As a daycare center in Barrington, we often get parents asking us how they can extend what we teach through our monthly themes at Academy of Stars at home with their children.
As we focus on song and dance as well as thankfulness this month, here are activities you can do with your children at home:
1. Sing songs with your child. Teach her songs you sang when you were her age, as well as singing the songs provided in this newsletter. Your child won’t mind if you cannot carry a tune! Your enthusiasm and excitement will encourage your child to sing and perform along with others or on her own. Keep a song in your heart!
2. Provide materials for your child to make simple musical instruments. A drum can be made using an empty oatmeal carton or coffee can. Your child can personalize the instrument by decorating the outside of the container with paper, crayons, and markers. Make a kazoo by attaching a small piece of waxed paper to the end of a cardboard tube with a rubber band. Poke a small hole in the waxed paper and your child will be ready to toot away! Compare the sounds produced by the different instruments to develop auditory discrimination skills.
3. Discuss with your child about what you are thankful for. To foster thankfulness in your child, ask her what makes her happy, teach her to say “thank you” in appropriate situations, read books about thankfulness, and model gratitude in your words and actions. Be patient! Thankfulness is a virtue that requires practice year around.
4. Read, read, read! We always recommend reading time with your children to not only work on vocabulary and comprehension, but reading also doubles as a great quality time activity! Here are a few book recommendations this month:
The Animals’ Song by David L. Harrison. Two children play the flute and the drum and are joined by an owl, a dog, a cow, and a parade of other animals as they sing and dance over hill and dale.
M Is for Music by Kathleen Krull. Music and the alphabet have always gone together. Don't kids learn their letters by singing the ABCs? But you've never seen--or heard--a musical alphabet like this one. Beloved tunes. Unusual instruments. Legendary virtuosos. From anthems to zydeco, the language of music and the music of language harmonize in one superb symphony. It's a funky fusion for songsters of all ages! Includes endnotes.
Creepy Crawly Calypso by Tony Langham. Jump and jive with this funky band of mini-beasts, as they play their cool calypso beats! Introducing guitar-strumming ladybugs, trombone-blowing dragonflies and piano-tinkling centipedes, the catchy CD, which accompanies the book will have everyone singing along enthusiastically. The counting theme throughout helps young learners with their numbers up to ten, and there are lots of creepy-crawly facts at the back of the book, in addition to information about the Caribbean and calypso bands.
Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss. When this book begins, the trombone is playing all by itself. But soon a trumpet makes a duet, a french horn a trio, and so on until the entire orchestra is assembled on stage. Written in elegant and rhythmic verse and illustrated with playful and flowing artwork, this unique counting book is the perfect introduction to musical groups. Readers of all ages are sure to shout “Encore!” when they reach the final page of this joyous celebration of classical music.
What Is Thanksgiving? by Michelle Medlock Adams. Through the whimsical art and rhyming verse that's fun to read, even the youngest child will come to understand that Thanksgiving is really about showing gratitude for all the blessings in our lives
Enjoy!
