At this time of year, there is a sea of information coming to us as parents. In terms of extra-mural activities for our children, there are sometimes so many options to choose from.
Besides all the options, there are also constraints.
As parents, we don’t want our children to be over-scheduled, exhausted and stressed. This can happen when there is too many scheduled activities and not enough free playtime. We also are, often, also balancing our family finances, working out what we can wisely afford.
There are some incredible programmes out there, which can really benefit your little one. But, at Wriggle and Rhyme our passion is music education, and so I’m going to shamelessly punt for that.
The anecdotal evidence
Any parent or educator, or in fact anyone involved with little people, knows the incredible effect that music has on them.
From a young baby swaying or babbling along to music, to a toddler dancing, to a preschooler turning a random item into an instrument! Music has an unstoppable effect on children. Besides the movement (which is often the most obvious response), there’s also the emotional response – the sheer joy and wonder that comes from a musical environment!
What does Science tell us?
Over the past couple of decades, advances in medical technology have allowed Scientists to see what’s happening inside our brains. This means that they can literally map out what part of the brain is engaging in different activities. Functional MRI scans are responsible for facilitating these advances.
For example, when we read a book, they can see what part of the brain lights up.
When Scientists mapped people involved in music-based activities including playing an instrument, their brain lit up like a Christmas tree.
Music seems to engage the brain in the most fascinating way with the most incredible outcomes.
Dr Anita Collins is an award-winning educator, researcher and author with a special interest in brain development and music learning. You can read more about her work here:
https://www.anitacollinsmusic.com
A fireworks display
Dr Collins’ research highlighted some interesting ways that music affects the physiology of the brain. Especially the corpus callosum (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/corpus-callosum) which is the super highway of more than 200 million nerve fibres connecting the two hemispheres of the brain.
Music-based activities seem to strengthen this superhighway which, in turn, seems to have an impact on the brain’s executive function abilities.
Have a look at this short insightful summary of the findings:
Music for little people
Wriggle and Rhyme’s music programme aims to capitalise on the power of music as a way to give children a FULL BRAIN WORKOUT.
Our classes follow a different theme each term, with age appropriate musical activities to keep little ones stimulated.
Our BABY and TODDLER classes run in MELKBOS, RONDEBOSCH, CLAREMONT and MELKBOSSTRAND.
Our PRE-SCHOOLER programme runs at a selection of partner pre-schools across Cape Town as an extra-mural activity.
Come and join our musical adventure!
