“Music is life. That’s why our hearts have beats.”
Cecily Morgan
From the youngest age, children are inspired by music. A baby will turn their head in the direction of the sound. Young toddlers will wiggle, bounce and shimmy along to the beat. And preschoolers will move with defined purpose, even following simple choreography!
The importance of music in early education is clearly documented:
- Music supports sensory development: exposing your child to different types of music can help create more pathways between the cells in their brains.
- Music can improve literacy and numeracy: from an early age, babies can hear the difference between different types of sounds. Exposure to music enhances a child’s natural ability to decode sounds and words, and helps them anticipate what is coming next in a song and how to put these sounds in a sequence.
- Music helps build coordination: music encourages your child to move, developing their fine and gross motor skills.
- Music helps develop vocabulary: even if your child doesn’t understand the words to a song at first, they develop their understanding by identifying the storytelling within it.
- Music supports social-emotional development: nothing sparks more joy that a group of little ones all moving to the beat together!
That’s why music is an important part of all our classes at Gymboree Play & Music. Find a location near you.