Musical Movement And Creative Play

Classical Music for 2-5 year olds looks at how to encourage musical movement and creative play at home. Check out 40 Best Classical Tracks For Kids for some listening inspiration.

People often ask what equipment I use for playing musical excerpts in music lessons. Of course if  you have the original CDs you can play them with a conventional music player using a remote control for stopping and starting.

But these days the easiest way is to play them straight from youtube by using your phone or ipad and some handy bluetooth speakers. Here are two really good choices; I’d recommend the Anker Soundcore for use in an average sized room, but these JBL Flip 4 speakers pack a bit more of punch if you’re in a bigger space.

Use percussion instruments

• Maracas and tambourines are great for enjoying rousing marching music, but  softer, more gentle music needs a different approach.
• Silk scarves, streamers and ribbons are a perfect prop. They’re inexpensive and even little babies can enjoy flapping and swishing them about in time to the music. Older children love imagining that they are wings, or water or fire and rainbows!
• Balloons and feathers are also lovely for soft wafting music and they’re so cheap and easy to get hold of.
• Alternatively, if you don’t mind the mess, use real leaves. Go foraging for autumn leaves or spring blossoms to fit in with the seasons.
• Pool noodles are another great prop for musical movement. Use them as giant batons to conduct the music or even as improvised light sabres to Star Wars or other suitable space themed music.

Encouraging imaginations

• Silk parachutes are the ultimate prop for this sort of activity, but if you don’t worry if you don’t have one. It’s just as much fun with a large sheet of silky lining fabric and at half the price! Again, little imaginations will happily see this as water or sky – the interpretations are endless.
• Paper plate skating is terrific fun! It’s the perfect way to enjoy sleigh rides and other wintery themed music.
• While tinsel dancing never fails to get everyone in a festive mood at Christmas.
• Once you get started, you’ll be amazed at how much fun can be had from such ordinary everyday things.
• Kids are always happy to get carried away with their imaginations.

The Carnival Of The Animals is a fantastic piece of music to inspire and encourage movement and creativity – check out my Carnival of the Animals Teaching Bundle!

Check out our post Classical Fun For Toddlers and the following links for some more great ideas for imaginative movement to music from other blogs:-

A really fun original idea for using tights or pantyhose from mrsvmusic.blogspot:

http://mrsvmusic.blogspot.ca/2014/02/have-been-stuck-inside-lot-lately-due.html?m=1

This looks such fun from highshoalsmusic:
http://highshoalsmusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/ice-skating-in-music-room.html

Parachutes can be used with lots of different themes and ideas but here’s a great video to the star wars theme: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/128845239311696244/

More musical movement from Perkins Preschool:
http://www.perkinspreschool.com/class_music.html

Lovely imaginative ideas from prekandksharing:
http://prekandksharing.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/footprints-in-snow-movement-exploration.html