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The following is the text from this section of the 2009-2010 edition of The Joyful Child, Montessori from Birth to Three
To see other sections of this publication return to: http://www.michaelolaf.com/JCcontents.html
AGE 1-3, MUSIC
If you can walk, you can dance. If you
can talk, you can sing. —Zimbabwe Proverb
Everyone has a need to sing, dance, make music, and we can fulfill our
own needs as we fulfill that of our child. It is important to eliminate
background sounds—that the child at this age cannot screen out—and
to make all sounds count. A child's musical taste is formed early in life
so we should provide an environment rich in beautiful music and high quality
musical instruments.
Singing
The adult doesn't need a beautiful voice to model singing for children—just
a song at any time during the day, the child joining in as he pleases.
Singing is therapeutic for the whole body, and gives practice in language—words
and language patterns which would otherwise not come up in everyday speech.
A new form of educational system will not appear until we give serious
consideration to the fact that we have a “double mind.” Children
at any age must be offered a balanced experience of VERBAL and INTUITIVE
thinking to help develop the great potential of the human mind. The results
will not only include better functioning of the brain but also greater
happiness in personal and social life.
In Western education, we tend to separate them, because many of the things
the right hemisphere (intuitive) is able to do are not highly valued in
our civilization. So from a very young age, children learn not to express
themselves completely with that hemisphere because they haven’t been
urged to give much importance to body-movement in dancing or in singing,
drawing... all the arts.
In Eastern civilizations, however, greater importance tends to be given
to the intuitive part of the brain; the logical hemisphere is considered
irrelevant in solving the real problems of our existence.
It is a source of great hope for our immediate future that the most advanced
human beings of both cultures are uniting in the recognition that we need
each other to become complete and that we have a lot to share.
—Silvana Montanaro, MD., Montessori Teacher Trainer
Instrumental Music
It is important for children to realize that music is always the result
of body movements. Even if there are natural sounds, children need to
understand that music is produced by human beings using various muscles
of the mouth, hands and arms. They should . . . have the opportunity to
witness how musicians control their gestures so as to obtain different
musical sounds.
—Dr. Silvana Montanaro, MD
High quality non-plastic percussion instruments will accustom the child
to the best of musical sound. We recommend real instruments from different
countries of the world, as well as Western classical instruments, for
quality, variety, and beauty of sound.
Most of all enjoy this experience with your child—music is one of
the greatest joys of life.
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© Susan Mayclin Stephenson, 2010 (www.susanart.net)
Permission to reprint or link to a website is granted if these words are include:
"Shared with permission of The Joyful Child Montessori Company: www.thejoyfulchild.us"
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