Music and Movement
Enjoying Music and Movement With Your Five-Year-Old
Enjoying Music and Movement With Your Five-Year-Old
Five-year-olds sing songs with more complex and varied lyrics, rhythms, tempos and musical styles, and are able to use music and musical instruments to imitate and improvise songs and melodies. They can recognize different patterns of tempo, rhythm and pitch; and they listen to and explore various kinds of music, instruments and natural sounds. They use creative movement, planned or improvised, to express an idea or feeling, and they listen and cooperate in group creative movement activities and dances. They use movement to interpret or imitate feelings, animals or concepts like plants growing or a rainstorm. Five-year-olds can learn simple and repetitive dance steps and routines. They move in spontaneous and imaginative ways to music, songs, rhythm and silence.
Continue to provide your child with lots of opportunities to listen and respond to a variety of musical styles. Sing and dance together at every opportunity, create an informal house band of homemade instruments, and look for family-friendly performances in the community. If your child expresses an interest in dance or music classes, look for opportunities to try them out through afterschool and community programs.