10 Reasons Why Music Belongs in Our Schools

This year we celebrate a significant milestone:  30 years of Music in Our Schools month. Thirty years ago music in schools meant recorders and “Hot Cross Buns.” Now, it still means recorders and “Hot Cross Buns,” but it also means English Language Arts, Math Class, Social Studies, and more. Here’s why we should be celebrating Music in Our Schools today… and 300 years from now!

30 years of Music in Our Schools Month

10 Ways Music Plays at School

Music & Math Class. Music teaches young children foundational math skills, including geometry, pattern recognition, and numbers. Watch these children read and repeat various music patterns.

Kindermusik rhythms
Music & Social Studies. Music teaches children about other cultures through songs and dances. Long before people could read or write, the culture of a nation or people was passed down through song. That tradition continues in the drum circles of the Native Americans, the Shakuhachi flutes of Japan, or an Irish jig. …

Music & Creativity & STEM. Music provides children a creative way to express their thoughts, ideas, and emotions. That creativity spills over into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) classes as well, where young children are also encouraged to explore, question, and create solutions.

Why STEM should be changed to STEAM

Music & English Language Arts. Music supports phonological awareness needed in English Language Arts. In fact, our brains process language and music in similar ways. For example, understanding the spoken language requires a child to hear (and identify!) the individual phonemes combined with the intonation communicated through pitch. With music, a child must hear the individual notes along with their rhythmic value.

Music & Group Work. Singing together lowers stress and relieves anxiety. Plus, children gain practice working together to create something beautiful. Play along with this song…and try NOT to smile.

Music and group work
Music & Transitions. Musical cues teach children how to easily transition from one activity to another. Young children can struggle with transitioning from one activity to another as they also experience rapid—and turbulent—emotional development. Singing a song to signal the end of one activity and the start of another helps children navigate those feelings and learn how to move on to something else.

Music & Recess. A classroom dance party gets young children up and moving around on those days when it is too cold or wet to play outside for recess. Getting out those wiggles can help children be ready for whatever is next in the lesson. A quick song of “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” or the “Hokey Pokey” can bring lots of giggles to the classroom, too!

Music & Language Development. Songs and rhymes teach children the rhythm of language, its construction, and its acquisition.  Singing songs and saying rhymes give children practice with words and sounds that not only help children learn to speak clearly, but also effectively, by teaching the vital skills of communication and conversation.

Music & Memory. Children who learn through movement show a marked improvement in memory.  That’s because movement wakes up the brain and gets it primed for learning.  But music can also aid memorization of facts… like learning U.S. states and capitols later on in elementary school.

music aids learning
Music & English Language Learners. When English Language Leaners clap their hands to the beat of English nursery rhymes or songs, they practice active listening and pattern recognition. Research shows that students who are better at recognizing patterns in language learn another language more quickly than those who do not.  Here’s an example of how clapping, tapping, and playing along with a music video from our Kindermusik @Home Materials gives fun practice with recognizing patterns.

Change-the-world-Facebook-Profile-Image1“Music in our Schools Month” is the perfect platform for the message to resonate – music matters!  And here at Kindermusik, we believe that music can change our world, one child and one family at a time.

Do you want to bring more music into your school? Learn how. http://www.kindermusik.com/schools/

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