Teaching tiny musicians: the importance of music for the social-emotional and cognitive development of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers

In this presentation, my goal is to help the viewer consider the importance of music in very early childhood. Not just in the school-age years, but even before that. I will discuss how various age-appropriate musical activities and approaches to teaching can help a child grow in their social-emotional and cognitive development through the assistance of research on music in early childhood and a large chunk of experience teaching music to children from six weeks to five years old in a childcare setting. Additionally, I hope to make the point that even from a young age, children have the capability of showing competence in various areas of music and that helping grow these skills can help prepare a child for success not just in music but in many aspects of their academic and day-to-day lives. My presentation will show what musical activities can be done with infants (6 weeks-1.5 years), toddlers (1.5-3 years), and preschoolers (3-5 years), what the general expectations of each age group will usually be when teaching music, how these activities will benefit them in their social-emotional and cognitive development, and dispelling some common misconceptions related to music and a child’s development. If permission is obtained by the center and the parents of the children, I will include short video clips in my presentation where I demonstrate the activities being explained for a better understanding of how they work.