Creating Centers for Musical Play and Exploration

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Kristen M. Kemple,
Jacqueline J. Batey, and
Lynn C. Hartle

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 Why does music not receive deeper attention in early childhood education? Teachers may not recognize the full value and potential of providing for children’s musical development and may not understand the many ways musical involvement can enhance development and learning in other areas. They may believe that musical development is important only for a small number of highly talented children. They may be intimidated by the specialized expertise of music educators or inhibited by their own lack of knowledge about music education or a perceived lack of musicianship. NAEYC and MENC (National Association of Music Education [formerly the Music Educators National Conference], www. menc.org) are collaborating to promote the full inclusion of music in early childhood curriculum.

 Music permeates the very fiber of Ms. Katie’s preschool class. During choice time, she watches and listens as Shira and Maxwell play with a new double set of handbells. The children discover that two of the bells sound exactly alike. She waits to see if they will continue to try to match pitches, then prompts, “I wonder if there are other pairs that sound alike.” The two children search for more bells with matching sounds. After finding a second match, the children note with interest that bells that sound alike are also identical in color. Their theory is confirmed when they ring two yellow bells and find them identical in pitch.

 Now Ms. Katie steps in with a challenge. She sets up a screen on the table between the two sets of bells and says, “Do you think you can match pitches without seeing the colors?” Maxwell and Shira eagerly respond to her cue and engage in constructive musical play for another ten minutes.

 Ms. Katie intentionally incorporates and facilitates musical development through planned opportunities for play. She also includes plenty of group singing, spontaneous and planned incorporation of music throughout the day, and purposeful integration of a wide variety of high-quality musical recordings of many genres. She appreciates the multifaceted possibilities of music in a developmentally appropriate early childhood program.

Source: Isenberg & Jalongo 1993, 109

 

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