Best Music and Movement Activities for Preschool

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Preschool children are naturally very active, and they love to get up and dance and move around. That’s why music and movement activities are favorite activities and great options for your preschool homeschool routine!

Music and movement activities can help children learn new concepts, practice motor skills, express their creativity, express themselves emotionally, and more. They’re also just plain fun!

Benefits of Music Activities 

There are so many important benefits to music and movement activities or movement brain breaks in the preschool age range. And you don’t have to be a music teacher to put together a playlist of songs to encourage children’s love of music.

Not only does music education help children release energy, but they can also:

• Encourage children to take risks and express their emotions through movement and dance
• Develop gross motor skills, such as coordination and balance
• Improve literacy skills by introducing children to different sounds and new words through language-based songs
• Enhance mathematical thinking as children explore rhythms and beats
• Help children associate sounds with numbers
• Foster creative expression through improvisation, composition, and performance
• Develop an understanding of cooperation by working together to create music and move in sync 
• Introduce concepts such as high/low pitch, fast/slow tempo, and loud/soft volume
• Stimulate imagination and creativity through music-making
• Enhance memory skills as children learn songs and chants
• Provide an opportunity for self-expression. 

By incorporating music activities into your homeschool, you can create a fun and engaging learning environment while helping your kids develop important skills. 

Importance of Music for Development

Music and movement activities help preschoolers to develop their fine motor skills and gross motor skills. They are a great way to encourage emotional development and help develop social skills. 

In addition, music and movement activities support academic learning. Preschoolers can learn colors, numbers, letters, shapes, and more with the help of music-based activities.

Finally, by fostering a love of music in early childhood, you can help lay the foundation for lifelong music appreciation. Music activities are an important part of the preschool curriculum!  

Musical Activities for Preschoolers

So let’s talk about ways we can encourage kids so they can enjoy these benefits. One of the best parts of musical activities is they are very simple to plan.

Here are some easy to set up activities that your kids will love that encourage creative movement.

1. Active Listening: Pick a piece of music with different instruments and ask your kids to identify them.

2. Musical Art: Put on some music, give out paper and crayons or paint and let the creative juices flow!

3. Musical Games: Try making up your own musical games using scarves, hoops, and bean bags.

4. Musical Freeze: Pick a fun song and play it as your kids act out its lyrics through dance. When you pause the music, they must freeze in their positions.

5. Instrument Making: Have kids create their own variety of musical instruments from everyday items like empty boxes or bottles to make unique sounds.

6. Musical Storytelling: Give your kids a prop and ask them to create an individual story with their instrument, such as music from drums to signify thunder.

7. Chanting: Come up with chants using simple words and actions while clapping or stomping along.

8. Improvising: Give kids free rein over instruments, inviting them to explore and make up their own music.

9. Learn Songs and Chants: Teach your kids songs and chants with catchy rhythms, simple words, and fun movements. 

Favorite Preschool Movement Songs

These fun activities will keep preschoolers engaged while providing them with valuable skills like coordination, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Music activities are also great for helping children learn how to express themselves in a creative way!

Action Songs

Action songs are a great way to get preschoolers up and moving, as they learn about various body parts. You can have your own movement classes in your very own living room with some of these favorite ideas for encouraging kids to move their bodies. Some favorite songs your kids will enjoy include:

• Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
• If You’re Happy and You Know It
• The Wheels on the Bus
• Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Hokey Pokey
• I’m a Little Teapot
• Little Bunny Foo Foo

Movement Games

Using movement games, preschoolers can explore different ways to move their bodies, such as hopping and skipping. Some popular musical movement games include:

Musical Statues: A classic game, where children freeze when the music stops. Similar to freeze dance, it’s great fun!

The Hokey Pokey: Familiar songs like this encourage your child’s development— the game is a fun way to practice their right-left directionality.

Musical Chairs: A timeless classic that encourages children to explore spatial awareness. All you need is a few chairs and a cd player!

Freeze Dance: Put on a song and tell the kids to dance until you pause the music, at which point they must freeze.

The Farmer in the Dell:  A classic game where kids choose different members of their “farm” set to music.

Rhythm Games

Music is all about rhythm, so it’s important to introduce rhythm instrument activities that focus on developing this skill. Try using simple objects like maracas or drums to create your own beat and challenge the students to match it. You can also use these objects to develop a beat and have the kids come up with movement ideas to match it. Other games you could try are clapping games or tap dance routines.

Music lessons can be as simple as making new instruments like egg shakers, then shaking it to the beat of a simple song for movement time. Try different genres of music, like instrumental music or popular tunes from the radio, for a variety and to introduce young kids to speed and different actions that fit the music.

More Preschool Music Activities to Try

Dancing Ribbon Rings

Dancing ribbon rings are easy to make and they are a huge hit with dancing preschoolers. Make a few sets for your home, put some fun music on and the kids will do the rest!

Musical Egg Shakers

Why not make your own? You can use these egg shakers while marching around the living room or let the kids shake out a rhythm. 

Silk Scarf Dancing

Dancing with silk scarves is a favorite activity with children of all ages. Scarf dancing with silk scarves can be done with any type of music, but many prefer to use classical music for this activity. 

Rainbow Music Sticks

These rainbow music sticks combine art and crafts with a music and movement activity. You can make these simple sticks with just a few simple items that you probably already have on hand like bells, and pipe cleaners. 

Simon Says

Simon says is an excellent movement game for kids. You can play it anywhere and you don’t need any props or supplies. Simon says teaches listening and social skills and can also be used to help identify parts of the body or the difference between left and right. 

Old Macdonald Had a Farm Music Basket

You have everything you need to make an Old Macdonald had a farm music basket in your homeschool or preschool classroom already. All you need are some stuffed or plastic farm animals and a few musical instruments. Your kids will love this musical activity! 

Freeze Dance

The freeze dance is as simple as it sounds. Put on a playlist of some kid-friendly songs and let them dance. Randomly yell out “freeze” and stop the music, see how long you and they can hold their crazy positions. 

Paper Plate Shakers

Let your kids get creative by making their own musical instruments with paper plates. Have them color or paint one side of the plate, fold the plate over and staple it together, add beans or rice, and then finish sealing the plate with a final staple. Now each child has a fun shaker to make music with! 

Nursery Rhymes

Nursery rhymes are another way for preschoolers to participate in music and movement activities. Rhymes such as Hickory Dickory Dock, The Wheels on the Bus, Baa Baa Black sheep, and many more can all be acted out with young children. Learning nursery rhymes help young children with memorization, language development, coordination, and more. 

Music-based activities are an important part of preschool education and should be included regularly in your homeschool lesson plans.

These activities are an excellent way to foster learning and development in preschoolers, and they will have a blast while doing it! So get creative and start exploring the world of music with your students or children today.

What are your favorite music and movement activities for preschoolers?  Leave a comment below!

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