Enhancing Development Through Rhythm
Music sessions are one of the most effective ways to engage young learners. Not only do these sessions provide entertainment, but music sessions also serve as a vital tool for cognitive development. Consequently, practitioners are increasingly looking for creative ways to structure these moments.
The Social Benefits of Group Music Sessions
Toddlers are so much fun! Everything is still so new and exciting, and they easily get drawn into magical lands within the imagination. This is a wonderful time to introduce new songs and games, developing their growing skillset. Here are a few ideas for setting up winning toddler musical sessions.
Getting parents involved is a goldmine. Many parents want to know what children have been learning, and will want to support their learning by repeating activities at home, like songs and games! This is the ideal time to encourage scaffolding – creating opportunities for their little ones to solve problems. Affirming loving interactions can be difficult for parents who just like to “get things done”, so suggesting appropriate times takes pressure off parents and gives children time to learn.
Musical notes home once a week can be a way to share this time. Reminding parents of the emotional and social development that is happening is a useful way for parents to get to know their children, helping them to build strong relationships for life - funny anecdotes work especially well!
Amazing things happen when adults are encouraged to “watch, wait and wonder”. It takes the pressure off any expectations, end results, and the success/failure mindset. When observing becomes the point of the exercise, it allows parents the luxury of not doing it themselves to get it done quicker, and not turning activities into meaningless competition. Without pressure, children feel supported, parents feel inspired, and together, parents and children form a closer bond.
Supporting toddlers on a practical level in settings and during music sessions means thinking about their musical environment during toddler music sessions. This includes basics like clean floors, high or concealed storage, electrical and furniture safety, regularly cleaned instruments/toys, and appropriate instrument/toy containers.
Instruments that children this age enjoy playing include all the 1-2-3 Baby and Me instruments as well as: rhythm sticks/claves; egg shakers; hula hoops (as place/distance markers); transparent play scarves; sticks with one jingle; sound blocks (wooden blocks with varying hollows to be lightly tapped for a crisp sound), and drums (appropriate size drums make it easier and more enjoyable for little hands).
How to Structure Engaging Sessions for Toddlers
These songs and games are examples of activities that support the developing skills of toddlers during music sessions:
Lucy Locket
Lucy Locket lost her pocket
Kitty Fisher found it
Not a penny was there in it
Only ribbon round it
This lovely little song is often used as a variant of duck-duck-goose. With the use of only 3 notes, it helps new singing voices to get used to singing notes accurately – it will only ever be a higher note, middle note or lower note. As usual, children sit in a circle and sing while “Lucy Locket” walks around the circle and drops her “pocket” behind “Kitty Fisher’s” back. When the second child discovers the “pocket”, they chase after “Lucy” to try to catch her before Lucy gets back to Kitty’s space. The rhythm/beat of the song can be used for skipping, so a variant of this game for older children could be that children skip instead of run, making it a little trickier, and developing the skill of delayed gratification.
My Paddle
My paddle’s keen and bright
Flashing like silver
Follow the wild goose flight
Dip, dip and swing
This traditional Canadian song was written in the style of the indigenous people, inspired by their hunting lifestyle. It has a lovely minor tonality to it and is mainly used with older children to develop musical skills – like singing in a round, or repeating the last line as a drone, or combining with another similar song in a “mash-up” for your music sessions.
This can be used with younger children to emphasise the paddle motion of canoeing on the beat. A lovely canoe game would be to have children sit in a line as if in a canoe. Canoe-paddle left twice on the first line (bold words), then right on the second line, and so on. On the last line, “dip, dip and swing”, the child at the front of the “canoe” joins the line at the back and children shuffle forward. This game is wonderfully self-corrective, giving children immediate feedback many ways, from turn-taking and co-operation to paying attention and matching the external beat.
Oats and Beans and Barley Grow
Oats and beans and barley grow
Oats and beans and barley grow
Not you nor I nor anyone knows how
Oats and beans and barley grow
First the farmer sows the seed
Stands up tall and takes his ease
Stamps his foot and claps his hands
And turns around to view the land
Looking for a partner
Looking for a partner
Open the ring and take one in
And I will gladly dance with them
Dancing with a partner
Dancing with a partner
Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la
Dancing with a partner
A successful plan for music sessions should include a mix of active movement and calm listening. Specifically, you might start with a high-energy "hello song" before moving into rhythmic instrument play. Additionally, incorporating haptic tools can help children "feel" the beat. For more on this, see our previous article on Wearing Music: Haptic Instruments for Early Years.
How this Supports Language and Literacy
There is a direct link between the patterns found in music sessions and early literacy skills. Because songs use repetitive rhymes and clear syllables, toddlers can expand their vocabulary naturally. As Dr Allan Presland, Founder of the Parenta Trust, reminds us: “Education changes lives. When you invest in a child, you invest in the future of a community.” Investing time in well-planned music sessions is a prime example of this investment. By supporting teachers with the right resources, we ensure they can deliver the highest standard of early years education. Ultimately, these music sessions are about more than just sound; they are about dignity, safety, and hope.
This lovely farming – or gardening! – song is a wonderful circle song. Like all good songs, it tells a story, while also having a part that is easy to repeat. From the days where young people met each other at village dances under their parents’ watchful eye, this was one of the ways that they could dance together without getting in trouble!
Children walk around holding hands in a circle in the first verse. In the second verse, children stop and “sow the seed, stand up tall and take their ease, stamp their foot, clap their hand”, and then turn around on the spot. One child in the middle – the farmer – walks the opposite direction to the group, to “look for a partner”, until they find someone, and then “open the ring and take one in”, and then dance together while the rest of the group stand and watch, stamping one foot as they sing. This continues until all the “farmers” in the middle have partners!
Toddlers are so inspiring! Capturing their imagination during music sessions can get quite addictive, so don’t be surprised if you end up inventing more songs, games and stories than you ever expected!
Essential Resources for Your Next Session
To keep your music sessions fresh, consider rotating your instruments or themes monthly. Whether you are exploring "Sounds of the Jungle" or "Ocean Rhythms," the variety will keep children engaged. If you are looking to further your expertise in this area, check out the Parenta Level 3 Childcare Diploma to master your teaching techniques.
Toddler Music Sessions: Part 12
Creative Music Sessions For Toddlers
Musician, researcher and author, Frances Turnbull, is a self-taught guitarist who has played contemporary and community music from the age of 12. She delivers music sessions to the early years and KS1. Trained in the music education techniques of Kodály (specialist singing), Dalcroze (specialist movement) and Orff (specialist percussion instruments), she has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology (Open University) and a Master’s degree in Education (University of Cambridge). She runs a local community choir, the Bolton Warblers, and delivers the Sound Sense initiative aiming for “A choir in every care home” within local care and residential homes, supporting health and wellbeing through her community interest company.
She has represented the early years music community at the House of Commons, advocating for recognition for early years music educators, and her table of progressive music skills for under 7s features in her curriculum books.
Frances is the author of “Learning with Music: Games and Activities for the Early Years“ “Learning with Music: Games and Activities for the Early Years“, published by Routledge, August 2017.
What are your favourite music games and songs to use with toddlers?