Mrs. Jo takes out her dulcimer, ready to sing “Michael Row Your Boat Ashore.” Before she begins, she smiles, encouraging parents: “This is a listening song. Though most of us are born with the ability to HEAR, we are not BORN with the ability to LISTEN. Listening is a SKILL. Skills are taught, modeled and learned. If your little one has difficulty listening, that’s normal. We need to model this SKILL, and over time, our little ones will begin to listen.”

It may seem like a challenging process, but listening opportunities help “wire” a child’s brain for more than just attentiveness. They help our children create mental images, which enables them to engage in activities for longer periods of time. Listening activities also help children to develop their imaginations, which fosters creative thinking.

Suggested Listening Activities

1-12 months

• Read board/picture books. Pictures should be simple with few background details. Ask: “Where is the duck?” “Celebrate” when your little one points to the duck, even if that’s the only image on the page!
• Sing throughout the day.
• Use a sing-song voice to narrate daily activities and actions.
• Play an instrument for or with your little one.
• Play classical music. Blow bubbles while listening.
• Sing lullabies as you hold and rock your baby.

13-24 months

• Read picture books. Ask questions about the details in the pictures.
• Use finger plays, wiggles and tickles to keep your little ones attention in times of “waiting” (airports, doctors’ offices, picking up older sibs) See “Web Words” for examples.
• Sing songs a cappella (your voice, all by itself!) or using a single instrument for accompaniment.
• Take a “listening” walk. What can you hear? Imitate bird sounds, car sounds, whatever you hear, and label each. Ask questions that give answers, i.e. “Tommy, did you hear the bird? Tweet, tweet!”

2-3 Year-Olds

• Read from a storybook. Ask your child to predict what will happen next.
• Take turns “telling” a story. Use stuffed animals for props.
• In dramatic play, use props that don’t look like “the real thing” to develop imaginative thinking (i.e. a stick becomes a sword or a scepter or a canoe paddle.)
• Encourage your child to “read” to you as you model listening.
• Attend Library Story Time and Sunday School…listening opportunities abound!
• Listen to music in the car/ turn off the radio and sing!
• Explore various types of music…classical, jazz, folk, etc. “Direct” as you listen.

4-5 Year-Olds

• Read story books and/or chapter books. If your child can’t sit for a whole chapter, read a part of a chapter.
• Listen to audio-stories and radio dramas like “Adventures in Odyssey.”
• Your child creates mental images as he/she listens.
• Begin to analyze a song’s parts-- Listen to a song the first time to see how many different parts the song has (i.e. “Part A” and “Part B.”) The second time, find two different ways to play a rhythm instrument one way for “Part A” and another for “Part B.” (Try “Blue Danube,” by Strauss)
• Listen for dynamics (loud and soft) or types of sounds in music ("legato"= long, smooth sounds, "staccato"=short, quick sounds-- listen to "Dance of the Hours" by Funkiely Leroy Anderson's "The Typewriter," for examples.) Create representations of the music on paper (i.e. squiggly lines for legato and dots for staccato sounds.) "Penny Whistle Jig" by Mancini has lots of pitch exploration. Your child might color at the top of the page for high sounds then at the bottom for low sounds.
• “Color/Paint the Music” Your child and you each have your own “blank canvas” (white paper.) Paint with your child and express what you hear. Play songs of various genre (classical, jazz, folk) to see how this affects color choice and patterns (i.e. follow Pachelbel’s Canon in D with something by the Blue Man Group or try painting to the song “Mozart in Egypt” to find several styles in one song!)
• Sing lullabies. Bedtime is still a great time for listening songs!

Does television count as a “listening” activity? Are there any benefits? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children watch no tv before age two.* When someone watches tv, his/her brain goes into an ‘alpha state,” which is one step above sleep. A very low level of brain function takes place; therefore, television does not qualify as a helpful tool in developing listening skills. In fact, in most cases it works against the development of listening and imaginative thinking skills. “Time watching tv is time taken away from brain development,” says Dr. John Feierabend, PhD, Professor of Music and Director of the Music Education Division at the Hartt School of the University of Hartford.**

September’s “Music Notes” will explore television for children. Next month, we’ll “tune in” to an interview WeJoySing conducted with Dr. John Feierabend, a leading authority on music and movement development in early childhood. Dr. Feierabend will share his research and insight dealing with children’s TV programming and why he has partnered with Serius Thinking , Ltd. to create and produce the PBS children’s show “LOMAX.” This article will help parents learn what to look for in children’s programming to determine what is best for your child.

A Note from Mrs. Jo
I can’t wait to do some of these focused listening activities with my grandchildren!! Listening is one of the most important skills we need to teach our children during these early years. If they do not possess this skill by school age, they will not “thrive” in the public school setting. So, surround them with the JOY of MUSIC today - because MUSIC IS FIRST A LISTENING ART!!!

* 1999 Recommendation of American Academy of Pediatrics.

** WeJoySing Interview with Dr. John Feierabend, May 27, 2009.