By Cheow Yu Yuan

School can be an overwhelming experience for your child. Although she may be excited, she may also fear the unknown. There are many things you can do to make sure that she is ready for learning and coping with the new environment in school. One way to do so is through enrolling your child in a music class that emphasizes a holistic approach.

Music and movement classes is and excellent way to introduce your child to social interaction and emotional development. Activities of a music and movement class typically involve singing, dancing, moving, story-telling, use of simple musical instruments and play-acting. Such activities require the child to interact with her parent and other children. It is through such interactions that your young child picks up important social skills such as turn-taking, cooperation, leading or to be led etc. Parent-child bonding happens naturally, and the joy of these experiences also, according to psychologists, ”credit the emotional bank” of your child to give her the confidence and motivation needed when she enters primary school.

Research has also shown that music and movement enhance listening and linguistic skills in a child. This is important when she begins formal learning in school. Activities such as storytelling and singing help the child to tune her ability to listen more carefully and to build up words and vocabulary better than the average child.

Creative responses are encouraged when children are given avenues to explore. Musical activities that provide lots of exploration through either movement or playing instruments can help your child develop creativity.

Do you know that music can also help your child in Math? Research has proven that musical learning impacts spatial-temporal intelligence, an area of mathematical intelligence. Many aspects of music correlate to math. For instance, even simple songs have discernable rhythmic or melodic patterns. When children are led to discover these aural patterns, they are ahead of children who only work with visual patterns. Learning to read and write musical notations are also proven to help with spatial-temporal reasoning. Command of musical literacy involves understanding of time, duration, subdivisions and interpretations of symbols and many more challenges to the brain!

Give your child a head start in life. Enroll her in a music and movement class. Your child will certainly enjoy and look forward to a fun and enriching experience and develop skills that will not only prepare her for school but will last her a life time.

About The Author

For more information regarding music for children, visit Kindermusik Asia.

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