As a childminder I don't have an area as such, but I do have a lot of access to music here during the day.
I play music from a wide range of musicians, not just your run of the mill nursery rhyme CDs. I use the internet a lot to access different genres and I have a CD player in the playroom... but it's not on all the time like in some places, we use music to alter the mood, cheer the child, celebrate the moment, jolly us up while we are tidying etc.
It doesn't take long before the children learn names and start asking for certain composers etc. Older children enjoy finding new music that the little ones might enjoy and they are carefully supervised on places like you tube.
We have a music bag filled with toys which represent songs and this is great for helping children learn to wait and take turns. As they get older I also use it to help them with learning initial letters, linking sounds etc.
Of course the instrument box is great for rhythm, copying games etc as well as making a lot of noise. I have a big song list (I sell it as part of my e-book 7 music and rhymes planning).
I make lots of song sheets - a colouring picture to represent the song (I never seem to have coloured ink so this works well) and the words to the first verse. I put about 4 on a page and print them as little books. The children love taking ownership of them and if we feel like singing a song about numbers or animals etc out the books come. I make new ones every so often when I'm inspired.
The voice recorder is very popular. Last month I sent it home with the children one night each and asked their parents to put a story on it so we could listen the next day. That was great - one story was in French and took all my memory to translate - I think the parents were challenging me! LOL
We also use headphones to encourage listening skills and to support children's enjoyment of their own music ie. if it is something they like but others might not enjoy, they can put their phones on and bop away.
I think i might have gone off topic a bit sorry!
Composers Corner - Musical role play
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Linear Mode
