Play! Play! Play!

"Why does my child sit in my lap all through class but as soon as we get home, she does EVERYTHING:  sings the songs, dances the dances, uses the motions, pretends to be the teacher, makes our Tupperware into play-along instruments?"  As the director of our Music Together in Phoenix, I get to hear lots of great questions and  comments about coming to class, however this is the MOST frequently shared observation!   Parents sometimes feel frustrated if their child is not "doing it" during class time.  All of the teachers wisely know and share that this is "very, very normal and please, please keep singing". 

It's very natural for some children to take in information they've absorbed in class and then "practice", play and experiment with it privately in the comforts of their own home.  Play is important for a child's learning because it is the primary method young children use to grow physically, emotionally, cognitively, socially and musically.  It is not always about having fun; it can be very intense!

When children play with music, they are developing the complex skill of singing in tune and accurately express rhythm in their bodies.  We recommend giving young children ample opportunities to play freely on their own and with you, the important grown up their lives.  In Music Together, we love the play-along time when instruments are free chosen and children get to experiment and "play" with all the musical experiences from the previous 9 songs.

I've recently been reading about how important play is for BIG people, as well!   I had just read a fascinating article from the "World of Psychology" on the importance of play for grown ups:  http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/11/15/the-importance-of-play-for-adults/ and remembered how crazy FUN it was to get to play with our fellow Music Together in Phoenix teachers last weekend at the Children's Museum's Grown Up Play-date PROM!  I am including a few pictures to share how much total fun it was.

In our classes, we often will include a song that is intended for adult play, ie. a "tapping on your neighbor in the tight-circle" song that gets impossibly fast or passing eggs-changing directions randomly to create fun chaos.  I LOVE to see the children's faces watching their parents PLAY; I think this kind of role-modeling is great for children.  While my children are past this early stage now, I did involve my 16 year old daughter in hair-do/tacky-prom outfit preparations and was super amused when she gave me back....."make good choices, MOM" that I always tell her as my cute date (husband) and I were heading out the door.

We ♥ play!!