Movement and Music

Movement and Music:

For young children’s creative development music and movement play a vital role. Children learn to show their emotions, build coordination, and develop their imagination through singing, dancing, and exploring rhythms (Niland, 2015). Through these experiences, childrenget to know about themselves and the world around them in fun and interesting manners. Music and movement will make children engage with their peers and allow them to release energy and gain confidence in their skills. With their inclusion in the daily activities, educators ensure that children have learning activities that invite them to discover sound, rhythm, and movement and enable holistic development (Dinham & Chalk, 2018). This has made movement and music important attributes in enhancing creativity in their early learning years (Howard & Mayesky, 2022).

Theories and Perspectives:

Music and movement are based on the Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence theory, according to which musical and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences plays important role in the children’s learning process (Howard & Mayesky, 2022). Music and movement are also considered as language of expression in Reggio Emilia philosophy that was established by Loris Malaguzzi (Dinham & Chalk, 2018). Such theories facilitate the belief that creativity is more than an outcome but the process of exploring and giving meaning. When creativity is fostered in children in the form of music and movements, they are free to express themselves in ways that are open-ended, also respecting their various ways of thinking and learning (Niland, 2015).

Resources for Different Age Groups (0-8 years):

Babies (0-2 years):

Scarves (Niland, 2015),
Shaker bottles with either rice, beads inside (Howard & Mayesky, 2022),
Mirrors for observing movement,
Nursery rhymes and lullabies books, and music player (Dinham & Chalk, 2018)
Baby-safe drums and xylophones.

Toddlers (2-3 years):

Ribbons for dancing (Niland, 2015),
Animal movement cards,
Audio books (Howard & Mayesky, 2022),
Movement game floor mats,
Soft tambourines and maracas.

Preschoolers (3-5 years):

Scarves, hoops for dance (Susanne, 2008),
Rhythm sticks and hand drums,
Speaker and playlists of the children music,
Felt board to develop movement vocabulary,
Sound- matching cards for animals or instruments (Howard & Mayesky, 2022).

Older Children (6-8 years):

Boom whackers or tuned steel tubes (OpenAI, 2025),
Music themed journal,
Body percussion video tutorials (Dinham & Chalk, 2018),
Tablet or laptop with music making simple app (Niland, 2015).

Creative Learning Activities for Different Age Group (0-8 years):

Babies (0–2 years):

Shake and Dance

Material list: sensory bottles, music player, playlist

Activity: Children can sit in a circle and shake little sensory bottles and listen to the music. Educators guide with hand movement to help babies shake with rhythm. This promotes audibility, rhythm awareness, and socialisation (Niland, 2015).

Mirror movement time:

Material list: Mirror, mats, music

Activity: Children can observe themselves in the mirror while educators can demonstrate slow, gentle movements in a gentle music. Observing their educator, children copy those actions like waving or clapping, which helps them to develop their motor skills and body awareness (Howard & Mayesky, 2022).

Toddlers (2-3 years):

Animal actions:

Material list: animals picture cards, mats, music

Activity: Using animal cards, children mimic their movement, like hopping like a kangaroo or crawling like a wombat, with music played in the background. This develops their gross motor skills and imagination (Dinham & Chalk, 2018).

Follow the Leader Dance:

Material list: Ribbons, props, music

Activity: Children observe the steps done by their educator or leader first and follow their steps with music being played. The leader position is exchanged between each of the children. This fosters confidence and coordination and social-emotional development (Dinham & Chalk, 2018).

Preschoolers (3-5 years):

Story Musical Journey:

Material List: Story book, instruments like: shakers, sticks

Activity: Children reenact a story (E.g. A day in the jungle) using instruments to make sounds. This activity develops narrative thinking, creativity and group work 9Howard and Mayesky, 2022).

Beat and Freeze:

Material List: Music, mats

Activity: Children dance to the music and once the music stops, they ‘freeze’ into human statues. This enhances body control, timing and listening skills (Dinham & Chalk, 2018).

Older Children (6-8 years):

Make your own song:

Material List: Tablets, Music creation app

Activity: Children are divided into small groups and educators ask them to write simple lyrics, and they add beats and rhythms with the help of digital apps like Garage bands which will help them to form confidence, work as a team, and musical creativity (Niland, 2015).

Body Percussion Show:

Material List: Music, large area

Activity: Children are taught to make rhythm by clapping, stomping, and snapping. They do a small performance in front of their friends, promoting teamwork and creativity through movements (Howard & Mayesky, 2022).

Digital Reflection

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Follow the leader dance activity

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Beat and Freeze Activity

Critical Reflection:

Both the activities were fun and interesting for all the children. The game of ‘follow the ‘leader’ of toddlers was successful in targeting the gross motor skills, listening, social interaction of children. Children loved copying movements and being creative to include importing their own variations. This activity fosters turn-taking and attention which are critical to development during the early age (Howard & Mayesky, 2022). Nevertheless, some children also struggled to follow more complex movements, thus simplifying the instructions or providing more visuals would enhance the acceptability and success could occur. Sensory stimulation and creativity could also be increased in future sessions, with the addition of props such as scarves or instruments, etc (Dinham & Chalk, 2018).

The preschoolers game of Beat and Freeze helped teach important concepts of rhythm-awareness, bodily control, and self-regulation. Moving to the beat was met with enthusiasm in children, and they could suddenly freeze after the signal which further reinforced their listening skills (Howard & Mayesky, 2022). In order to enhance the creative aspect, I would ask the children to create their own movements or their own rhythm in, encouraging more creative freedom. Also, offering children the chance to take the lead would improve leadership skills and cooperation with friends.

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