Preschoolers are such a joy! They laugh and giggle, run and play, pretend and soak up everything around them. It’s the perfect time to begin music instruction. As a music teacher, I’m happy to share with you today five easy ways to do music at home with your preschooler.
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Preschool Music at Home
Use a set of simple musical rhythm instruments to make music at home.
I teach a preschool music class at our homeschool co-op, and one of the highlights of each class is when I pour out the bag of instruments. The kids love it when I play a piece such as the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean or Cantina Band for them to play along with.
By playing instruments such as triangles, egg shakers, tambourines, rhythm sticks, and drums, they are learning how instruments work and what different types of materials (plastic, metal, wood) sound like. They are also learning to play with a steady beat.
Use a scarf to encourage dancing and moving with the whole body.
I enjoy using colorful scarves with my preschoolers and encouraging them to move in different ways with them: reach up high and down low, twirl in a circle, throw and catch them, use as a horse tail and gallop, etc. I’ll play a piece such as Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov, The Aviary by Saint-Saens, or The Wild Rider by Schumann for them to dance and pretend to.
Explore sounds by making your own homemade instruments.
Combine music with art by creating your own homemade instruments. Find instructions for how to make several different types of instruments such as egg shaker maracas, slap sticks, and sound jars here. And, then put on some music to play your new instruments with!
Sing songs together.
Do your preschoolers know the classic preschool songs? I have a great course called 10 Songs All Preschoolers Should Know where you will be guided to learn these 10 great songs with your preschooler! You don’t have to be musical, and your kids will also learn about different instruments and music symbols and notes.
Listen to music of various styles.
Children often hear one or two styles of music on the radio when riding around with their family. Take time to broaden their musical horizons by finding some other playlists (already created on YouTube, Spotify, etc.) of genres/styles such as musical theater, jazz, opera, classical, and big band. You might want to search for a particular instrument to explore the music of such as the organ, saxophone, or harp. Or, maybe listen to the music of a particular composer such as Tchaikovsky, Handel, or John Williams.
As you can see, it’s not difficult to do music at home with your preschooler, and it will make such a great difference in building up the musical foundation for whatever he or she decides to do with music later in life!
