…Childhood is life’s 1st gift. Play it for all it’s worth. Play it often. Play
to know: Discovery, wonderment & delight…All children are gifted. Some just open their presents later than others.
Sources unknown…
Hello to everyone. I am truly honored to be with you today. What important work you do. Your home visit bag
brings help and hope to so many families. Folks that may be young, isolated, sleep deprived, overwhelmed, new to
the community, scared or unprepared for their role as parents. Your presence can offer not only consultation but
consolation in an, often, lonely world.
Infants come into the world with an innate receptivity to music and movement. Research suggests that
it positively affects all developmental domains. Nourishes the brain by building neural pathways through
stimulation from all five senses. Singing with baby stimulates both sides of the brain. Opportunities for
social-competence & emotional well-being are created. With hearing being the 2nd sense to develop in
utero, the baby dance begins early. Immersed in sounds and rhythms, babies are seemingly pre-wired for
music. They are born ready and expecting to move.
Music is a healing force, can help to refuel, express feelings, rejuvenate and be at the core of social connections
formed between children and their significant other. We know the importance of the social-emotional piece.
Children can know their ABCs backwards and forwards, but if they don’t have good social skills and emotional
well-being, their ABCs may not serve them well.
There is a strong language-movement connection that will fare better with a strong emotional-social
connection. Often parents are not inclined to put baby into the center of their lives or may not have the
skills to be confident and effective music makers. Music can be very powerful with a simple song
indirectly placing baby at center stage. Simply put, music is the infant-toddler caregiver’s best friend and
is an indispensable tool that can instantly transform a cranky environment into one of harmony and joy.
Making music is a very easy skill to learn. There just has to be somebody willing to teach it. So when
Infant Mental Health folks say, “What! Me teach Music?” I say you can, you must. For some children it
may be their only form of self-expression and for some parents it may be the only tool readily available
to help them out of a challenging situation. Daily routines offer natural opportunities to include music.
My goal is that you come away with a perspective of bonding as a dialogue, a dance between caregiver
and child and perhaps the implication for therapeutic intervention. Music and movement are critical
components of an infant’s life and can greatly enhance baby’s sense of trust. Trust laying the foundation
for cognitive development and social-emotional well-being. These early musical experiences will affect the
children and their families for years to come and is it a gift that will last a lifetime.
In our hurry up dot com world, we are sitting children as young as 12 months in front of computers.
We need to nurture their natural love of music and movement. They desperately need their childhood and often,
we are taking it away sooner and sooner. The media is telling us what our children need to make them smarter, faster.
But what is important for healthy development has not changed. Love them, hug them-hold them close. Keep them
safe, sing and read to them, dance with them, do open-ended art, write down their stories, tape record their songs.
Make eye contact with each child everyday. Take time to listen-time to just be. What you do is the most important
job I know of. Thank you for what you do.
So when all else fails, try Singing A Song and Dancing Along. It really works. No talent necessary.
Gari Stein… Music For Little Folks…little-folks-music.com …[email protected]
MUSICAL EXPERIENCES CAN CONTRIBUTE TO ESTABLISHING FAMILY RITUALS
“Any routine has the potential to become a ritual once it moves from an instrumental to a symbolic act.” Flese et al.
Rituals
Bedtime-mealtime-care giving routines-hello and goodbye-transitions
 Time and place
 Significance
 Identity
I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; & because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do something that I can do. Helen Keller
Importance
Strengthen families and support family health and well-being
 Emotional component- (defining characteristic)
 Availability and togetherness
 Family identity and roles
 Affect on parenting
 Self-regulation
 Active participants
 Coping mechanism
Let us realize that the privilege to work is a gift. The power to work is a blessing, and the love of work is success. David O. McKay
Research
Can have powerful protective factors for all children, especially those at-risk, with long lasting benefits
 Academic achievement
 Optimal psychosocial outcomes among young children
 Prevention of dysfunctional patterns: i.e. alcoholism
 Self-regulation during as toddler
 Learning readiness
Consistent bedtime routine provides greater emotional regulation at 24 months.
Bedtime Rituals
National Head Start Research and Evaluation Study (EHSRE) looked at whether bedtime rituals had any
impact on children
 Provide greater emotional regulation at 24 months
 Opportunities for predictable patterns
 Protective factor in development
 Learning readiness skills from preschool to kindergarten
Source: Healing Power of Rituals-Erika London Bocknek and Holly Brophy IMH Bi-Annual Meeting. Spring 2009
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MUSIC AS A VALUABLE TOOL
Supports bonding through touching and rocking…Helps to build trust…
Nurtures the caregiver as well as the baby strengthening confidence and self esteem i.e
singing vs. reading…
Affects all developmental domains…
Provides nourishment for the brain…
There is a strong language-movement connection…
Can provide a foundation for learning, listening and literacy…
Enhances grounding, body awareness, motor skills, problem solving, balance, co-ordination…
Power to change a mood or frustration in an instant…
Instills a sense of community…
Contributes to social competency…Promotes emotional well-being…
Enriches the quality of life for everyone…
Feels good and is good for us…
Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish, by its ability to climb, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid. Albert Einstein
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WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE PARENT?
& most favorite toy, child reaches arms out. If important to parent will share with child…
A lot of bonding going on. Eye contact, face to face, 1st my turn, then yours, bringing closer
together…
Infants, just few weeks old show clear liking for people who use speech patterns already exposed to.
(Spelke)
Optimum time for language acquisition, foundation cognitive development, between 2-3 yrs. (Hooton)
If children are not given experiences to engage their bodies, they will switch off.
Movement frees the mind, instrumental music may affect the subconscious…
Can be seen as the language of emotions, stirs up inner energies causing sensation in physical
body that sets personality in motion. (Kokas)
Symbol of human feelings. Through joyful musical experiences, becomes a higher form of
communication, expressing what is inside.
Sound exploration is crucial to language development…Caregiver’s positive comments
reinforce exploration.
Communicative & expressive, laden with possibilities…
Stress & cortisol washing over brain like oil. Can’t think. With frequent occurrence chemistry
of brain will be altered… (Berry)
1st
Environment plays major role in optimizing brain development. 70 % related to environment. Music offers opportunities for wiring on
both sides of the brain. Pam Schiller
MUSICALLY SPEAKING
The brain develops as it wires, only way it can wire is through senses as it experience the world. Novelty wakes it up. Repetition is crucial.
Experience wires and repetition strengthens the connections. Pam Schiller
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Music has more immunity-boosted potential when we actively participate…has the ability to calm
and soothe. (Kuhn)
Children’s musical sensitivity is more comprehensive than we think. (Kokas)
Music therapy has been demonstrated to directly help autistic-war traumatized-sexually abusedspecial needs-physically disable-low income-homeless children. (Hanna)
Parent-child interactions possibly enhance attachment and the child’s self-esteem having a positive
effect on the child’s competence (Guilmartin and Levinowitz)
Combining language with movement increases cognition 90%. (Wolfe)
Swinging, rocking vestibular activity (which children are doing less of) is related to highest
level of thinking. (Firestone)
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Infants are born with innate ability to process musical sounds and patterns. Abilities must be nurtured
through musical experiences or will be diminished, if not lost. (Healy)
Infants and young children have selective windows of opportunity for optimal learning. This is especially
true for music, since the ear is so ripe for aural language development from birth-3. (Begley)
Preschool years are a time for socialization and play vs. mastery of abstract pre-academic tasks…caregivers
need to make room for emotional lives of children. (Hanna)
Music is best discovered in the body. Spontaneous movement frees the imagination. This freeing is a
necessary prerequisite for great scientific discoveries and artistic accomplishment. Music is the language of
emotions in the physical body that set the personality in motion. (Kokas)
Music experiences can help children express difficult feelings, may allow them to address important issues
that might otherwise arrest their normal development. (Hanna)
Bedtime rituals provide greater emotional regulation at 24 months, opportunities for predictable patterns,
protective factor in development, learning readiness skills from preschool to Kndg. (National Head Start
Research & Evaluation Study-EHSRE)
STUDIES TELL US
“Physical closeness with a parent provides children an opportunity for what Margaret Mahler called “emotional
refueling”, which forms a basis for secure separation, exploration, risk-taking and independence. This closeness
can be encouraged through partner activities such as dances, games and relaxation.”
Developing a Child’s Sense of Security Through Music Working with Shy & Withdrawn Children. Jolanta Kalandyk-Gallagher.
Australian National University. Early Childhood Connections Journal. (ECMMA) Winter 2003.
Margaret Mahler. On sadness & grief in infancy & childhood: Loss & restoration of the symbiotic love object.
“The first sense to develop in utero is touch, the second is hearing. The outer ear transfers sounds
to the brain, while the vestibular system in the inner ear maintains balance.”
“Since the fetus experiences all kinds of movements, the vestibular system is already programmed at birth to
expect movement. Movement is necessary for stimulating the nervous system, with vestibular stimulation
alerting, but also calming the infant-as in soothing effect that comes from rocking.”
“If we were to use the metronome to monitor our own rocking pulse, we would discover that we
spontaneously rock our babies at the same walking rhythm used during the later stages of pregnancy.”
“Rocking is a natural tranquilizer, with the movement reminding the baby of being in the womb. In
soothing infants, we introduce cadence and patterning in our voices; we rock, walk and they suck-all forms of
rhythmic stimulations associated with the temporal patterning of social interaction.”
“Music starts at the most basic level-with the tom-tom beat of the mother’s heartbeat, rhythmic breathing
and rhythmic movements-and this “music” stays in the lives of all human beings until death. Through music
and touch, we learn to accept and communicate respectfully with each other.”
“As we experience and learn more about the positive effects of music and touch and as we understand that
affective touch combined with music is needed for healthy development and bonding, we realize that the next
step is to implement music contact games in early childhood.”
“Hugging is a universal component of songs for little children. Thus, preparing a baby lesson that includes
touching, singing and playing is not that difficult. Babies are always interested in sounds, language and music,
and they thrive on contact through touch.”
“The challenge lies in well-balanced lessons with contact games, while taking into account the various motherchild relationships. Considerations and accommodation must be provided for the insecure or unattached child
that may panic or are easily distracted.” The Power of Music and Touch. The Educational Role of Adults and the
Environment-Margre van Gestel-The Netherlands-Early Childhood Connections-Winter 2003
“What happens during the first few months and years of life matters a lot, not because this period of
development provides an indelible blueprint for adult well-being, but because it sets either a sturdy or fragile
stage for what follows.” Shonkoff, Jack P. & Phillips, Deborah A. (eds.) (2000) From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The
Science of E.C. development.
“Infants are musical actors, not just listeners. They are performers, not just a receptive audience…the
participation of a child in a shared musicality proves that the forms and feelings of music are consequences of
the inherent motives of human vitality.” Trevarthen, Colwyn. Every Child is Musical: The Innate Joy & Pride of Musicality
and Learning Music. (2002)
“Studies of communication behaviors in infants clearly demonstrate that musical behaviors are at the core of the
social and emotional connections formed between parents and children…We know it’s true that music in early
childhood can make a difference in children’s lives. But it’s also important to understand that early music experience
can affect people for years to come. Researchers who have investigated the ‘strong memories’ associated with
musical experiences indicate the powerful role that music plays in the earl stages of life”. Gabrielsson, Alf. Music in
Early Childhood: Setting a Sturdy Stage-Donna Brink Fox-Eastman School of Music. Rochester N.Y. Orff Echo. Winter 2003
Research Findings & Quotes from Musical Lives of Babies & Families
Zero to Three Journal September 2002
“Rhythmic and melodic dialogue begin in the birthing room. The rhythms and melodies of adult’s earliest efforts
to connect with babies reflect the intuitive nature of musical communication.” (Custodero)
Bowlby address the “significance of this ‘reciprocal interchange’ in terms of attachment. Rhythms of dialoguesduets define attachment and are associated with positive cognitive outcomes….”
Stern and Trevarthen both have “applied rhythmic and melodic characteristics to their interpretations
of infant social experiences…synchronous rhythmic patterns define healthy development…”
“In a shared social setting or in solitude, music is meaningful to very young and motivates them to participate
physically, emotionally and cognitively…in the child-care center the emotional content of music seems to unite
the group…to self-comfort, individual children are initiating their own cognitively challenging musical
experiences…” (Custedero)
“Music making creates contexts in which children, teachers, and families thrive….infants perceive music in much
the say way adults do…adults who observe very young children carefully, learn to recognize ways in which they
invite us to be musical with them…” (Trehub)
“Consider the potential for communication and self-expression as infants invite, seek and initiate
melodic and rhythmic activity.” (Custedero)
“Even a premature newborn may actively contribute to a precise rhythmic exchange of vocal sounds
helping to create a single ‘narrative’ of feeling.” (Malloch)
“Communicative musicality seems to be an intrinsic organizing principle for all movements in healthy parent-infant
interactions…meaning of the adult’s words cannot play a role and infant and parent are typically eager to ‘attune’
with each other”. (Stern-Hofer-Haft and Dore)
“We see that a baby a few weeks old can learn to recognize a melody or dance ritual very quickly, and one of an
infant’s earliest pleasures comes from recognizing the distinctive phrases and verses of a favorite tune, perhaps
heard in utero”. (Trevarthen-Malloch)
“It {music} can bring a child who is severely incapacitated by sensory or motor disability into companionship
in thought and actions, supporting language.” (Aldrige, Tonsberg, Hauge, Wigram and Debacker)
“Babies at risk, due to their pre-maturity, developmental disorder or trauma can be sustained and helped to grow
in strength and health by peaceful music, especially in intimate communication with the body of a caregiver”.
(Van Rees and de Leeuw)
“The most supportive action is to encourage baby’s love of musical company by being part of it…infants play
and sing with emotional, musical narrative long before they talk”. (Trevarthen)
“…free and sympathetic expression of what we call Instrinsic Motive Pulse (IMP) of moving and feeling is
necessary for development of the mind and for emotional health…that is why music has a unique and permanent
value for education, where musical communication can be such powerful therapy”. (Trevarthen)
“The forces of moving and awareness can also transform the adult, with love and enjoyment into a
play mate, releasing intuitive impulses to love and sing in ways that engage and support the child’s
expression”. (Trevarthen)
“Newborns and older infants are more attentive and responsive to sounds of infant-directed speech than to those
of adult-directed speech”. (Cooper, Aslin, Fernald, Werker and McLeod)
“The presence of a baby seems to influence the emotions of caregivers or bystanders, one consequence of which
is highly expressive singing…even preschoolers sing more effusively than usual when their infant sibling is in view”.
(Trehub, Unyk and Henderson)
“Maternal speech readily captures infants attention, but maternal singing is more effective in maintaining
attention…mothers use of music to manage infant moods has parallels in the therapeutic use of music for
regulating emotion in disabled or sick children…” (Bunt and Pavlicevic)
Mothers are Musical Mentors. Sandra E. Trehub University of Toronto
Zero to Three Journal September 2002
“Maternal singing may provide benefits for the singer as well as the listener…the privacy of the interaction may
make it possible for a mother to say or sing what she could not express in other contexts…releasing of pent up
feelings may increase mother’s feelings of closeness…soothing singing likely calms mother as well as infants-playful
singing likely rouses them both. In this way, maternal singing can regulate maternal as well as infant emotions.
“Deliberate planned performances are unlikely to have emotional richness of spontaneous
performances, which are motivated by sensitivity to infant’s changing needs.”
“Recorded materials designed to attract the adults who buy them are no match for maternal
performances…recordings lack the familiar voice and emotive qualities that are so engaging to the listening infant
and they are not tailored to the preferences of individual infants…parent-centered programs can connect parents
with other parents, encourage playful interactions and provide a repertoire of enjoyable musical activities.”
“…every known culture has songs for infants and that singing to infant appears to be a normal part of everyday
caretaking activities…it seems mothers perform in a distinctive way when their baby is the audience-songs are
higher, slower…the most salient feature is the loving tone”. (Trehub and Trainor)
“…suggesting mothers sing to their babies the way they do in order to communicate with them emotionally…
the way mothers sing to them does indeed matter to babies…the more loving the singer’s tone of voice, the
longer infants chose to listen to her song…they chose to listen longer to the higher pitched versions…listening
to lullabies, the infants tended to look down at their hands, listening to play songs, they tended to focus their
attention outward…mothers not only produce emotional singing for babies, but babies respond to the
messages their mothers send them through song”. (Trainor)
“…research has helped us understand how mothers produce emotional singing that is exquisitely tuned to the needs
of their babies and how infants respond to this singing, forming closer bonds to their mothers…along with touching
and rocking, singing helps caregivers co-regulate infants’ states, and likely contributes to infants’ increasing ability to
regulate their own states”. (Trainor)
GREETINGS
 Welcome, welcome everyone. Let’s reach up & touch the sun. Now the rain (snow) is falling down. Falling gently to the
ground. Curl yourself into a ball. PAUSE 1-2-3 let’s sit (reach up-jump up) tall.
 Hello to____. How do you do?
 I love you (2) little______. I love you.
 Let’s sing/wave hello to________. WHAT ELSE?
 Good Morning Mary Sunshine
 Where is ______. There she is…let’s all wave to…
 Lah dah dah
Little children are not logical-they are motor. To give a child joy, give him something to do. Lucy Gage
FINGERPLAYS-development of speech, rhythm, body awareness, hand & finger strength & coordination of hand or foot movement. Blythe
 10 little fingers
 3 little bears
 1 little leaf
 this little cow
Listening to, and singing along with rhymes and songs uses and develops both sides of the brain. Blythe
EVERYDAY CARE GIVING ROUTINES-Babies need lots of tummy time, essential to develop strong muscles for holding up
their heads. ..The changing table or floor or 1:1 with toddlers with or without dollies simple way to establish rituals.
 Here comes a diaper
 Here are baby’s fingers
 Criss cross
 Put your finger on
 Wash the dishes
 PEEK a boo-where is________
 One leg
 Up and down
 Instruments w/wo music
 You are so cranky
 Up and down
 Oh my darling, baby mine…
 Swing me over the ocean/sea/garden wall/tea…treetops/zoo/garden wall/you
 Going for a walk/to the park/to the mall
 How would you like to go up in the swing…Swing high-swing low
 There are bubbles in the air…POP pop those bubbles
 Roll and catch…Roll roll roll the ball
 There’s a cow on my toe
Dopamine can be released through music listening. Sufoo & Akiyama
MEALTIME
 Let’s make some soup-chop (2) chippity chop, cut off bottom n cut off top. What we have left throw into the pot. CCCC.
 Peas porridge hot
 A you’re adorable Apples and bananas
 Oh my, no more pie I had a hen
 Peanut-peanut butter…Apple-apple sauce
 Baby don’t you cry. Gonna’ make a pie. (www.youtube.com)
LAP AND LEG BOUNCES
 Shoe little horse...Pitty patty polt…Pony macaroni
 Rickety riding horse
 Mother and father and uncle Jon
 Ah-O
 1-2-3 (name) on my knee. Rooster crows. Away we go. Wheee. 1-2-3
 Jack and Jill
 Up in the air
 Acka backa
 Dance little dolly
 Apple Tree…Humpty Dumpty
When hands are activated in tapping rhythms, learning is more effective
TAPPING AND SHAKING
 Grey squirrel
 Jack and Jill
 Johnny pounds with one hammer
Moving to the pulse of the music refines beat competency necessary for speaking, walking, cutting with scissors
MOVING
 Up and down
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Oh we’ll lah lah lah
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We’re gonna’ go go go
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Let’s all walk down the street
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We’re marching round and round
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Red brown yellow and orange leaves
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We’re raking the leaves
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Bingo
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I’ve been working on the railroad…Take the A Train-Duke Ellington-Paris Blues
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Little birdie in your nest-time to rest-sun comes out to play-fly away-in the sky-fly MUSIC…little birdie day is done-saying
goodbye to sun-now moon shining bright-little birdie say goodnight-little birdie time to rest-little birdie in your nest…Tune:
Twinkle little star
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Ribbons and scarves….Unstructured freedom of movement…Classical, jazz, big band, family ethnic music…
Touch head/toes/turn in a circle/bend down low/touch shoulders/knees/tickle and sit down please.
Music is the essence of order and lends itself to all that is good, just and beautiful. Plato
ROCK & ROW & PARTNER
Methods pre-sitting
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Any nursery rhyme
You are my sunshine..Take me out to ballgame…Side by side
Slow-fast Mozart….Waltz
Partner come and dance with me. Both my hands I give to thee. Tap (3), Clap (3). Round and then go back again. Singing
La-la-lahs while moving in a circle or rocking side to side…
London Bridge
TRANSITIONS
 Clean-Up. (3 Blind Mice) It’s time to clean up (2) It’s time to put our toys away, so we can play
another day. It’s time to clean-up.
 Wash-Up. (Let’s Go Fly a Kite) Let’s go wash our hands (3) So we can eat_______. Roll up the
sleeves of your shirt, wash off the germs and the dirt. Oh, let’s go wash our hands.
 Weather. (Waltzing Matilda).What is the weather? (3), outside today. Is it rainy? Is it cold? Is it sunny? Is there snoooooow?
What is the weather, the weather today?
 We’re following the leader
Listening is an important invisible activity. Through listening and observing during the first years of life the human being develops the most important
competencies of their entire life. Andrea Apostoli
LISTENING
 Silence/pauses
 Sound effects/tape recorder
 Listen for and moving like the wind…Syncopated Clock-Leroy Anderson
Singing traditional lullabies and nursery rhymes to babies and infants before they learn to speak, is an essential precursor to later
educational success and emotional wellbeing. Blythe
LULLABY AND GOOD NIGHT
 Hush now mama’s little baby
 Rocking my baby to sleep
 Lah dah dah
 Somebody’s tired, I wonder who
 I love the flowers
 Tender Shepherd/Grandma loves you
 Go to Sleepy Bye
 I see the moon. (Youtube.com)
GOODBYE
 Let’s wave goodbye to _______ goodbye (3)
 This little wind…bye n bye
 Bye bye till we meet again, bye, bye, bye
 Wiggle wiggle fingers way up to the sky
JUST ONE MORE
Wonderful World-Louis Armstrong
NURSERY RHYMES
Do you remember nursery rhymes from your childhood and do they instill any memories?
Language combined with movement increases cognition 90%. Pat Wolfe
MOTHER GOOSE
Mother Goose, often learned in the kitchen or on the front porch from Grandma or Grandpa, was once a rich part of children’s lives.
It is seemingly being replaced by distance & technology. Many young adults have not learned nursery rhymes and thus they are not
being passed on to our young children. It seems somehow an entire generation has missed out on this basic component of
Americana.
Nursery rhymes impact language development, emergent literacy, while nurturing social skills & emotional well- being. Combining
movement with nursery rhymes provides a unique perspective & affects all developmental domains.
Carol Biddiss tells us, “The child who knows a lot of nursery rhymes gains social benefits. These lucky children can sing-along, or
listen intently if pre-verbal, with grandparents, aunties and uncles, cousins and friends or even with perfect strangers they meet, say,
in child care or preschool settings. …a child who is quite upset cheers up considerably at group time when familiar songs are sung
together. They suddenly feel as though they belong.
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BENEFITS OF NURSERY RHYMES
Impact emergent literacy through language development and phonemic awareness.
Kinesthesis and language play, specifically rhyming are important components in connecting
literacy to learning…learn best when movement is involved. Jensen
Fun, engaging oral activities facilitates language acquisition, increases phonological awareness
& improves phonemic awareness through rhyme recognition. Widdowson
Rhyme is particularity beneficial for struggling and reluctant readers. Beers
Nurture social skills and emotional well-being.
Most natural introduction to poetry. R.Luken
When combined with movement give children a multi dimensional sensory experience.
Provide a link between home and school that fosters a feeling of security. J. Glazer
Perpetuate our literary heritage, linking generations together. Mary E. Shorey
Exposure by age 3 more likely to have higher level of phonemic awareness when enter
Kindergarten.
One indicator of how well children read is their ability to recite nursery rhymes when walk in
the kindergarten. Cunningham et al
Encourage children to enjoy participating in music-making through various activities of
listening, predicting, singing and moving to music. Biddiss
Singing helps form social bonds…singing together releases oxytocin, known to be involved
in establishing bonds of trust between people. Levitin
Pass on common knowledge i.e. counting, alphabet, days of week.
Rhyming, rhythm and song aid memory, beat attracting attention. Poetic imagery is powerful
pathway to storing memory. Melody & harmony attract the brain to listen because they give
enjoyment. Biddiss
Possibility that types of song helped to shape us throughout tens of thousands of years.
Levitin
MOVING WITH MOTHER GOOSE
The ultimate developmental-sensory experience for children is to combine language with movement. Here are unique activities
that do just that using nursery rhymes & other rhymes. The movement may be challenging., but I encourage you to give it your
best shot. Your home visits may never be the same. Who knows the benefits you too will reap and the families will love you for
your efforts. Just watch their faces in amazement as you spin around on your tummy. I guarantee that you will get the attention
of even the most reluctant child. Try it in the privacy of your living room or closet and come out when you are ready. Do not be
afraid. You can do it.
ACTIVITIES
Develop rhythm and language through repetition of words spoken and sung in a pulse or pattern
SITTING in a circle
Breath…Bubble Gum-(2) in a dish. How many blows do my children (or name) wish? (who’s got a number?)
(Blow while moving back)… POP….(Repeat moving forward).
Peas Porridge Hot….
Energy-Peanut Butter Sandwich..Press PB bottom of feet/smooth …tap raisins/sharp…slap bananas/sharp…brush
honey/smooth…Make foot sandwich (feet together)
Head-Tail…(feet together) We bounce & (3) like a ball…bounce (2) & we stretch up big & tall..hands in our
lap…nose goes to the wall…reach for your toes…get tiny & small…1-2-3 Falll (backward) (Repeat legs straight)- sit
up tall.
Tactile…Hickory Dickory Dock-The mouse squeezed up the clock. Tapped…Patted…Brushed…NO MORE.
Core-Distal…Twinkle Little Star…Reach out & Curl in or Reach slowly & curl quickly on last word.
Upper-lower…(hands & knees) Pussy cat (2) arching your back. Furry & black. Wag tail & head. Curl into bed
Body-Side…Buckle my Shoe-Version 1 (lie on left side-help little ones-lift & lower right arm & leg w each versechange sides.)Version 2. Open, close legs moving in a circle…9-10 do it again (spinning on bottom)
Cross-Lateral…Miss Mary Mack (criss cross arms) Buttons (legs) Mother (both) Elephant (alternate arms high reach
w/alternating hands while tracking to floor) 4th of July (Drum hands on floor for grounding)
Vestibular…Humpty-Dumpty -feet together, rock side to side, arms like windmill. Fall back. All
kings horses-kicking legs. Repeat forward n back…Had a tummy fall.-turning on tummy.
STANDING
Upper-lower…Itsy Spider-(marching in place) down came rain (washing or tapping going down body to touch toestwice) Sun (big arms & or turn around) Itsy spider (March in place)
Group Nursery Rhymes-pick and add movement or hand motions
Based on the work of Anne Green Gilbert of Creator of ‘Braindance’.
“…a series of exercises based on eight developmental movement patterns that healthy humans naturally move
through in the first year of life. Research has shown these patterns are crucial to the wiring of our central nervous
system. As babies we did these movements on the floor...these patterns at any age, have been found to be beneficial
in reorganizing our central nervous system…repeating patterns may help fill in any missing gaps in our neurological
development or not enough tummy time as a baby…it is a centering body/brain exercise for brain organization,
oxygenation, and recuperation.” Anne Gilbert
The patterns impact
 Breath-All movements & rhythms are based on breath.
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Tactile-Variety of touch leads to bonding, sensory integration, proprioception & appropriate
behavior.
Core-distal-Reaching out connects us to world beyond selves. Curling back returns us to our own
self.
Head-tail-Propels us through space, creates open path for central nervous system to function.
Upper-lower-Grounding reach into space, relate to people, emotional stability, reach goals & set
boundaries.
Body-Side-Left & right brain hemispheres are strengthened. Develop horizontal eye tracking for reading.
Cross-lateral-Connects both sides of the brain, for higher thinking. Vertical eye tracking for reading.
Vestibular-Moving off balance develops vestibular system. Strengthens eye tracking, hearing
proprioception, balance & coordination. Every movement stimulates the brain.
Source: ‘BrainDance’ DVD
The world is changing a lot. Because of the com and the dot. It’s all new today or that’s what they say, but friend, it really is not…
Arlo & Janis Jimmy Johnson
We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean.But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. Mother Teresa
PICTURE AND STORY BOOKS-See web site infant-toddler book list
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andress, Barbara. Music For Young Children. Harcourt Brace College Pub. 1998
Batcgekir & Bintz. Hand-Clap Songs Across the Curriculum. The Reading Teacher. Vol. 65 Issue 5. February 2012
Biddiss, Carol. www.preschoolmusiclessonplans.com/why-teach-nursery-rhymes-to-develop-a-literate-child-with-a-feelfor-history/ May 2012
Blythe, Sally. The Genius of Natural Childhood. Hawthorn Press. 2011
Falk, Dean. Finding Our Tongues: Mothers, Infants and the Origins of Language. Basic Books Pub. 2009
Feise, Barbara H. et al. A Review of 50 years of Research on Naturally Occurring Family
Routines and Rituals: Cause for Celebration? Journal of Family Psychology, Vol. 16, #4
Gardner, Howard. “Do Babies Sing a Universal Song?”. In Readings in Early Childhood Education. MENC. (1992)
Gilbert, Anne Green. Brain-Compatible Dance Education and DVD.National Dance Association. 2006
Gordon, Edwin. A Music Learning Theory for Newborn & Young Children. GIA Pub. 1997
Kaladdyk-Gallagher. Developing a Child’s Sense of Security Through Music: Working with Shy & Withdrawn Children.
Australian National University. Connections Journal. Winter 2003
McDonand, Dorothy & Simons, Gene. Musical Growth & Development Birth-Six. Schrimer Books. 1988
Mahler, Margaret. On Sadness & Grief in Infancy & Childhood: Loss and restoration of the symbiotic love object. Connections
Journal. Winter 2003.
Ortiz, Jon M. Nurturing Your Child With Music. Beyond Words Pub. 2002
Schiller, Pam. Presentation Handouts. (Dr. Schiller has several books)
Scott, Anne. The Laughing Baby/Songs & Rhymes from Around the World. 1987
Spelke, Elizabeth. Written by Natalie Angier.Insights From the Youngest Minds. New York Times. April 2012
Stokes, Beverly. Amazing Babies and DVD. Move Alive Media. Inc. 2002
Trehub, Sandra E. Mothers are Music Mentors. University of Toronto. Zero to Three Journal. (September 2002)
Wilson, Frank.Ed. & Roehmann, Franz. Music & Child Development. MNB Music Inc. 1997
Early Childhood Music Association. Connections Music Journal. www.ecmma.org
The Musical Lives of Babies and Families. Zero to Three Journal. (September 2002)
National Association for the Education of Young Chidren. www.naeyc.org
International Society for Music Education Journal. www.isme.org
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Bayley, Ros. Music and Language www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/children_learn/music/musicandlanguage
Harman, Maryann. Music and Movement-Instrumental in Language Development.
www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=601
Kohn, Alfie. Five Reasons to Stop Saying “Good Job” www.alfiekohn.org/parenting/gj.htm
Lamont, Bette. Neurodevelopmental Reorganization. Developmental Movement Consultant. Washington State.
www.developmentalmovement.org
Levitin, Daniel J. Dancing in the seats www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/opinion/26levitin.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Rofrano, Frances. “Make Space for Infant Spirituality.” ACEI Focus on Infants and Toddlers Spring 2008.
Stouffer, Mary. Emotional Growth Through Musical Play www.cfc-efc.ca/docs/cccf/00015_en.htm
Szamrreta, Joanne. “Peekaboo Power”: To Ease Separation & Build Relationships.” Young Children. January 2003
Tu, Tsunghui & Lash, Martha. “Don’t Tell Me No; I Tell You No!” Facilitating Self-control in Infants and Toddlers.” Winter 2007/08
Childhood Education Journal Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) pp. 79-84 www.acei.org
National Association for Music Education (MENC) Position Statement on Early Childhood
Education.www.menc.org/information/prek12/echild.htm
The Value of Music for Learning/HighScope www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindkid/2004-July/000680.html