Tag Archives: gross motor

We Like to Move it, Move it!

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Movement activities in a Kindermusik class may take several forms. There are circle or line dances, guided by the educator. There are interpretive dances where we pretend to be an animal, a vehicle, or something more abstract like the wind. There are partner dances and free dances. Fast and slow dances. High and low dances. Stop and go dances. All these activities have several benefits. Let’s go through each of them.

Social Dances: Circle or line dances guided by the educator promote social bonding. We wave at our friends. We partner with other families. We smile across the circle at each other. This allows the children to notice where they are in relationship to others. Not only does it promote socialization but it also helps develop proprioception, spatial processing, visual processing, and auditory processing. There’s a lot going on when you are listening to directions, moving in real time, watching the other dancers, and trying to follow along. Talk about a challenge for their little brains!

Creative Dances: Here’s when your child is encouraged to think about how a mouse skitters, how a cat creeps, how a bear lumbers. How they can mimic their idea of that motion in their own bodies. Perhaps they are asked to sway like a tree in the wind, or how a train chugs slowly, then faster, then slower again. These activities are helping your child make connections between concrete and abstract concepts, develop their imaginations, engage in pretend play, and practice their balance and coordination.

Free Dance: In a free dance a child is encouraged to create their own movement in concert with the music. This is developing their auditory discrimination as they listen to the musical cues and interpret them physically. They have to figure out how to move fast and slow, stop and go, high and low, big and small, and more. Think about the inhibitory control they are gaining as they listen to contrasting musical themes and coming up with new ways to mimic that theme in their own body!

All of these activities are giving the children practice with gross motor and locomotor movement. They’re also increasing your child’s strength, balance, and coordination. And through this playful activity they are releasing endorphins and getting a shot of “Joy Juice”, that natural hormonal cocktail of serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. These neurochemicals make them feel loved and safe and joyful.

So when your educator invites you to stand and move with your little one, be sure to throw your inhibitions out the door and fully engage in the activity. You’ll get all these benefits too!

Interesting Instruments

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An obvious core element of any Kindermusik class is the Instrument Play. You will always find a delightful variety of simple instruments, usually percussion based. Percussion instruments are ideal for young children because they are so simple to play! They require tapping, shaking, or striking. It is the perfect type of instrument to start learning on because its most fundamental element is steady beat.

Young children do not have the ability to externalize a steady beat yet, so we give them lots of practice by rocking them, bouncing them, patting them, etc. Listening to music, and playing along with a caretaker gives them additional exposure to this crucial skill. Steady beat will help your child as they develop gross motor movements, such as walking, running, and jumping.

These steady beat through instrument play experiences provide what we call a “synchronous social movement”. It has been shown through research that synchronous movement bonds a group of people, signaling to the child that the people with whom they share this experience are part of their tribe and are safe. It is socialization that the baby’s brain inherently understands.

These percussion instruments also give your child fine motor development practice. It takes skill to grasp an instrument, shake an instrument, release an instrument, and more. It also develops their hand-eye coordination, which will in turn help them as they learn to write, use scissors, play ball, etc.

Other benefits of instrument play include learning the pro-social skills of turn taking, observation skills, and the ability to follow. These skills will help them be ready to be in a musical ensemble once they begin instruction on a primary instrument.

Additionally, instrument play is the perfect opportunity for the caregiver to practice their skill of scaffolding. When you scaffold with a child you observe the skill they are already demonstrating, you validate that skill by labeling it and copying it, and then you add upon that skill. When you show your child how to take what they can already do and add to it, taking it to the next level, you are giving them growth opportunities, creative problem solving skills, and chances to utilize their autonomy to come up with new and diverse ways to play with their instrument.

So much is happening developmentally when you and your little one shake those little egg shakers or tap your rhythm sticks. Plus, it’s FUN and JOYFUL and breeds CONNECTION. And with all that joy and connection comes dopamine and serotonin and oxytocin. And who doesn’t need more of that?