Author: GHoffman

Music & Movement
Health and Wellness
School Readiness Kits
This kit was created and assembled by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives in collaboration with the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute with funding from the School Ready Libraries Grant ; adapted from the work of the Grant County Public Library.

Health and Wellness: Music & Movement
Goals
Moves with purpose and coordination.
Demonstrates control, balance, and coordination.
Utilizes fundamental motor skills and movement concepts to create movement sequences
These goals were taken from Building a Strong Foundation for School Success: Kentucky’s Early Childhood Standards https://kidsnow.ky.gov/families/readiness/Documents/early-childhood-standards.pdf
“Gross motor development: having control over and coordination of movements of the entire body or large portions of it. This encompasses one’s ability to walk, run, jump, skip, climb, slide, balance, swing, and the like; sharpening of eye-hand coordination; and being able to use both sides of the body together to plan and execute movements.” 2

January 2018
Page 1

Write
Suggested Activities
Play some music and have the children draw and write while following the tempo and the volume of the music (smaller scribbles for slower and softer music, larger scribbles for louder and faster music)
Sing a song like B-I-N-G-O and have the children trace the letters in the air as they sing them.
Play music as children play in the sensory table or sand box. Have them use fingers or tools to draw anything they wish. Observe their movements as volume and tempo changes.
School Readiness Aside to Parents and Caregivers
“Gross motor development: having control over and coordination of movements of the entire body or large portions of it. This encompasses one’s ability to walk, run, jump, skip, climb, slide, balance, swing, and the like; sharpening of eye-hand coordination; and being able to use both sides of the body together to plan and execute movements.” 2

January 2018
Page 3

Read
Suggested Activities
Read the book From Head to Toe by Eric Carle and have the children see if they can imitate the movements.
Read The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams and act out the movement of each of the pieces of clothing.
Read Silly Sally by Audrey Wood– imitate Silly Sally’s movements as she walks, marches, and moves backwards.
School Readiness Asides to Parents and Caregivers
Imitating movements can help get children involved in a story and it allows them to get some of their wiggles out.

January 2018
Page 2

Sing
Sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes this helps the children not only learn body parts, but also follow directions. As they become better at following the directions, speed up singing the song.
Sing the Hokey Pokey-another great way to help children learn to follow directions as well as learn about directionality (left and right)
Sing If You’re Happy and You Know It. Have the children suggest emotions and show you the face they would make if they are feeling that way.

January 2018
Page 4

Talk
Suggested Activities
Help children by playing a game of charades. Have charades cards or activities ready and have the kids act them out.
Help children make up songs as they learn new words. Some people learn better while singing .
As children are doing a movement of their choice, have them tell the other children what they are doing (if they want the other children to jump they can tell them to stand on both feet and push really hard, etc.)
School Readiness Aside to Parents and Caregivers
Movement helps to develop good balancing skills. Show children how to move their bodies in a variety of ways.
Playing charades expands children’s vocabulary while working on their motor skills

January 2018
Page 5

January 2018
Page 7

Play
Suggested Activities
Play some music and let the kids dance.
Play a game of follow the leader or Red Light, Green Light using music as the signal to stop or go.
Have a dance party. Put on some music and let the children dance to the music ensuring that they have a space where they can be creative without intruding on someone else’s space.
School Readiness Asides to Parents and Caregivers
“Moving to music, dancing, swaying, running, and jumping help young children feel rhythm and begin to understand how their bodies work. Such movements also help them gain muscle control and improve balance. All of this contributes to a child’s gross motor development.” 1

January 2018
Page 6

Citation Page
ALIGNMENT OF STANDARDS AND BENCHMARKS. (2003, October 1). Retrieved March 07, 2017, from https://kidsnow.ky.gov/families/readiness/Documents/early-childhood-standards.pdf

January 2018
Page 8

Please write any suggestions you have for this kit.

January 2018
Page 9

Please write any suggestions you have for this kit.

January 2018
Page 11

Please write any suggestions you have for this kit.

January 2018
Page 10

Please write any suggestions you have for this kit.

January 2018
Page 12