Aussie Childcare Network Forum

Below are the questions and answers for my Training Record Essential Knowledge for the unit "Use music to enhance children's experience and development.

Can someone please assist to review my answers to see whether there are okay. Thanks.

Question 1:
I understand:
- Values of providing a range of music experience for children.

My answer:
It helps to enhance learning and development in areas as diverse as language, memory, listening, physical and social skills. It also involves children in both emotional and physical respones to their environment.

Question 2:
I understand:
- Values of movement for children.

My answer:
Movement activities helps to develop the physical development of children which supports the gross and fine motor skills like balancing (the ability to maintain equilibrium etc.), social and emotional skills which promotes imaginative and creative play (like introduction of partners and group dancing experience) and their cognitive skills like to solve / work out a problem on how to jump and land exactly in time to the beat.

Question 4:
I understand:
- Strategies for fostering music and movement development

My answer:
to have the most available space for music and movement experience, to provide comfortable areas for listening to music and singing. The setting must present interesting opportunities for children to explore and make choices by offering resources and equipment the children can select for themselves.

Question 5:
I understand:
- Adult awareness of appropriate selection of music and movement experiences for different ages.

My answer:

Appropriate music experience

Infants - Introduce lullabies and songs in the same locations and at the same time each day (i.e. sing a particualr song during all nappy change times when at the change table). Place musical mobiles above each infant's cot with colourful pieces that move as the mobile rotates to the music which creates a focus point and encourage stretching.

Three months onwards - As soon as an infant can grasp a rattle, plastic maracas and soft toys containing bells, encourage the child to shake it to hear the different sound.

From 6 months onwards or when the child's coordination skilsl have advanced enough - provide toys an infant can hit or bang to make a noise (i.e. upturned saucepan and a wooden spoon or a plastic drum).

From 9 months onwards - introduce clapping games, singing the melody while modelling the actions.

For toddlers - introduce music from different cultures. Include slightly more complex fingerplay and actions songs and rhymes by repeating a sequence of actions that helps a child develop pre-literacy and pre-numeracy skills. Could also introduce basic musical concepts of rhythm, tempo, duration, volume and pitch through musical experiences and experiements with instruments.

Pre-schoolers - Incorporate music and sound effects into children's role plays and storytelling activities. Provide an abundance of resources (musical instruments, items for making sound effect,s pictures, posters and instruments from other cultures), introduce a wide range of diferent types of music including culturally diverse music and if possible, live performances.

Appropriate Movement experience:

Infants - Allow the infant to move and stretch during feeding or nappy change time. Give infants the opportunity to kick their legs, wave their arms, investigate their goes, and so on.

3 months onwards - Introduce gentle movement activities like riding rhymes games.

Toddlers and Pre-schoolers - Provide movement activities that help to develop gross and fundamental movement skills such as running, jumping, balancing and catching. Organise a huge variety of experiences that require little or no equipment, such as dancing, marching, jumping games, follow me fitness routines, bean bag throw, ball games - rolling, bouncing, catching, tossing etc.

Question 6:
- Organising, implementing and evaluating music and movement experiences.

My answer:
Organising - To plan or undertake research to design the program, based on prior observation and evaluations.
Implementing - Resource and facilitate the program that have been designed.
Evaluating - After the program has been in place for a period of time (a month or more) identify any strengths and weaknesses in the program, and determine how effective it was overall.

Question 7:
- Ways to follow and respodn to children's ideas and interests.

My answer:
By evaluation of children's participation and reactions to the experiences, by simply asking children who participated in the experience whethere they enjoyed it, by asking parents and caregivers as children may talked about what they have done during the day to their parents and not giving feedback in the centre as well as by asking co-workers for feedback on the children's reactions to the planned experiences to respond to children's ideas and interests. Could also use observation and daily reflections to provide a useful indication of children's changing interests, moods and skills over a defined time period.

Question 8:
- Selection of appropriate music and movement resources that are inclusive and encourage appreciation of diversity, including cultural diversity

My answer:
Ensure to expose the children to music and instruments of different cultures (i.e. spanish flamenco music, an Indian sitar or tabla, chinese flutes and violins, etc. When introduce a new sound, ensure to show a photo of the instrument (or ideally an example of the instrument itself), tell the children in which part of the world the instrument is played and present the music in its cultural context.

Question 9:
- Basic musical concepts.

My answer:
Basic musical concepts consists of:
rhythm (the pattern of beats in music, the metre)
speed (or tempo) - fast or slow
duration - a long or short sound
volume - loud or soft
pitch - the key or notes of a tune i.e. high or low

I don't quite understand Question 3 below. Can you please advise me what does it actually want?

Question 3:
I understand:
- Links between child's stage of development and appropriateness of particular musical and movement experiences.

Thanks for helping to review and advise on my answers.

Regards
Selena

You seem to have a really good understanding of the subject and have conveyed in in a very clear way

Think Ques 3 means that you have to understand where the child is developmentally and then plan music & movement experiences that are appropriate to the stage of development.

Thanks fefe76. I will get the answer for Question 3 and will post it for review to advise whether my answer is correct.

I've got a question below which I don't really get it. Can someone please advise me what it really want?

Question:
Consider the program for the children you work with, then list all the times when you could incorporate a music or movement experience that would allow the children to practise their developing skills.


Does it mean that I just have to provide a list of music or movement experience.

Thanks
Selena

list all the times when you could incorporate a music or movement experience

you need to list times eg. morning group time ---> sing a good morning song, outdoors ----> do some exercises or movements along with music

You need to read the question and understand the question, u do not have to mention what music or movement experiences just WHEN you can incorporate them into your program/routine

Oh ok, thanks fefe76. Now I understand more of it. Once I've got the answer will post it for your review. I will also post my answer for the Question 3 which I just completed.

Thanks fefe76
Selena

no worries

From my Training Record Essential Knowledge:

Question 3:
I understand:
- Links bewteen child's stage of development and appropriateness of particular musical and movement experiences.

My answer:

Infants - Play relaxing music and lullabies, simple clapping games, fingerplay songs, rhythmic tickling games, kicking and arm-waving activities accompanied by rhythmic music.

Toddlers - Singing, chanting, rhyming activities, action songs, balancing games, dancing to music, animal movement, stretching exercise, exercise for fitness, mood movements and fingerplay songs

Preschoolers - Group singing with actions, fingerplay songs, music with percussion instruments, dancing to music, animal movement, balancing games, stretching exercise, exercise for fitness, copy me game, puppets singing activity.

Are my answers okay? Please advise.

Thanks
Selena

Below is my answer for the question below.

Question:
Consider the program for the children you work with, then list all the times when you could incorporate a music or movement experience that would allow the children to practise their developing skills.


My answer:
8:00 am Greeting circle time – where all the children who have arrived get together in a group to sing “greeting” and “good morning” songs.
10:00am When the children are doing their outside play, a movement experience along with music.
10:45am During mat time or group time, sing songs with fingerplay actions, body movements.
11:20am End of day circle time – where all the children sit together in a group to sing “goodbye and see you tomorrow” songs.

Is my answer okay? The school that I went for practical starts at 7:30 am and finishes at 11:30 am.

Thanks
Selena

Can someone please review my answers and advise whether it's okay.

Question:
Undertake some research to help you plan one inclusive, culturally divese music experiences that are developmentally appropriate for preschooler.

For each experience briefly describe:
- why it is developmentallly appropriate for the age group
- what areas of development the exeprience stimulates
- if the experience is for an individual child or a small group

My answer:
For preschooler (kindy):
• Sing songs including from other countries and to be sung in other languages in a group. The complexity of the song and the level of participation will be according to the children’s age and stage of development.
• Play musical instruments such as tambourines, maracas, small drums, bells which are available for use to children. Will also include a collection of other musical instruments from other countries with different sounds and played in different ways. These include various types of rhythm sticks, guiro, chimes, gongs, malay kompangs.
• Encourage children to make musical instruments such as a firm cardboard cylinder covered at both ends with rice inside or empty plastic bottles with pebbles inside to make a shaker or rattle with different sound.
• Invitations of musicians to visit and play and sing for and with the children.
• The above experiences are developmentally appropriate for the age group because at preschool, their gross and fine motor skills are well developed and most of the children are able to produce reliable rhythmic sounds from a variety of percussion instruments. And at this age, most children are verbally fluent so they are able to understand and remember songs in other languages.
• Physical development (as the children play with the musical instruments which uses the muscles of the hands and fingers), social and emotional development (as the children sing songs including songs in different language in a group, it assist in the development of children’s social skills), cognitive development (As the children learn about rhythm and the patterns of music as they listen to music and participate in singing and playing instruments, it require the children to use logic, reasoning and imagination to solve problems like how to represent a particular music) and listening, memory skill and language development (the rhythmic repetition of words through songs promotes the understanding and development of word sounds and vocabulary).
• The experience is suitable for a small group of children.

Please advise if my answer is not good enough.

Thanks
Selena

I have a question which I don't really understand. Please advise.

Question:
Consider whether the observation (which I did for a group activity) can help you plan more appropriate music and movement experiences for the children.

Does that mean that from the observation which I did on a group dancing activity, I plan another appropriate music and movement experience for the children?

Thanks again
Selena

Can someone please assist to check on my answers? Thanks.

Question:
Select one music experience and one movement experience to implement in your work environment; ensure one is for an individual child and the other for a small group of children.

My answer:

Preschoolers (Kindy)

Music experience (Individual)
Invite a child to sit down and give the child a drum and rhythm sticks or other objects which can be used as drumsticks. The child can also beat the drum with his/her hand too. Explain to the child that he will play a drumming game where he listens to the beat I play and repeat it. Invite the child to keep repeating the beat until I say “stop”. Start with simple beats, gradually introduce more complex ones. Once the child learn to follow the basic, will introduce a more complex rhythm game. Then invite the child to follow my cue as I play the rhythm softly, then loudly. Will then tell the child that when I hold the drum low, it means he should play the beat softly and when the drum is raised above my head, he will play loudly. Will practice a few times until the child understand the concept.

Movement experience (A small group of children)
Animal Movement – Children listen to music. In this animal movement experience, children discuss how animals move and practice moving like each animal discussed. Set up a place in the room at the music corner, children listen to music and move to the music like the chosen animal would.

Thanks again
Selena

Hi Selena,

You have been working hard to try and get your assignments completed...Well Done!

Does that mean that from the observation which I did on a group dancing activity, I plan another appropriate music and movement experience for the children?

From your observation did you notice anything that the children could improve on, such as listening to the beat of the music to co-ordinate dance moves, copying actions, being more creative. Plan another appropriate experience which works on ways to improve this or extend upon it (e.g. if they enjoyed learning a dance maybe you could teach them another one with harder movements etc.)

I had a read through your answers and you seem to have a clear understanding of what music and movement activities to provide to children. You have come up with some really fun and interesting ideas. I especially like the drums idea. I might use that with my group of kids...

How long have you got left with your Diploma?

Cheers ,
L.A

Thank you very much L.A for your review on my answers ). Am glad that I have you all professionals to advise me whether my answers are fine or not.

Yeah, you are right, I've been sitting in front of my laptop doing my assignments the whole day with interruptions in between to do the housework and continue on after finishing my chores after dinner. I'm actually on the Cert II course but we have 3 units which are from the Diploma. It's actually quite challenging but I'm glad to have found this website and get help and advices from professionals like yourself.

Thank you very much L.A

I will have more of my answers to post for review. Thank you.

Cheers
Selena

I'm going to start on my Training Record Essential Skills.

I've got the below question which I don't really understand. Can someone please advise me?

Question
Ability to:
- Engender and interest and appreciation of music

Thanks
Selena

I'm in the middle of doing my Training Record Essential Skills for the Music unit. I don't really get the question below. Can someone please assist me?

Question:
Ability to:
- Choose quality resources

Does that mean choose quality musical instruments resources?

Thanks
Selena

Hi Selena,

It doesn't seem like you are finding these units difficult. You really seem to know what you are talking about with your responses. Yeah I know it can be difficult to try and get work done without any interruptions... as soon as you get started you have to STOP! Argh! It can be frustrating but I guess we have to put it up with it...

Engender and interest and appreciation of music

I didn't know what the word Engender meant so I looked it up. It says "to produce, cause, or give rise to". So I think for this question relating to music you could say that children are giving opportunities to produce their own music through the use of musical instruments. You could also explain that you enable children to experiment with their own ways of producing different sounds to create music. For.e.g clapping different beats, singing songs in different tunes, etc. This will also provide the children to be interested in accept music as they begin to understand that it comes in many different forms. I'm not too sure if this answer is correct but this is what I understood... Have a read through it and see if this makes sense to you.

- Choose quality resources

I think that you are probably right...If your training of essential skills is about music then I'm pretty sure this should be related. Yes, choosing quality musical instruments sounds about right. You could also add choosing children's songs in different languages, choosing equipment such as c.d. player, headphones, microphones that the children could use in music.

BTW- Are you studying from Singapore?

Don't work too hard this weekend...

Cheers ,
L.A

My last question where I don't really understand from the Training Record Essential Skills before I post all my answers for the Essential Skills for checking.

Question:
Ability to:
- Use music with children including singing and percussion instruments.

Don't really understand what the question actually wants. Can someone please advise me?

Thanks
Selena

Thanks again L.A for your kind help. I will post my answers for my Essential Skills for review once I've got the last question sorted out.

Thanks L.A

Cheers
Selena

p/s just can't get the assignments out of my head when it's not finished

just can't get the assignments out of my head when it's not finished

totally understand that