Sharing Music and Movement with Parents

When parents and children enjoy music and movement experiences together, they can share hours of pleasure and creativity, and children's development and learning are enhanced. To help parents appreciate the rich potencial for increasing children's learning and enjoyment of music and movement, you can incorporate these acttivities in parent workshops, involve parents in the classroom, and share ideas in a letter.

Conducting Workshops on Music and Movement

Singing and movement games can be great icebreakers at parent meetings and workshops. You may choose to include these activities in other parent workshops and meetings rather than dedicating a session to music and movement.  Or you may decide to plan a special music and movement workshop with some of the following kinds of activities.

• Lead the group in singing some songs that are the children's favorites and ask the parents why they thing these are so popular. Ask parents to suggest other songs that their children like or that they themselves remember liking when they were children.
• Ask for a volunteer who knows a finger play and will teach it to the group. Then ask: "Would this finger play be hard for young children to learn to do?" "Why or why not?" "Does anyone know an easier finger play? A harderone?"  Teach the parents finger plays at  different developmental levels and discuss why children enjoy them.
• Challenge parents with movement problems that call for problem solving and creativity  ("Move sideways and see what different things you can do with your feet as you go").
• Hold a workshop where parents make simple instruments for their children to use at home (Using the directions provided in this section).

Involving Parents in The Classroom

Some parents have special abilities and experiences with music and movement that they would probably enjoy sharing with the children.  A parent who plays an instrument, for instance, can show it to the children and demonstrate how it is played. Parents might be willing to share the songs, dences, and instruments of their culture or make tapes of the music they enjoy. It's a good idea to provide parents with blank or recycled tapes for this purpose.

Parents can also help in videotaping the children dancing, singing, jumping, doing finger plays, and engaging in other kind of movement.  Seeing themselves on tape intrigues children and enhances heir self image and awareness of what their bodies can do.