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You are here: Home / Musical Activities For... / Preschoolers / Stories with Classical Music And Movement

Stories with Classical Music And Movement

August 2, 2016 By Sara Mullett 16 Comments

Children love stories and reading books together is one of the best things you can do for development.Stories can be launch pads for improvisation and exploration of sounds and rhythms.  Therefore, using stories with Classical music and movement takes those benefits to another level.

The music helps to set the mood rather like a good film soundtrack. Most of all, it is wonderful for imagination and inspiring creativity.

stories with classical music and movement for 3 - 5 year olds

How to use this Classical music and movement with stories post

The links below take you to suggested books and a paired piece of music. Most of the tracks are Classical but in some cases other genres have slipped in! My favourite resources for researching classical music and movement activities are YouTube and Spotify because they suggest similar alternatives within genres.

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.

Read the book together and then suggest that the children pretend to be one of the characters. You could ask them to imagine themselves in that different world. It’s a good idea to discuss the ideas together first to help them get started but they’ll soon catch on.

The Best Stories for Classical Music and Movement

Owl Moon. Owl Moon is a lovely story about a little girl and her father who go out into a wood to search for an owl at night. This would work really well with some night time music like the Harry Potter theme tune because of the mysterious mood.

Bears Snores. Bear Snores is about a sleeping brown bear who snores on in his dark cave. While he is asleep he is gradually joined by other animals from the forest who come in to shelter. This one would be great to act out with the children pretending to be the different animals. I’ve chosen Pachelbel’s Canon In D because it has a steady ostinato (a repetitive phrase) which is the almost the same as the steady breathing of the sleeping bear.

We’re Going On a Bear Hunt. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is such a wonderful book. The original Teddy Bears’ Picnic by Henry Hall is the perfect track for an expedition into the woods!

There are so many wonderful stories about fairies, everyone will have their own favourite. One of mine is How To Find Flower Fairies, a pop up book with the most beautiful pictures. And any fairy story goes perfectly with The Sugar Plum Fairy, from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.

The Very Busy Spider. The Very Busy Spider is a wonderful story about the industrious spider building her nest. The children could pretend to be little spiders spinning webs to Vivaldi’s concerto for four harpsichords.

Buzzy The Bumblebee is a book with beautiful images and a wonderful message about keeping a positive attitude. Children will love pretending to be buzzy bees to Rimsky Korsakov’s The Flight Of The Bumblebee.

These three fishy tales are perfect to accompany The Aquarium from The Carnival of the Animals. Either of the books will do, but all three is an added bonus. Very Fidgety Fish is an imaginative book that kids love to hear again and again. The Rainbow Fish is about a fish who finds happiness from sharing his shimmering scales with all of his friends. And finally Over In The Ocean is a lively rhyme with lots of verses and actions all about the different fish in the sea.

The Ugly Duckling has been a favourite for generations. Children love acting out the story of the duckling’s transformation into the beautiful swan. What could be more perfect for this than the The Swan from Carnival Of The Animals.

If you’d like musical movement activities for the rest of the Carnival Of The Animals check out my Carnival of the Animals Teaching Bundle!

Over in the Jungle is another from the series of popular books by Marianne Berkes. It teaches all about habitat and who you can expect to find in the jungle. Below is a link to some authentic tribal African music and chants, which would be a great accompaniment.

The Story Of The Snow Children is a wintery tale about a little girl who gets magically transported to the Snow Queen’s frozen kingdom. The Trepak from The Nutcracker Suite sets suitably icy scene for children to become magical snow flakes in addition to setting a chilly mood.

Finally, Chugga Chugga Choo Choo and Freight Train are perfect for little train enthusiasts. These pieces delight with lots of sound effects and are also great for teaching children about the different variations between fast and slow. Whenever we want to pretend to be trains I always play either the old traditional Puffin Billy or if we fancy something with a bit of swing, Chatanooga Choo Choo by Glenn Miller.

 Story of the Orchestra : Listen While You Learn About the Instruments, the Music and the Composers Who Wrote the Music!  This is a great resource for anyone wanting to introduce children to the world of Classical music. Composers and instruments brought to life in a kid friendly way.

For more ideas about getting creative with music and activities to encourage engagement with Classical music and movement, take a look at:

  • Musical Movement and Creative Play
  • Classical Music For Toddlers series
  • Classical Music for Toddlers at Home

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Filed Under: 5+, Classical Music for Kids, Creative Role Play, Imaginative Play, Musical Activities For..., Musical Movement, Preschoolers Tagged With: Classical Music, Gross Motor Movement, Musical Movement, Storytelling

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Comments

  1. Stacey says

    February 5, 2021 at 4:40 pm

    This is an amazing idea! Do you start reading at the beginning of the piece or do you try to match the music to the words in the story, to the cadence of the words? I am loving listening to Hedwig’s Theme by John Williams right now as I ask this question 🙂

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      February 7, 2021 at 2:04 pm

      Hi Stacey, I find it depends on the age of the children, but it always helps to read the story through before so they are familiar with the characters and know what to expect. Then you can ask them to imagine themselves in that different world. It’s a good idea to discuss the ideas together first to help them get started but they’ll soon catch on.
      I love the idea of trying to match the words to the music, but that doesn’t always work depending on the particular piece, but it’s well worth a try!
      I always find that kids love experimenting, and much the same as any make believe play they never tire of setting a scene and re-telling stories.

      Reply
  2. Julie says

    June 14, 2020 at 4:54 pm

    This is a wonderful article! I love using books and music together in my classroom, and now as we shelter in place I am desperate to find activities that might work for my lessons online. You have so many wonderful resources that I haven’t used before, thank you! as a classical musician myself, I am familiar with all of the music, but many of the books are new to me. So great!!! :))

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      June 15, 2020 at 4:21 pm

      That’s great Julie! I’m so pleased that you’ve found Let’s Play Kids Music and that the resources are helping you with your online teaching ☺️

      Reply
  3. Ethelyn Beck says

    May 30, 2017 at 8:21 pm

    What a great article connecting classic children’s books to classical music.
    I know my younger students would really enjoy these combinations.

    I am puzzled. I was able to print all but pages 1-3.

    What I doing wrong?

    Thank you for your time and for sharing,

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      May 30, 2017 at 11:57 pm

      I’m glad that you like this post Ethelyn ???? But I’m sorry, I can’t really help with your printing problem. I don’t think many people try to print off the posts, so this isn’t something I’ve come across before.

      Reply
  4. Carrie says

    September 16, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    Thank you for sharing such wonderful resources!

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      September 16, 2016 at 11:30 pm

      You’re very welcome! I’m so glad you found them useful! 🙂

      Reply
  5. MsFrawley says

    September 6, 2016 at 8:15 pm

    What a great list! Great to have the link between book and music

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      September 6, 2016 at 11:03 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed this post 🙂

      Reply
  6. Gayee Maino says

    September 3, 2016 at 11:52 am

    Thank you for your wonderful list! Can’t wait to have some fun with my children in class! :o))

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      September 3, 2016 at 12:23 pm

      You’re most welcome! I hope your class has lots of fun with it 🙂

      Reply
  7. Carolyn Lucento says

    September 1, 2016 at 6:46 pm

    Hi Sara,
    I always look forward to your emails chock full of resources and your amazing blog articles. You’ve outdone yourself with this one! What I like most about your work is that you make it so accessible to everyone and lots of fun.

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      September 1, 2016 at 8:48 pm

      Thanks Carolyn! I’m so glad you find my ideas useful, your comment made my day! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Kate says

    August 2, 2016 at 8:01 pm

    This is an amazing list! I can’t wait to use these with my young children for homeschool!

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      August 2, 2016 at 11:20 pm

      Thanks Kate I hope you all have lots of fun with it!

      Reply

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