Family Time: Here, There, & Everywhere Week 8

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING

Animal Sounds: Animal sounds help children explore and expand their speaking and singing vocal ranges. Their simple structures (one or two syllables with simple vowel and consonant combinations) and repeated nature make them fun and easy for children to imitate, and the wide range of sounds (high and short bird sounds, long and low moos, middle-range sheep and duck sounds) allow children to expand their vocal capabilities.

Steady Beat: Moving to a steady beat, a child develops a sense of timing, which is fundamental to the ability to organize and coordinate movements. It’s easy to imagine how this might apply to a child’s walking with a steady gait and (in the future) learning to pedal a bicycle. This type of coordination even plays into tasks such as typing on a keyboard. Music relies upon steady beat as much as or more than any other activity, making it a great way to build these skills.

Locomotor Movement: Locomotor movements move the body from one place to another. The growth and refinement of these skills improve balance, steady beat, and coordination. Our bodies are built for motion and designed for efficiency in movement. But to achieve such efficiency requires many of our joints and muscles to work together, which is not easy at first. Because it is so complex, a large percentage of the human brain is dedicated to gross- and fine-motor coordination and balance. This means that by exercising locomotor skills, children exercise much of their brains.