How Singing and Musical Fun with Young Children Pays Off in Reading Readiness
Did you know that young children who engage in singing, moving, and developing basic music skills will be better readers? Teddy Bear Band songs help young brains develop the ability to process sound, remember things, hear differences in language sounds (phonological awareness), and learn to keep a steady beat–essential skills needed for proficient reading. Babies who are sung to are better at processing speech and learning language. Toddlers who are rocked and bounced to a beat and keep the beat with their bodies develop the ability to keep a steady beat. All children can develop basic music skills by practicing keeping the steady pulse or beat of a song with two hands on their laps, clapping every sound of the words of a song (how the words go), telling the difference between higher and lower pitches, matching a pitch, and singing in tune.
Merry Go Round Song
Featured on “THE TEDDY BEAR BAND SHOW” DVD available here on our website or
at Filmbaby.com.
What the song “Merry Go Round” provides:
- Fun! Early Childhood/Brain Development Research shows that fun – “clicks the switch on” for learning.
- “Merry Go Round” tells a story and kids identify with the experience.
- By following directions (a School Readiness skill) kids use their imagination as they participate in the story.
- As kids go “up and down and around” young brains match the words to the actions.
- Being engaged in the actions, the last verse invites them to sing with the band to add verbalization skills while hearing the words and understanding word meaning as they do the actions.
In the above video, the Teddy Bear Band and Annette Gagliardi present “Supporting Emerging Literacy for Young Children through Music” to the 2010 Minnesota MNAFEE Early Childhood Conference.
Sing, Play and Move – Liner Notes
Our BRAND NEW album,”Sing, Play and Move,” supports “Emergent Literacy” for young children, helping them understand aspects of language and experience how words have meaning.
You may download the CD insert with full song list and notes, or click here to check out the CD on our Music page!
Rock & Read Program
TBB’s partnership with The Rock & Read program is focused on closing the reading & learning gap with fun & easy activities that parents, teachers and caregivers can do with children that are proven to build reading and learning abilities! https://www.rocknreadproject.org/
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