The Power of Music in the Early Years
Our partners at Boogie Mites explain how music engages our brains and give you some top tips for musical learning sessions at home.
Neuroscience Evidence
Exposure to and involvement in regular music-making from birth can have a significant impact on children. It can boost their brain development, physical and mental health, and happiness throughout life.
There are many brain networks that are connected to the three main cortices of the brain. All of these networks are seen to be activated by music practise:
- Super sense network – making sense of language
- Reward network – giving a sense of achievement and motivation, re-enforcing positive learning experiences
- Cognitive network – the engine room, figuring out how to do things, the steps or process
- Perceptual network – predicting what comes next
- Cognition network – figuring out what it all means, what we like or do not like
- Emotional network – affecting mood, resilience emotions and empathy
Neuroscience studies provide evidence that, given the opportunity of regular, varied and creative music provision, children in early years can develop the 6 networks listed above. Music also helps children develop neural pathways that provide strong foundations for literacy, maths and for learning generally. AMAZING!
We created a parent information sheet to explain the potentially incredible impact of effective music-making in early years on brain development:
Boogie Mites Tips for Music Time at Home
At Boogie Mites, we have written and recorded music of many different genres. These songs are supported by specific musical activities that can help children achieve the maximum brain-boosting benefits of music.
Your child will engage with the activity if you yourself are enjoying it. Here are some tips for effective music-making at home with your children:
- To engage and motivate children, the musical activities should be led by enthusiastic adults. Make it fun! Upbeat music, catchy tunes, a steady beat, props and instruments all help.
- To inspire and engage, the themes should be exciting and relevant to your child’s interests – maybe they enjoy jungles, dinosaurs or dragons.
- To encourage confidence and creativity, have the same instrument or prop, and work together, asking your child to follow you at times and you follow them at times.
- To maximise progression, offer regular practise of the same songs, adding in difficulty with extension activities. Encourage your child to follow your actions/drumbeats whilst singing a nursery rhyme, see if they can remember the sequence of actions or lyrics and try performing without a backing track.
- Music time should be in a space with no other audial distractions, so that listening can focus on the music activity. Regular playtime should be without music playing in the background, so that listening can be focused on play and communication with others.
You can purchase access to Boogie Mites digital music resources for home use and try music time and musical stories at home to support their development and to create lasting musical memories of fun times shared.
Our core programmes will provide everything you need for creative music time sessions at home:
Babies Pack (birth to 2 years)
School Ready Parent Pack (3 to 5 years)
Mities Themed Song Collections (2 to 5 years) offers 14 themes each with 5 songs and supporting videos and notes.
As a Bright Horizons parent, you can use the exclusive discount code: BMBH20% at the checkout. Happy boogying!
If you found this article to be useful, you can check out more of our early childcare resources in our Family Resource Zone!
And, if you’re not yet a Bright Horizons parent, but are interested in what our nurseries can offer your child on their exciting educational journey, book a personal tour at your local nursery today!
