About the Workshops

Children’s development should be looked at holistically with consideration for how each area of development affects one another. Cognitive (understanding and development), social (literacy and communication), emotional, spiritual, and physical (motor skills) are interconnected with each other. For example, emotional and cognitive work together, and enable the child to develop an understanding of their emotions, and how to communicate to get desired results (for example, crying is a symbol of sadness). 

Studies have investigated the importance of music in early childhood development since the 1950s. Two facts that are widely accepted are that children do not express music in the same way as adults and that the years from birth to the age six is the are most important for a child’s musical development. This is because even the youngest toddlers receive the tones of music and unintentionally differentiate in frequency, melody and stimuli. According to researchers, the early years of childhood are critical in to learning to unscramble the tones of music and to build up a mental organization system to memorize the music. This means that, like language development, toddlers develop their musical skills through imitating and memorizing rhythms and tones of songs such as clapping to a beat and singing in tune. Without this ability, children would not be able to develop their musical skills.1 

Music is a great holistic experience that helps develop memory skills, language, social-emotional skills, gross/fine motor skills, focusing/attention span skills, emotion regulation, and math skills. Music is an amazing asset to help your child develop essential skills while enjoying their artistic creations.  

Studio Activity

PAINT THE MUSIC

This activity is a fun musical way to introduce your child to visual art. This experience also develops hand/eye coordination and listening skills.  

What you Need:

  • Paint 
  • Paint utensils (brushes, nature items, etc.) 
  • Paper or surface to create on
  • Music  

What you Do:

  • Set up an area to paint with brushes and paper. 
  • Discuss with your child about tempo and sounds of music (fast, slow, quick, loud, soft; what colours would you pick for certain sounds? What colors would you use to show how the music makes you feel?). Turn on music. Consider using songs that have tempos that are fast and slow as well as different genres.  
  • Demonstrate how to apply brush strokes to the paper in response to the music. Ideas include when the music is fast use big strokes and when the music is slow use tiny paint strokes. 
  • Create an artwork experience that shows what the song feels/looks like.   

Things to Think About:

  • Discuss tempo, beat, timing, to develop math skills. 
  • Explore emotions and how to regulate emotions in a healthy way. Ask your child to paint their emotions when they hear the song.  
  • Have children try painting with their eyes closed. This works on developing listening skills and memory. 

MAKE MUSIC WITH HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

Music is a great way to create and express our feelings. In this activity you and your children will be focusing on developing listening skills and creating a song.  

What you Need:

  • Household objects that can be turned into instruments such as plastic containers, pots, pans, drawing utensils, chairs, tables, etc.  
  • Instruments (optional) 
  • Recording Device (optional) 

What you Do:

  • Collect household items such as tubs, pots, pans, kitchen utensils, drawing utensils etc. 
  • Test out objects and discuss what type of sounds they make (loud, quiet, rings, etc.) 
  •  Create music from the objects you’ve collected. 

Things to Think About:

  • Consider recording your music. When listening to your recording, ask your child to identify the different objects and their sounds.
  • Have a conversation emotion and ask your child to make sounds related to those emotions.
  • Write lyrics to your music to develop literacy and vocabulary.
  • Create a dance to go with your song.