How marvelous is music for helping little brains to grow?

Every week our bubbas do a range of activities that are presented through live music that are rhythmic based and aimed at supporting a range of developmental outcomes.

One of these is early language. While it might seem odd to some that we use rhythm to help with language acquisition, it makes sense when you think of rhythm as the building blocks of music, like letters to words.

Rhythm, and particularly predicable rhythm, gives young children the ability to predict timing, and to predict change.

Every week our Boppin’ Babies (and the big kids too!) tap along to the beat of set songs with me.

They do this with help from their parents, or by playing a range of developmentally appropriate instruments. They also bounce on Bop Along Buddies or therapy balls in time to a range of beats set by the music therapist.

For the infants, bouncing their whole bodies has the added advantage of entraining the little ones to the music, so they not only hear it and feel it, they literally move with it. We will play for a particular measured time and then stop!

The look on the little ones faces while they wait with great anticipation knowing that the music and the beat will start again soon, and they will move in sync with it, is incredible!