The Importance of Music and Movement In The Classroom

Working in a preschool/early childcare setting requires a teacher to have certain standards, lesson plans, etc. These standards are usually provided by the state, but are, because of the children’s ages, usually still flexible.

We do not have as many requirements as say, elementary or secondary school teachers, but we do still have to document, assess, and provide quality care for our children.

One of the criteria that we have to meet daily is 90 minutes of vigorous activity, which also has to include two teacher-led activities. It sounds simple, right, yet this becomes one of the most stressful activities to work into our day!

Preferably it occurs outside, but with West Virginia winters, sometimes we are just stuck inside. This, along with meal times, nap time, diaper and bathroom breaks, etc., makes it hard to squeeze in that 90 minutes.

The two teacher-led activities aren’t too hard, but they do require some strategic planning!

To make this possible, as a teacher, I made sure to incorporate the vigorous activity and teacher-led activities into almost every aspect of my day. One of the easiest ways to accomplish a bulk of this task was during our Music & Movement Time.

Here are a few simple ways to incorporate vigorous activity and teacher-led activities without the children even knowing what you’re doing! Remember,—you can expand/adapt any of these activities to your specific classes’ age, ability, time frame and requirements.

You can actually incorporate all of your learning standards (art, science, math, drama, etc.) into Music and Movement in the classroom. Children are more willing to learn if it’s fun, so keep the energy level high, loud, crazy, yet still educational.

Many of these activities will fall into multiple areas of required skills. These activities are also great for homeschooling moms, church teachers, or any child who gets bored!