Turn to music to spark your child’s creativity
There is magic in music and movement. Both activate your child’s brain. Here’s how you can enhance your toddler’s creativity through music.
Did you know that music is more than a fun beat in the background you can sing and dance along to? Music inspires creative expression in children.
The Be Sharp Beetles Programme Director, Liesel Grobler, explains how music can stimulate a child’s creativity:
The benefits of music
During a music session where movement and percussion play is involved, children are engaged by the words and themes that can be learned and discussed. Think of the song “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” that teaches a child about the concept of a star, the fact that the star is in the sky, and that it shines brightly – this song is teaching your child all about stars. Playing drums develops a child’s problem-solving ability as well as his concentration abilities. When a child plays on a drum, he has to think about how to play the drum: Should he use both hands at the same time? Should he rub the surface of the drum, or wiggle his fingers on the surface of the drum?
Music sparks creativity
To be creative, you need to be able to view things in new ways, or from a different perspective. Because of the variety of music available out there, kids are encouraged to put their creativity to use when they dance and come up with their own moves. Moving to music with the body or with instruments enhances a child’s ability to reason and follow instruction, but to be creative too. The creativity that is developed through musical activities is linked to qualities such as thinking, flexibility, and tolerance of ambiguity or unpredictability.
Be Sharp Beetles is South African music and movement programme that focuses on stimulating every aspect of a growing child’s development. Percussion instruments such as drums, egg shakers, rhythm sticks, tambourines, xylophones, maracas, and castanets are used in the classes to stimulate the creativity of children.
