Children across our Early Years setting (from our eighteen-month old Cubs to our four year old Reception children) united last week to produce a delightful Early Years Spring Concert.
Mrs Liu (Head of Lower School Music) led the playing of a range of musical instruments alongside class songs co-ordinated by our class teachers. Thanks to the help and support of all staff involved, the Spring Concert was a huge success, with all the children having fun and loving music!
Singing is a natural language for children, providing a playful and emotionally satisfying context for building relationships. Every day, we observe the children singing and sharing songs together.
We proposed to the children that they might like to perform a song or a dance for their parents to enjoy. This became a collaboration of all the Early Years children’s ideas and formed the Early Years Spring Concert. The children chose songs that they felt that their parents would enjoy and considered the costumes and what they should wear. They have been supported by their class teachers who listen carefully to them and have helped to make the children’s ideas a reality.
Playing musical instruments is not easy, especially for children so young! Undeterred, our youngest Harrovians have worked very hard for the past few months and Mrs Liu is very proud what they have learned. Our fabulous children have enjoyed singing, dancing, handbells, xylophones, resonator bells, rhythm sticks, floor drums and a variety of other musical performances.
Our Early Years children enjoyed a marvellous picnic with their teddy bears brought in from home. Our entire Early Years corridor was adorned with picnic mats, delicious snacks, and children enjoying this special time together. A huge thank you to our Parent Representatives for organising the food for each class and indeed for the contributions made by all individuals; these were thoughtful, enhanced the event and clearly a lot of effort was put into this. Thank you to all our Early Years parents for your support in making this event such as success!
Why is music important for young children:
Improve Fine Motor Skills And Coordination
Learning how to play an instrument involves improving hand-to-eye coordination, ear-to-hand coordination, and the fine motor skills.
Improve Language Development
Science has shown that learning music requires the same parts of the brain involved in learning language.
Improve Focus And Memory
Working one’s way through even the simplest of piano études is an exercise in focus, hand/eye coordination, and both physical and mental recall.
Improve Fundamental Math Skills
For the uninitiated, the little black dots rising and falling upon a scale seem to bear no relation to keys on a piano or chords on a guitar. But to a child who can read music, those dots deliver rich amounts of information about what keys to press on a trumpet or strings to pass the bow across on a cello. In math terms, this is called pattern recognition.
Improve Discipline And Teamwork
The value of hard work is a lesson that a child has to experience on her own. A schedule of daily music practice is an honest discipline that will show your child that hard work leads to true benefits.
Improve Self-Confidence And Self-Esteem
When a skill builds incrementally, at a speed that is directly related to the amount of work put into it, a child will soon see benefits from his labours. It’s empowering for a child to realise that the extent of his own achievement lies squarely in his own hands.
