Babies bob up and down. Children who are just walking, bounce and sway.
Older children like to march, dance, twirl or mimic the sounds they hear, like playing air guitar. There are numerous ways children feel music. Very young children often express this through how they move, and through moving with others they come to understand more about the world and their relationships with others.
There are lots of songs that help get children up and moving. Knee- bouncing rhymes like 'Father and Mother and Uncle Tom' and 'This the way the baby rides' for little legs give way to 'Jumping shoes' as children become more active and co-ordinated. As they become more able to control the speed of their actions, songs that move from a slow pace to faster and back to slow again become fun and challenging.
'Barney Bear' is such a song, which will help children's growing social awareness as well as their understanding about beat and pace. This can be done one-to-one or with a group, starting at a walking pace. 'Barney Bear is walking, walking, walking, Barney Bear is walking, walking to the park.'
The next bit is faster and like a dance. You can hold hands and swing around to: 'Barney Bear has found a friend, going to the park'.
When walking along with children, it helps to chant 'Walking, walking!' in time with their steps. Watch and fit your words with their speed. They may often join you in time too, and this helps their understanding of rhythm and structuring time.
* 'Father and Mother...' and 'This is the way...' are in Playsongs compiled by Sheena Roberts ISBN0-7136-6371-5. 'Jumping shoes' is in Singing together 1, (c) PEEP publications, ISBN 1-903553-35-0. 'Barney Bear' is in Voiceplay, ISBN 0-19-321060-6.
