Montessori Insights and Reflections of a Preschool Student’s First Year

Musical Training and Activity Suggestions

In our Montessori preschool classroom, we try and incorporate a variety of music and movement activities that help to build good listening skills, promote self expression and increase a child’s self confidence. The children enjoy playing games like ‘Sound Bingo’ and ‘Name That Sound’ and they enjoy working with Montessori materials such as at the Sound Cylinders and Hand Bells. We have a specialized music teacher who comes twice a week and it is such a special time for the young students. They learn about rhythm, rhyme and melody, they have the opportunity to explore various rhythm instruments, they learn how to keep a steady beat and they enjoy exploring different types of body percussion.

At the beginning of the school year, my three-year-old Montessori student Jordan was very quiet and rarely participated in such activities. But with regular exposure in a fun and non-threatening environment, he now has the confidence to stand up in front of his peers and hum a melody as well as participate in the various games that are played during circle time and music class. The other day we were listening to a song on one of my music and movement CD’s and Jordan put up his hand and said, “Teacher Bree, I hear a glockenspiel in that song!” He was absolutely correct and I was amazed that he was able to hear and name the instrument …. such an abstract concept! I often hear Jordan humming a song or singing to himself while working with Practical Life activities and he is often curled up in our ‘Sound Corner’ exploring the rhythm instruments from around the world.

Musical training can enhance child development in so many ways. It helps children learn valuable problem-solving skills, it improves their physical coordination, their concentration, their memory, as well as their language skills. Through musical training, a child learns to be more self-disciplined, and it helps them to feel more confident with expressing themselves. Musical training improves listening skills, and instills in children a love for music! A child’s sense of worth and creative nature will surely shine through when they are given a wide range of musical opportunities.

A few ideas of activities that I have implemented over the years are as follows:

• A Music and Movement lesson that incorporates Geography is always fun. For example, dancing to music with colored scarves that correspond to the various continents or listening to a CD with songs from around the world.
• Challenge the children to identify everyday sounds. My Montessori preschool students love to close their eyes and put up their hand to identify different sounds that they hear in the environment and we do this both indoors and outdoors
• Play a CD with animal sounds and encourage the students to guess which animals make each sound
• Play a ‘copy-me game’. Make different sounds or a particular rhythm and encourage the children to copy you.
• Challenge the children to identify the instruments being played in different songs. This activity works best with children 5 years and older.
• Rhyming Games are always popular with young children. The children in my class love to sing Down by the Bay as well as Willaby Wallaby Woo. We sing the following song and try and incorporate each child in the class.

Willaby Wallaby Woo

Willaby Wallaby Wordan
An elephant sat on Jordan
Willaby Wallaby Welissa
An elephant sat on Melissa

• Musical Storytelling is another fun activity that my students love. I retell an old favorite but incorporate rhythm instruments to make the various sounds.

• Exploring instruments from around the world is a wonderful activity and a great way to promote a sense of cultural awareness!
• A sound matching activity is certainly an effective way to help refine a child’s listening skills.
• Freeze dancing is always a favorite and the children love freezing like statues when the music stops.
• Listen to different genres of music and follow a series of actions.
• Play Musical Chairs.
• Provide the children with rhythm instruments and help them to create their very own musical band.
• Explore ‘sound boxes’. Have a few boxes available and inside each, place a variety of items that make different sounds.
• Make sounds shakers or rainmakers out of various recyclable materials (yogurt containers, baby food jars, toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, etc.).
• Record the childrens' voices and then challenge them to identify the person whose voice they hear.
• Take the children outdoors to encourage them to listen to animal and nature sounds.

As much as possible, NAMC’s web blog reflects the Montessori curriculum as provided in its teacher training programs. We realize and respect that Montessori schools are unique and may vary their schedules and offerings in accordance with the needs of their individual communities. We hope that our readers will find our articles useful and inspiring as a contribution to the global Montessori community.

Related NAMC blogs:

• Music: an integral part of the Montessori curriculum

The NAMC Sensorial Development and Music Enrichment manual is a great resource for the Montessori 3-6 educator.

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/