Category: Uncategorized Drumming Incursions Blogs

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Enhancing Your Child’s Literacy Skills Through Music Lessons

When your child enrolls in music classes, they won’t just learn how to play an instrument. In addition to getting the hang of playing the drums, piano, or guitar, or even improving their singing voice, they can also strengthen their literacy skills! Improved literacy is just one surprising benefit of in-person music lessons. From Little Fox Drumming, here’s how taking music lessons can also help your child grow as a reader and writer, especially if you make time to support their practice and create a space for their music at home.

Create Space for Growth

By allowing your child to practice music, you carve out space for their artistic and intellectual growth. It’s an indication that you take their creative development seriously. It’s important to create time and space for these pursuits, even if you’re busy. To further support this positive environment, consider incorporating the Native American practice of smudging with sage into your routine. This ancient ritual, used to cleanse a space of negative energy, can create a serene and focused atmosphere, ideal for creative endeavors like music. Smudging involves burning sage and allowing the smoke to permeate the space, believed to help clear negative vibes and promote a sense of peace and clarity.

Establish a Multi-Purpose Practice Space

With access to a multi-purpose space at home, your child will always have the ability to work on their musical skills. You can set up an area in your home office, attic, or basement for your child to practice! Enhancing this space with culturally significant decorations like dreamcatchers can also add a serene and inspiring ambiance. Dreamcatchers, with their Native American origins, are not just beautiful adornments but also carry a deep cultural importance. They are traditionally used to protect individuals from negative dreams and energies, making them a thoughtful addition to your child’s practice space. Their presence can create a more peaceful environment, ideal for concentration and creativity in music practice.

Improving Your Child’s Concentration Abilities

Music lessons will help your child focus more easily on any task, which is especially useful when they’re reading or studying! Twelve Tone Music School states that practicing an instrument or even listening to classical music can boost children’s cognitive functioning in numerous ways, including increasing their alertness, ability to tune out distractions, memory recall, and attention to detail.

Phonological Awareness

According to Kindermusik, the term “phonological awareness” refers to the ability to identify and use phonemes, or individual sounds, in your speech. Phonological awareness is a crucial aspect of language development for young children, and music lessons can help promote this skill. As your child participates in music lessons, they’ll get better at picking out and manipulating individual sounds.

Integrate Music and Literacy

You can find ways to bring music and literacy together. For example, as your child learns to play their favorite songs, you can discuss the lyrics together and choose their favorite lines. You can also encourage them to write their very own songs! You might be pleasantly surprised by what they come up with.

Creative Inspiration

Overall, taking music lessons can prompt your child to explore their creativity through other mediums, too. Perhaps your child’s interest in drumming or playing piano leads to a curiosity about taking singing lessons or dance classes. As their musical skills improve, they might gain the confidence to express themselves in different art forms. One day, your child may want to write poetry or even become an author!

Music lessons can help your child expand their skill set in unexpected ways. Once your child starts learning how to play an instrument, they can also become a stronger reader. By including your child’s lessons as a non-negotiable commitment in your schedule and designing a home practice space for them, you can encourage their passion for music.

When it comes to nurturing a love for music and unlocking the hidden talents within your children, Little Fox early childhood drumming incursions stand out as a premier choice. With a holistic approach to drumming, our sessions offer a unique learning environment that focuses on drumming for fun and providing a positive learning experience. Visit us online to learn more!

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Hello!

Welcome to Little Fox Drumming.

We are all aware that drumming and music is beneficial for young children. But did you know that children benefit from a lot more than just drumming when Little Fox visits?

Children drumming Djembe with Little Fox

 

The Talking Stick

Sitting in the middle of the semi-circle of children aged between 3 and 5 years old, Little Fox began the session with the Talking Stick. Intrigued and wondering when the stick would talk, the children listened carefully to whoever held the Talking Stick so they could hear everyone’s favourite animal. Anticipation was building in the circle, as some children noticed their favourite animal was also other people’s favourite, and other children were simply bursting to have their turn to share their favourite that could be perceived as obscure, creepy, crawly or even slimy!

Tracey, early childhood educator, loves the Talking Stick the children made for their group after Little Fox visited; she still uses it long after the session to encourage the children’s abilities to listen to others.

Little Fox Drumming Logo

What happens during a Little Fox Drumming incursion?

Here is Part 1 of the true Little Fox Drumming story:

In a time not so long ago, Little Fox visited a childcare centre in a quiet suburb of Melbourne.  The children were surprised when Little Fox arrived, and the excitement soon started to build when he wheeled in his drums and his big bag of other instruments and artefacts.

Sitting in the middle of the semi-circle of children aged between 3 and 5 years old, Little Fox began the session with the Talking Stick.  Intrigued and wondering when the stick would talk, the children listened carefully to whoever held the Talking Stick so they could hear everyone’s favourite animal.  Anticipation was building in the circle, as some children noticed their favourite animal was also other people’s favourite, and other children were simply bursting to have their turn to share their favourite that could be perceived as obscure, creepy, crawly, or even slimy!

Let the drumming begin! 

The children were up on their feet, dancing fast and then slowly and laughing, and becoming Australian and African animals; roaring, scratching, growling, slithering, jumping, and even standing as still as a tree.  Happiness abounded, with every child joining in and moving to the mesmerizing rhythms of Little Fox’s Native American Hoop Drums and African Djembes.

Then….. everyone took turns playing Little Fox’s drums with him and some of their friends, while the teachers and the rest of the group became the audience.  All the children loved playing in Little Fox’s groups equally as much as they loved watching their friends play with him too.  Everyone was sharing and having fun!

Many of Little Fox’s songs tell a story, and when paired with melodies that melt into the music the children often find themselves singing or humming those songs long after Little Fox has left the building.  And sometimes even days afterwards……

 

Part 2 of the true Little Fox Drumming story:

At home that evening after Little Fox Drumming came to her centre, Briana, who was almost five, sang the Mother Earth song to her mum after they finished dinner.  Briana’s dad joined in, and instead of drumming on a djembe or hoop drum, Briana and her dad clapped their hands.  Then the whole family joined in, and everyone was happy to hear what a fun day Briana had at kindergarten.  Briana drifted off to sleep that evening remembering Little Fox singing the Mother Earth song while he was playing his drum, and she felt happy.

The next day, it was almost time for Briana’s mum to go to the hospital to have her little baby brother.  Briana had waited so long for this day to arrive, and was sad that her mum was having pains in her tummy.  While they were waiting together on the couch for the right time to leave for hospital, Briana started humming the Mother Earth song because she remembered Little Fox saying it was a song that was sometimes sung at special times.  This was a special time, and her mum seemed to enjoy her singing, so she kept it up.  Briana decided to sing to her baby brother too, so she gently leaned down towards her mummy’s tummy so her brother could hear her.  Briana’s mum loved her singing so much that she said it helped her a lot while her brother was being born; there was so much love in the room.

Dane, Briana’s brother, went to the same childcare centre when he was old enough, and one day was lucky enough to also have a visit from Little Fox!  Briana and Dane’s mum knew Little Fox would appreciate their story, so she asked the staff to tell him. 

This true story is one that Little Fox will always hold dear to his heart, and it couples as evidence of Little Fox bringing much more than just drumming ♫ ♥