Allusio How To: create an engaging and interactive music center

While Allusio Live offers daily virtual classes to our preschoolers, we began Allusio Together to bring educational consultations to the grown-ups—from teachers to parents. 

This week, our consultation services brought us to Jackie, an early childhood educator in a Universal Pre-K classroom. Jackie reached out to us for a private consultation to solve three issues in her classroom:

• How could she transform and improve her music area during center time?

• How could she plan more efficient and fun music and movement transitions for the children after lunch?

• And how could she teach about touch as part of the Five Senses Pre-K 4 All unit, during a global pandemic where touch must be limited?

We invited Jackie to a 30-minute educational consultation. During this call, we learned more about her classroom setting, the children she teaches, the resources available to her, and what specific considerations she had. 

More importantly, we discussed her comfort level and preferences in the classroom. Because young infants and children learn so much through song and dance, music plays a significant role in the early education classroom. 

Music helps young children learn critical concepts of rhythm, rhyme, pitch, literacy, storytelling, symbolic representation, and collaboration. Playing instruments can teach preschoolers about causal relationships, fine motor development, memorization, and note recognition. In fact, the first six years of life are the most critical period for a child’s musical development. Research also shows how engaging in musical activities together can help children form positive, healthy bonds with their caregivers [1].  

As early childhood educators ourselves, we often sing in the classroom when calling children’s attention. It creates a much more respectful and emotionally-responsive classroom setting when we gently sing, “Siriana, take a seat. Turn your body around”—rather than loudly talking to one child over the cacophonous classroom sounds. 

Bottom line? Music is a key part of the human experience and an integral part of teaching young children. 

So what do you do if you’re a teacher who is uncomfortable singing a song, humming along, or strumming an instrument? We all have our strengths in different domains, and thank goodness we do. Wouldn’t the world be otherwise drab? 

Whether you’re musically-inclined or struggling to create an engaging music center, today, we would love to share with you some of our top tips from Jackie’s educational consultation with Allusio Together. 

Simple Ways to Improve Your Music Center 

First and foremost, Jackie was interested in musical instruments that are easy to sanitize and have a calmer—less abrasive—sound. We love the wide range of sounds and volumes that children can explore, but we also respect that some classroom settings call for quieter music centers. 

And why is sanitization so important? As we teach during a global pandemic and take the necessary steps to protect our communities from COVID-19, teachers are sanitizing materials more than ever. Thus, we looked for sturdy instruments that discouraged any close touch to a child’s face. 

This list we shared with Jacky includes affordable instruments that are great choices. They are easy to sanitize, offer a calmer sound, and can make an exciting music center for any child. 

1. Piano mat

If you have an open space in your classroom, consider adding a piano or keyboard mat. This material can be easily wiped down with a sanitizing wipe to keep your classroom clean and limit the spread of germs. It is also a large instrument that incorporates physical movement. Children who need a movement break will enjoy making tunes with this mat. 

A small piano is also a wonderful option that encourages fine motor development. If sound is a significant factor in your classroom, find a mat or piano that can allow the sound to be lowered.

2. Ukulele

A ukulele is a wonderful stringed instrument that is much smaller, lighter, and softer than a guitar. Children can easily hold a ukulele and experiment with plucking and strumming. The beautiful sounds that come from a real Hawaiian ukulele are a lovely addition to a preschool classroom. 

Our founder Siriana brought a ukulele into her own educational practices, and it has made all the difference in the classroom culture and environment. Children’s musical appreciation and interest shine through when they strum and sing songs as Miss Siriana plays through the chords. Once introduced properly, a ukulele can transform your music area into an engaging and interactive center for any preschooler. 

3. Children’s Kalimba

Now, this wooden and metal instrument—descendant of the mbira instruments of Zimbabwe—can be a bit more difficult for younger hands to play. Children with shorter nails might struggle to produce the sound quality for which they’re looking. 

The golden rule of thumb for a kalimba is to have one tine per the child’s age. In other words, a 4-year-old child can best learn from a kalimba with 4 tines. 

While wooden materials can quickly wear and tear from water damage, a quick wipe down at the end of the day should be fine for your instrument in a preschool setting. 

4. Wooden Guiro

With its roots believed to be from the South American or African continents, the guiro is a diverse instrument with a rich history. Early ancestors of the guiro were made from either bone or hollowed-out gourds. Today, this wooden instrument comes in many forms. 

Our favorite is the frog—which can be found at most holiday markets in New York City around this time of year. You can include guiros of varying sizes to help children experiment with pitch and volume. 

Again, be mindful that wooden materials might not last as long as plastic. If you are a teacher or parent who likes materials to be preserved completely, this might not be right for your classroom. If you can live with a bit of tough love on classroom materials, the guiro can make your music center an inviting place for children to experiment and grow. 

As part of Jackie’s educational consultation, we provided her with links to specific instruments, strategies on how to best incorporate them into her music center, and musical activities and lessons for large-group transitions. 

We’ll be back with another post on these resources soon. In the meantime, we hope these ideas can help you plan for an engaging, easy-to-sanitize music area in your classroom. And if you’re looking for personalized strategies for your child, you can schedule a consultation with us today.

Happy playing!