Myself & B attend a fabulous little music class on a Saturday morning called ‘Rhythm Time’, I have become very close with his music teacher Carly & asked if she would like to do a guest post on music!
We settled on the importance of music for babies & here is her wonderful post.
I was delighted when Kayleigh asked me to write a short piece for her blog on ‘Music for Babies’. To give you some background on me, I studied Education at the University of Durham and have since worked in schools, nurseries and universities. I’m also a qualified primary school teacher.
Parents and grandparents have sung to babies for centuries – it doesn’t take a genius to see that it can calm them down, cheer them up and help them develop! There are many reasons for this. The first sense that a baby develops is hearing and they can hear their mother’s voice while in the womb. They grow to love this sound and feel reassured by it, which is why they are reassured by their mummy singing after they have arrived into the world. They pick up the voices of those familiar to them very quickly.
When a baby is first born, their brain is like a little sponge, developing every day. We learn more in the first 5 years of our lives than at any other point. That is why it is crucial at this stage to introduce babies to music, beating to music and pitch. Music is one of few activities which uses both the left and right (creative and logical) sides of the brain.
This is why I invite babies (and their carers!) to my Rhythm Time classes straight from birth. Our young baby class suits babies from 0 – 6 months. These classes are very relaxed and fun. We fit our activities around the babies’ routines, for example if they need changing or feeding they can do this while still listening to the tunes in the background. We listen to many types of music, tap to the beat, as well as look at, feel and listen to new instruments, using all of the babies senses to help develop a love for music! There are multi-sensory activities too, with bubbles, puppets and blankets to explore. After the young baby sessions, there are more older classes for the babies to move on to. As well as being great for a baby’s development, the classes are fun for parents/carers and a place to meet others.
My classes are high energy and, at first, I wondered if I could keep up with the little ones! However, when a toddler, just aged 2 could imitate my ‘beats in a bar’ microphone activity just last week, it made all my efforts worthwhile! It is amazing to see children learn – the best job in the world.
I recommend singing on the changing mat, singing at the shops (a quiet hum perhaps!!), singing to sleep and rocking to the pulse of songs, as these tiny things will help you and your baby more than you know!
If you’d like to know more please visit Carly at her website Rhythm Time & feel free to email her any questions you have CarlyE@rtfg.co.uk
Little T also loved music class a baby, so good to hear and read about how it’s done by someone who is actually facilitating the class 🙂
We love going to sessions like these in our local area and my son loves it music is so important for children.
Wow! What a fantastic post! Rhythm Time sounds like it is going to be a huge success in the long run!
Your classes sound a great idea. I agree music is very important for everyone – but starting from inside the womb.
Aww, this sounds great, all my children loved music as babies 🙂
I think dance, movement, coordination and grace are important for kids. And loving music is always fantastic. Good luck!
Rhythm Time sounds like such fun, I wish I had of attended something like this with my little ones x
What a great and informative post! Music is so important from early stages.
I’ve heard music is really important for their brain development, and I think it makes sense because it stimulates them 🙂 thanks for sharing this x
We used to love classes like this when Sebby was little, a bit sad he is at Nursery now
This sounds like a great idea and it is amazing to see what effect music has on babies, I love watching my nephews faces as their favourite song of the moment comes on x
What a fab class.
Both my little ones love music.
My 22 month old little lad loves nothing more than a good boogie! 🙂 x
I sing to my kids all the time. They love it.
Great post, both my kids love music!