Music activities spark joy and laughter in preschool children. This post is all about incorporating music into your child’s day.

In this post:

• Importance of music in preschool
• List of music activities for preschool
• Examples of preschool songs

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Why is music education important in preschool?

Besides bringing delight to children everywhere, music has so many benefits to developing preschoolers.

Music aids in children’s brain development

The preschool years are prime time for neural connections to be made and music can build and strengthen those connections.

Studies show that many neural connections made when engaging in music activities are in the parts of the brain that control motor development.

In other words, music helps us to be able to move our bodies!

Other cognitive skills that benefit from music activities are vocabulary, reading proficiency, and problem-solving skills.

Preschoolers involved in musical activities develop patience

Children learn to be patient as they are learning rhythms and even how to play instruments.

It is a lot of work and takes tons of practice to learn to play a musical instrument. Preschool children who engage in learning an instrument must develop patience to get better at their craft.

This also enables children to have a stronger sense of self control, which is important in every part of life.

Music activities encourage focused attention in preschoolers

Preschool age children are drawn to music. Certain songs can have a hypnotic effect on children (Baby Shark anyone?).

Young children focus on the rhythm and beat, lyrics, instrumental sounds, and pace as they listen and participate in music activities.

As an extension to developing patience by learning a musical instrument, preschoolers also learn to sustain focus.

Children must focus on learning how to hold the instrument, where to place their fingers to produce notes, and concentrate on their breath.

Music promotes sensory development in children

When we think about sensory activities, sensory bins are almost always the first thing that comes to mind.

But sensory bins are intended to stimulate the tactile, or touch, sense. We have other senses that need to be engaged as well.

Children need to develop their senses of touch, sight, smell, taste, and HEARING. Preschool children also seek vestibular input and proprioception feedback.

Obviously, music activities aid in developing a child’s sense of hearing.

When a child’s sensory needs are met, they are typically more well-behaved and able to better control their emotions.

Preschoolers gain emotional development and have improved mental health through music

Music is a way for children to release their emotions in a positive and productive way.

Preschool children are especially uninhibited when it comes to singing, dancing, and making up tunes.

Listening to music or singing is a wonderful calming strategy to use when frustrated or upset.

Research shows that music and musical production can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. In a world of increasing mental health issues in children, music is incredibly valuable.

Preschool music activities promote healthy bodies through movement

There’s an abundance of preschool songs that encourage dance and movement. Even songs that don’t have specific motions are difficult to keep our bodies still while listening to them.

Dancing is exercise and we all know the benefits of getting plenty of exercise. Children’s heart rates raise while singing and dancing and they strengthen their muscles.

Preschool songs also push children to engage in crossing the midline. Anytime a person’s arm or leg crosses over the imaginary vertical line that runs down the middle of their body they are crossing the midline.

Crossing the midline improves overall coordination, core strength, and fine and gross motor skills.

Check out this post about preschool songs for more inspiration.

Music activities for preschoolers

Children have so much fun with music and can learn so much! There are a ton of preschool music activities you can do with your little one.

Music and movement videos for kids

In this digital age, it is super easy to find quality musical videos for preschoolers. YouTube will be your best friend for this.

You will find a nearly infinite amount of song videos geared toward little kids. There are videos that just sing songs that are fun, and you will also find learning videos that teach skills through music.

YouTube Channels

Since there are so many channels out there geared toward kids, how do you know which are the best?

I’ve got you covered! Here is a list of my favorite YouTube channels that are wonderful for preschoolers.

• Jack Hartmann
• The Laurie Berkner Band
• Dr. Jean
• Danny Go
• The Kiboomers
• Bounce Patrol
• Koo Koo
• The Learning Station
• The Singing Walrus
• Have Fun Teaching
• Mooseclumps

Other places to get music and movement videos

Of course, YouTube is great, but most parents don’t feel comfortable letting their children use it unsupervised. If you want to let your child have independent music time, there are other options.

• KidsBeeTV
• Kidoodle.TV
• GoNoodle
• PBS Kids
• Noggin

You can also go the old-fashioned route and listen to music without video! Use your favorite music streaming service to find some great children’s songs.

Nursery Rhymes

Nursery rhymes are my favorite way to develop musical and literacy skills in preschool children.

Check out this post to learn more about the importance of teaching nursery rhymes to little ones.

I also have a Nursery Rhymes Cards FREEBIE that you can grab here.

Rhythm scarves and ribbons

Turn on some favorite tunes and hand your little one a rhythm scarf or ribbon. They will instinctively start dancing and moving to the rhythm.

You can change it up by playing a variety of styles of music and encourage your preschooler to move in a way that feels good with the music.

There are so many genres of music, but here are some that will showcase the difference in rhythms and styles and inspire your little musician to move their body in new ways:

• Kids songs/nursery rhymes
• Classical
• Hip Hop
• Country
• Rock
• Pop
• Folk

These distinct styles will make it easier for your little ones to familiarize themselves with the differences in rhythm and beat.

Of course, be sure to choose music with appropriate lyrics for young children.

Drawing music

In this activity, you will give your child some paper and crayons and simply have them draw their interpretation of the music.

This is very similar to the rhythm scarves in that children are interpreting how the music makes them feel and moving their body accordingly. Instead of moving their body, your preschooler will be inspired by the music to create art.

Drawing according to what they hear and how the music makes them feel encourages children to make truly authentic art. There is no right or wrong way to do it, and everyone’s drawings will be different and beautiful.

Music fast and slow

During this activity, children are exploring the tempo of music. There are a few ways to do this.

Change the playback speed of songs

YouTube is a great platform to use if you want to speed up or slow down songs. It’s easiest for children to understand the difference between fast and slow music if you play the same song at a slower pace and then speed it up to twice the tempo of the normal song.

Listen to a variety of music

Provide examples of music with obviously fast and slow tempos. Ask your child if the song is fast or slow when they are listening.

Create your own music

Grab some children’s instruments (or even use wooden spoons and pans) and model for your child how to make a fast beat and then how to slow it down.

Encourage your child to use the instruments to make their own music. Call out “fast” or “slow” when you want them to change the tempo.

Music loud and soft

Kids will enjoy this skill so much! It’s so similar to the previous skill, but this time your child will investigate volume.

Change the volume of your favorite songs

Play a song on your preferred device and turn the volume up and down. Have your child specify whether the music is loud or soft. Explain that when it comes to volume, soft means quiet.

Make loud and soft music

Now have your child explore volume by making music on their own. Direct them when to play loud and then tell them to play soft.

Ask your little one what they must do to make the music loud or soft. Invite them to share their opinion about which volume they like best and why.

Music high and low

Instead of volume, this time focus on the pitch of the music notes. This can be easily confused with loud and soft for children, so make sure you give very clear models of high-pitched sounds and low pitches.

Use preschool musical instruments

A xylophone is great for demonstrating differences in pitches. Children can see the different sizes of the bars and that they correspond with high and low sounds.

If you have a recorder or another instrument that makes distinct high and low pitches, you can use that too. These instruments just make it a bit more difficult for preschoolers to understand what makes the difference in pitch.

As the parent or teacher, you will model making a low-pitched note on the instrument and be sure to label the type of pitch. Repeat with high-pitched notes.

Now welcome your little one to demonstrate high and low notes on the instrument.

Use that beautiful singing voice

Kids don’t care if you have the greatest voice in the world, they just think singing with you is awesome. So don’t be bashful about singing with your preschooler!

This time you will use your voice as the instrument. Follow the same instructions as the musical instrument activity.

Have your child explain what they notice with their voice and the way their mouth, throat, and nose feel as they vary the pitch of their voice.

Shaker eggs for preschool music

One of the most fun instruments for kids are shaker eggs! They are like little maracas that fit in your hand instead of on a handle.

You can use these for teaching rhythm, tempo, and volume. Shaker eggs are a great way to encourage your child to dance and move to the music!

Which instrument do you hear?

Gather a variety of preschool instruments: shaker eggs, xylophone, bells, triangle, recorder, harmonica, etc. Give your preschooler plenty of time to explore all the instruments and focus on the sound each instrument makes.

Now play a game! Have your child close their eyes and/or turn around. You will play a couple notes on one of the instruments and your little one will guess which one you played.

This helps children to work on noticing distinct sounds and remembering the names of instruments.

Examples of preschool songs

There are so many preschool songs to choose from, but here are some that encourage movement and understanding of the skills we’ve covered above.

• Hokey Pokey
• Skip to My Lou
• Tootie Ta
• Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

If you are looking for more preschool songs, check out this post. There are so many great ideas.

I want to hear from you about preschool music activities!

Leave a comment and tell me which preschool music activities you tried.