by Pennie Sempell
The scientific inquiry into music and early childhood development is relatively new, yet the findings are helpful to parents and teachers alike. Participation in music can take many forms, such as learning a song, doing a dance step, listening to music, or playing an instrument.
A unique integration of body and mind is experienced in musical activities. Sensory integration is key to readiness to learn, scientists have discovered. The M.I.N.D. Institute research reports that music improves a neurological process needed to understand mathematics – called “spacial-temporal reasoning.”
Renowned author and educator Dee Dickinson has this to say: “I believe that it is essential that music must be taught throughout the curriculum, and not just in separate areas such as orchestra and choir. That is one way we can assure sufficient future participants in those classes, and a way we can offer opportunities for all students to develop their capacities more fully.” (Dee Dickinson, “Music and the Mind,” New Horizon, On the Beam, 1993)
So how does this translate to everyday life? When my children were young, I sang a wide variety of songs to them while rocking them, one at a time, in the rocking chair in their room. Many of these songs were later recorded by me, and are part of my Healthier Happier Life Skills DVD series. Of course, one need not be a professional singer to bring music into the household. Here are three easy things that can be done to use music to help your child’s developing mind:
1. Set up an ipod or boombox in the kitchen or living room, and play an assortment of music while meals are being prepared and during ‘down time’.
2. Make it family fun to sing songs together, as has been done for generations. A songbook of classics can jog your memory.
3. Check your local newspaper for free or affordable concerts and performances of a wide range of music, not just music you think is “kids music”, from ballads to musicals to blue grass, and beyond!
Enjoy music with your child, and know that you are helping his developing mind.
Pennie Sempell is an integrative health therapist and wellness educator who works with children and adults of all ages and needs. Pennie has taught preschool in Washington, D.C. and California, and directed an aquatic fitness program for children. She has earned numerous professional certifications in mediation and peer counseling, research-based mind-body therapies, and traditional healing art therapies.
Visit her new site for FREE resources: www.healthierhappierlife.com
The scientific inquiry into music and early childhood development is relatively new, yet the findings are helpful to parents and teachers alike. Participation in music can take many forms, such as learning a song, doing a dance step, listening to music, or playing an instrument.
A unique integration of body and mind is experienced in musical activities. Sensory integration is key to readiness to learn, scientists have discovered. The M.I.N.D. Institute research reports that music improves a neurological process needed to understand mathematics – called “spacial-temporal reasoning.”
Renowned author and educator Dee Dickinson has this to say: “I believe that it is essential that music must be taught throughout the curriculum, and not just in separate areas such as orchestra and choir. That is one way we can assure sufficient future participants in those classes, and a way we can offer opportunities for all students to develop their capacities more fully.” (Dee Dickinson, “Music and the Mind,” New Horizon, On the Beam, 1993)
So how does this translate to everyday life? When my children were young, I sang a wide variety of songs to them while rocking them, one at a time, in the rocking chair in their room. Many of these songs were later recorded by me, and are part of my Healthier Happier Life Skills DVD series. Of course, one need not be a professional singer to bring music into the household. Here are three easy things that can be done to use music to help your child’s developing mind:
1. Set up an ipod or boombox in the kitchen or living room, and play an assortment of music while meals are being prepared and during ‘down time’.
2. Make it family fun to sing songs together, as has been done for generations. A songbook of classics can jog your memory.
3. Check your local newspaper for free or affordable concerts and performances of a wide range of music, not just music you think is “kids music”, from ballads to musicals to blue grass, and beyond!
Enjoy music with your child, and know that you are helping his developing mind.
Pennie Sempell is an integrative health therapist and wellness educator who works with children and adults of all ages and needs. Pennie has taught preschool in Washington, D.C. and California, and directed an aquatic fitness program for children. She has earned numerous professional certifications in mediation and peer counseling, research-based mind-body therapies, and traditional healing art therapies.
Visit her new site for FREE resources: www.healthierhappierlife.com
