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The Magic of Music for Language Development

How to have fun and teach your child

Judith K. Ball, M.S.

Speech-Language Pathologist

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The Magic of Music

  • Think of a song from your childhood

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  • What was the name of the song?

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  • Why do you remember it?

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A Favourite Song

  • You liked the song because:
    • You shared it with a family member.
    • It had fun words and sounds.
    • It was repetitive
    • You sang it over and over.

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Where Does Music Fit into Your Day

  • Think of times during the day when you involve the children in music
  • What role does music play?
  • What roles do children have in sharing the music?

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Where Does Music Fit into Your Day

  • A favourite song can be soothing before bedtime or nap time.
  • Music can help children perform household routines (eg. Tidy up song cues children to put toys away.)
  • You can make up a song to get through challenging times (singing a song about eating, using a familiar tune, might be fun for a child who is a fussy eater)

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Music and Language: The connection

  • Music is a language in its own right
    • It communicates feelings and moods
    • It helps develop vocabulary
    • It gives children the rhythmic patterns that will be important for later literacy
    • Helps develop listening skills

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Sharing Music With Children

  • Sing face to face (When your child can see you, it makes it easier for your child to learn words and gestures)
  • Emphasize new words, so your child will learn them.
  • Slow down the song, so your child can really hear the words and therefore be able to learn those new words
  • Pause during a song you’ve sung before with your child, to give her a chance to take a turn and �join in the singing

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Make Songs Part of Your Everyday Routines

  • Use familiar tunes and make up new words
  • Use fun actions and gestures and give your child a chance to join in and take the song in their own direction
  • Use varied intonation and enthusiasm
  • Have fun

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A Song or Rhyme Routine�for My Child

  • Think of a song you sing with your child.
  • What can your child do to participate?
  • Use a gesture (‘eesy, weensy spider’ or ‘row, row, row your boat’)
  • Say a word or a phrase
  • How can you help your child participate?
  • Slow the song down
  • Pause at different times to let your child�sing a word or use a gesture

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Music and Literacy: An Important Connection

  • Through music, children learn about syllables
  • Through music, children learn about rhyming
  • Through music, children learn to discriminate different sounds, an important skill for reading
  • Through music children learn to �understand directions, new words �and new concepts