A Melodious Way to Get Gleeful Tunes from Tiny Mouths

Forty plus years ago a popular song contained these lyrics: “Sing, sing a song. Make it simple, to last a whole life long.” For the preschool teacher or parent who wants to introduce one or more children to a new song, that phrase makes clear the best way to answer that challenge. It also underscores the fact that even a simple song can leave a lasting impression in a still-developing mind.

Whenever a preschool child learns something new, that child experiences a feeling of happiness. When children are happy, they feel positive about themselves. They understand that their newly acquired knowledge allows them to better contribute to society. Hence, the teaching of every new skill holds great importance in either a preschool or a home setting.

Each new song learned by a small child should be viewed as a new skill. If you work as an instructor in a preschool setting, you will want to teach a variety of songs. How should you tackle this task? Be sure to first practice the song at home with a friend or a family member. Concentrate on learning both the rhythm and the melody. Practice until you feel confident that you can reproduce the song without faltering or quavering.

You may want to get hold of a CD or a tape that contains some of the preschool songs that you would like to teach your class. This is an excellent way for a preschool instructor to learn a new song. By listening to a song over and over, you can learn any simple song much faster.

Children also learn a song faster if they have a chance to sing it again and again. Parents, teachers count on you to encourage, and not prohibit, the repeated demonstration of a child’s singing skills. Teachers, you can use pictures to reinforce your students’ desire to sing any new song a countless number of times.

If that new song is about a Biblical story, then look for pictures at your church or temple library. If the song mentions food or eating, you can find good pictures of food in almost any woman’s magazine. If the song is about animals, then you can search the Internet, visit a local pet store or zoo, or seek an age appropriate publication such as these: Children’s Magic Window, Grit, Humptey Dumptey’s Magazine or Sesame Street Magazine.

Often a preschool song will provide the singers with a chance to do some acting. The acting can be done with facial expressions, with movement of the whole body, with hand movement or with finger plays. Parents, if your children start to sing a song in the car, then you have been offered the perfect opportunity for the introduction of a new finger game, one that matches with the words of the song.

Simple instruments can make a wonderful addition to the teaching of a preschool song. Percussion instruments offer the surest route to a fun and pleasant period for introduction of a new tune. Parents and teachers, you can learn how to make or acquire such instruments by clicking here.

Children love to sing. If you are asked to teach a new song to a group of preschoolers, then choose a simple song. Let them sing the song many times. Add to your teaching some pictures; encourage the acting out of parts of the song. You could provide those children with a memory that will “last a whole life long.”

Here is the linked information on making instruments:

For Making a Big Bang Listed here are the most desirable instruments for the preschool classroom. (After each item are suggestions regarding how to obtain or make that instrument.)

1. Clog box: get two wood blocks and cover each one with sand paper.

2. Maraca: use a seed filled gourd.

3. Gong: use a hanging cymbal struck with a mallet

4. Beatkeeper: use hollow cylinders with wooden sticks for hitting them.

5. Drum: use an empty coffee can with a plastic lid.

6. Tambourine: purchase at a toy store or music store.

7. Triangle: purchase at a toy store or music store.