As a busy caregiver, it can be tough to decide what programs to enroll your child in.
What makes music an ideal choice for your child?
In our first blog, we talked about WHY children love music and the benefits of including music in your child’s life. One of the reasons was that music is great for developing social skills.
Music is like the “superfood” of activities. Research has shown that musical education is a forerunner in socio-emotional skill development.
What does that mean?
Well, it means that music is a super important activity to engage in with our children - whether at home or in a regular program like our tots programs. It means that music is an essential piece of helping our children learn valuable social and emotional skills and, here at Making Music Academy, that’s what we’re passionate about.
Contents:
What’s So Special About Music?
Psychologically and socially, we know there’s something very special about music. It’s intertwined into every part of our lives, especially when you have children!
Music has been shown to help treat mental and physical illnesses, recover lost memories, teach people to speak, assist in a wide range of therapies for all ages and, in this particular case, help children develop essential socio-emotional skills that help them throughout their entire lives. Here is an interesting article on how “Music Can Heal the Brain”.
In early childhood, music plays a crucial role in social and emotional development by improving caregiver-child bonding, teaching sharing and cooperative play, increasing empathy, enhancing peer interaction, and supporting emotional understanding and management.
Music is particularly beneficial for children struggling with social skills or emotional challenges as it helps improve emotional identification and expression, flexibility, self-esteem, coping skills, stress reduction, and self-regulation skills.
Top 5 Social Benefits of Children’s Group Music Sessions
So, what’s socially beneficial about group music, specifically?
Here are our Top 5 Social Benefits of Group Music for children and their caregivers:
1. Communication and Collaboration:
More than going to an open-play gym or other unstructured play activities, group music sessions help children participate and engage with one another purposefully to accomplish a common goal - creating sounds and movements that work well together.
Here are some examples of how music supports these skills:
Enhanced Communication Skills: Music provides a platform for children to express themselves through singing, playing instruments, and creating music, which in turn enhances their ability to listen attentively, follow instructions, and work collaboratively with others. It can be as simple as singing “head, shoulders, knees, and toes”, following the movements of the teacher and fellow classmates.
Promotion of Collaboration & Teamwork: Group music activities encourage collaboration and teamwork among children and adults, fostering prosocial behavior as children sing, dance, or play instruments together. Music provides a fun and engaging way for children to learn to respect others' contributions and work towards common goals. With any group activity with children, there are countless opportunities for social learning about teamwork, sharing, and respect. For example, listening respectfully while it’s someone else’s turn to play the ukulele or applauding when someone completes a task. We love seeing our little music makers share musical instruments, help collect shakers at the end of a song, and work together to bounce monkeys off the parachute in time for mama to bring them to the doctor and shout “no more monkeys jumping on the bed!”
2. Emotional Intelligence - Empathy Development:
Music is inherently emotive, and participating in group music sessions allows children to explore and express a wide range of emotions in a supportive setting.
By engaging with music, children learn to recognize and regulate their own feelings while empathizing with the emotions expressed through music by others.
For example, children are challenged to watch those around them for cues on volume, timing, and expressions. When the teacher sings loudly for one part of the song but quietly for another, this guides the children to do the same. You may notice the mimicking of the teacher’s expressions as they sing, connecting with their emotions through the sounds they are hearing, perceiving the emotions of others, and then responding appropriately.
3. Confidence and Self-Esteem:
Group music offers children opportunities to showcase their talents and contributions.
A well-directed group session means the teacher is involving each individual student in some way and helping them contribute in their own unique way. For example, maybe they have a turn with the xylophone keeping beat to the music as everyone sings. This simple contribution gives a sense of pride and accomplishment, boosting the child’s confidence. With experiences like this, even shy children get excited to participate. As children learn how to add to the experience, this builds confidence, joy, and excitement. This ultimately gives them satisfaction as individuals contributing to a community and accomplishing something good..
We especially love watching our little music makers blossom and engage in our songs, bubble-chasing, and sensory play as they become more and more comfortable in the social setting.
Our students’ caregivers share their real-life experiences while attending with their children at Making Music Academy:
....Since starting classes I’ve already seen an improvement in […] being around other kids and adults… - Lisa
The highlight of our week is music class [...] I’ve watched [my son] grow from a timid baby to someone who now enjoys being around other people. I can see his personality developing more and more each week… - Alison
4. Friendship & Community-building:
Group music lessons are amazing places to grow friendships and build social networks.
In a place of learning and fun, children easily build connections with one another. Music naturally creates a unified environment that helps children work and play together with no pressure. Shyness can be easily forgotten when there’s a happy song to sing and sensory toys to play with! As a group activity, it also invites an environment of sharing, which assists in creating a strong sense of community.
Caregivers attending with their kids can forge meaningful friendships and support networks with each other through their shared love of their children and music, creating a sense of belonging and camaraderie.
Making Music Academy is all about community and our students and their caregivers quickly create bonds through our musical programs!
What our students’ caregivers say:
It is an excellent program for both moms and babies, it definitely helped me postpartum as well - getting out of the house and socializing has been wonderful… - Ange
...She has learned so much and was able to socialize with kids which [has] done her wonders! - Kerry
...a wonderful environment for babies and caregivers to come together with music! - Alison
It’s just as great for parents as it is for the kids. - Gina
5. Bonding with You:
Music provides a particularly special opportunity for children and caregivers to bond.
Caregiving can be demanding (on many fronts!) and finding moments of relaxation and joy is essential for maintaining mental and emotional well-being together. Getting out of the house and sharing new and exciting experiences helps build a deeper connection, strengthening the caregiver-child relationship.
As a caregiver, watching your child grow and develop meaningful connections with their peers is a beautiful experience and gives you warm memories to share and relive together. It also gives you an opportunity to learn new, effective ways to communicate with your child. We love teaching music as a bonding practice!
For children, having their caregivers participate in the group sessions is exciting and motivating, and reminds them that they are important to the adults in their lives. Our group music sessions are intentionally interactive and allow caregivers (mom, dad, grandparents, friends of family - one or all!) to participate, which provides opportunities to build deep connections with each other. These memories stick with us for long after the class is done!
Ultimately, a positive, musical twist on our daily activities encourages meaningful bonds with those we love.
How We Use Music Socially at Making Music Academy:
Our classes are designed to be interactive and educational for both our little students and their caregivers. The classes are intentionally in a group setting which involves everyone, in whatever way they are most comfortable.
Our classes are small to ensure that each child gets to participate in some way and that more meaningful bonds are created. Our classes are made up of interactive songs and social activities, teaching children valuable skills and knowledge, and showing their caregivers simple but effective ways to teach and interact with their children through music.
Our students’ caregivers often sit in a circle with their little music makers and chat, working together with their children and each other to forge meaningful bonds that extend outside the classroom and make coming back that much more exciting.
We love creating a relaxed, no-pressure environment that’s guided by our weekly-themed songs and activities. We acknowledge that, socially, we are all different; we like to meet everyone within their comfort zones, while also gently encouraging growth and development outside of those zones. Our caregivers often tell us how much that atmosphere has impacted them and their child positively and we are so glad.
In summary, group music sessions, for all ages, are a deeply beneficial choice for families looking for programs and activities that educate in an engaging, fun way.
We welcome you to join us and experience it for yourself! If you’re already part of our community, we thank you for the part you play in making it the valuable place of connection and learning that it is.