How to Encourage Your Preschooler's Musicality, Part 1

Preschoolers love music! From language development to learning healthy self-expression, music provides many benefits for preschoolers. Many excellent articles, such as this one, have been written about the benefits of music for preschoolers. 

Of course, there are a myriad of wonderful music/piano classes available specifically for this age group (KiddyKeys, Music Together, Let's Play Music) but there are also many ways to encourage your preschooler's musicality in your own home!

Read music-themed books with your preschooler. 

Musical Benefits: Through story and song, a child learns to sing, is introduced to rhyme and meter, and is inspired to be creative.

There are many fabulous music-themed books to read with your preschooler. The following books have been requested over and over again, by my preschool aged (and sometimes older) students and by my own children. 

• The Wheels on the Bus: Sing Along With Me! is a fun little board book full of turning wheels, swishing wipers, and bouncing babies! There is also a QR code inside that links to instrumental and vocal renditions of this popular rhyme, but I have never used it; I sing it with my children/students.
• Be Quiet Mike by Leslie Patricelli is a well-loved favorite in our home. Use small drums to improvise with this story about an energetic little monkey and his beloved drum set.
• The Lady with the Alligator Purse by Nadine Bernard Westcott has adorable illustrations that children absolutely love and it is so simple to sing. Choose words from the book, such as "alligator", "castor oil", and "pizza" and clap the syllables with your child. 
• The Itsy Bitsy Spider Finger Puppet Book from Little Learners features the well-known nursery rhyme and an adorable finger puppet that makes this book interactive. My children ask me to sing this to them over and over again; our copy has actually fallen apart!
• The Noisy Paint Box: The Sounds and Colors of Kandinsky's Abstract Art by Barb Rosenstock is the top favorite book in my studio. Read the story, and then turn on some pieces that actually did inspire Kandinsky, such as  Wagner's Lohengin or Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 2 or other impressionistic music like Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. While the music plays, use watercolor paints to create pictures. 
• Dog's Colorful Day: A Messy Story About Colors and Counting by Emma Dodd helps preschoolers learn more about colors and counting. Amy from one little librarian has some wonderful activities to accompany this book, including a simple song to sing.

Click here for Part 2!