The Importance Of Music & Movement In Early Childhood Development

April 11, 2022

Contrary to popular belief, having your Champ take part in activities like Music & Movement does not result in them running around singing at the top of their lungs or banging noisily on an instrument. Many parents do not realise that just like math, science, reading and writing, incorporating music and movement into early childhood education plays an important role in your child’s development.

Children are naturally drawn to music and will tend to react to many children’s songs at an early age. When children take part in music and movement activities, they are allowed to have fun and dance. Dancing to music helps children build motor skills whilst giving them the opportunity to practise self-expression. What’s more, when children participate in music and movement activities in a group, they get to learn to work as a team, share and be creative in a group setting – all of which contributes to your child’s development of social skills.

The use of music and physical activity play an important role in early childhood development as well as their learning process. Here are more benefits music has on your child’s development and the ways in which it complements our curriculum at MindChamps Enrichment.

1. Communication And Language Development

Right from the start, music and sound patterns play an important role in your child’s life. Studies have shown that newborn babies and even foetuses can respond to sound and recognise music. For instance, some parents notice their babies being soothed by the songs they heard during pregnancy. This early sound recognition ability in turn helps babies to identify their parents’ voices and later, pick up on wordsand start verbalising from an early age.. All of these prove that music plays an important role in your child’s development of communication and language skills.

What’s more, the repetition of familiar lullabies and nursery rhymes supports word and pattern recognition. When parents or adults sing together with children, it encourages them to listen and respond – both of which are crucial skills needed for effective communication. As they get older, the role of music also shifts to become a natural way for your child to learn about rhyming and counting.

In addition to incorporating music and movement, many Champion Parents have also signed their Champs up for the MindChamps’ Champion Communication Programme. This is a public speaking programme to promote effective communication with a Champion Mindset for children between the ages of 4 and 16. Each class includes training in creativity, speech technique, development of content and practice leading to performance presentations.

Contact us today to find out more about how our Champion Communication Programme can help play an important role in your Champ’s early childhood education.

2. Socialising And Self-expression

As parents, if you have ever watched your child respond to music, you would have observed how naturally it comes to them to sing, play and move along to the beat of the song. While some of their actions may look a little funny or clumsy at times, they are all valuable forms of self-expression that allow your child to recognise, explore and even express their emotions. Letting your child participate in music from a young age can support their use of imagination, the way they respond to stories as well as help them gain an understanding of the world around them. The presence of music in early childhood development also creates a social experience. For instance, singing the same songs in a class is a great way for children to come together and enjoy a shared culture with their peers.

3. Improves Physical Movement And Coordination

One of the ways music is used in early childhood development is to aid in physical coordination. Encouraging your child to dance to the music or perform actions along with a song helps their mind and body to work together. Music and movement ultimately helps your child to refine their motor skills and at the same time practise balance.

Not only does dancing along to the songs help your child develop spatial awareness, but it also gives you a chance to introduce vocabulary for gross and fine motor movement. Some parents may even introduce simple mathematical concepts that can be physically felt or seen by the child, e.g. “wow that was a big jump, can we do an even bigger one next?”

Overall, academic achievement is not the only benefit of music and movement. Music ignites all areas of a child’s development and skills for school readiness. Some of these include intellectual, social-emotional and literacy. Consequently, you can also sign your child up for enrichment lessons to help them excel through the various educational milestones in their lives.

Read our blog for tips to nurture your child to become an independent learner with a champion mindset.

Here at MindChamps, we offer a series of programmes with the Champion Mindset to nurture scholars and leaders of tomorrow. Backed by research in the fields of Education, Psychology, Neuroscience and Theatre, our programmes help to further every Champ in their learning and development journey.

Get in touch with us to discover how we can help your child become Champs at everything they do.