Music-making for early literacy skills (and much more!)

A blog post by Lizzie Lock, Boogie Mites West Berkshire and South Oxfordshire

Children LOVE a good story (again… and again… and again!) Sharing a book with your child brings so many benefits (for us parents too) – but did you know that music-making is also a really powerful way to help develop early literacy skills?

Recent research suggests that children up to around 6 years old actually process language as music –when they hear speech, their brains are picking out rhythms, pitch, melody. It explains why we as parents instinctively speak to young children in a sing-song voice – and why you might notice your child responds to a request or instruction if you sing it rather than say it.

There’s plenty of evidence that music and sound games serve a really valuable purpose in helping our children to process language, and ultimately become ready for learning to read and write. “Sound before symbol” is a well-recognised concept in music education, and is relevant for language learning too: in order to be able to read and write, first we need to be able to hear the sounds that make up our language, and produce those sounds.

So how can we use music at home to support our children’s early literacy skills?

There’ll be LOADS of things you already do with your child intuitively: singing or chanting songs or rhymes together; speaking in ‘parent-ese’ (that sing-song, exaggerated voice that slows down speech, often repeating words or short phrases); dancing together to your favourite music; to name just a few!

Here are some ideas you might like to try too: “Found Sounds”: what sounds can we make with everyday objects? Pots and pans are a firm favourite of course, banging on the highchair or table – maybe running a stick along some railings.

Junk percussion (cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, rubber bands on margarine tubs) make great

instruments too! This kind of play helps children differentiate between sounds – and that ‘tuning in of the ears’ will support them to hear different speech sounds. Add in mimicking the sound with your own voices, maybe taking turns, we’re layering on the opportunity for children to master their voice and listen to others, which leads us onto…

Vocal play: Did you know you use around 100 different muscles when you speak? That’s a lot to co-ordinate! Next time you’re reading a story together with your child, why not try out some sound effects with your voice? Encourage your child to join in – it could be exaggerating voices for each character, a sound for an action or movement (e.g. whoosh, pop, blowing a raspberry) or setting the scene (maybe the sound of the weather or environment the story takes place in). There are some great books for children which have really clear opportunities for vocal play: e.g. We’re Going On a Bear Hunt, Room on the Broom, Little Red Riding Hood, Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear? Sounds that get repeated through the story are especially brilliant – giving children the chance to anticipate when to use the sound, and practise making it.

Tapping out words: Facing your child, try clapping or tapping out the syllables of words as you sing or chant a song your child knows and loves. You can use your hands, or objects (2 sticks from the park or garden, 2 wooden spoons, or just drumming on a hard surface). Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is a simple one to start, as the word rhythm is more or less 1 syllable per musical beat. Singing or chanting naturally slows down our speech, giving children a chance to see how we form each syllable with our mouths. Adding a tap or clap further emphasises each syllable.

Lizzie offers WBFL families a free 1 week trial of the "Let's Tap A Word" song resources as well as 15% off first block bookings on her Boogie Mites Classes. See here for booking details: Newbury and Hungerford Music Classes | Boogie Mites