Introduction
About the SING.PLAY.LOVE. Kit
We can't wait to show you how fun and exciting learning through music and play can be!
Music combined with play, rich picture book literature and YOU as your child’s play partner create the engagement a young child needs to learn and grow.SING.PLAY.LOVE. songs, books, and learning activities can be powerful tools for supporting the development.
Lesson Takeaway
What we can learn.
Motor Imitation
Teaching your child to imitate your motor motions
Early face-to-face interactions give both infant and parents opportunities for “games” that include vocal and motor imitation, as well as facial expressions.
Babies fall even deeper in love with their caring adults when they talk, sing, bounce, dance, and share playful interactions with them.
Toddlers love imitation games that include gestures, such as finger plays and action songs.
As infants grow, play starts to include imitation with toys and other objects. Playing with toys is the best way for toddlers to interact with other toddlers, as they interact by performing the same actions with the toys.
Toddler “play dates” typically consist of two friends playing side by side in “parallel play.” With time, these early interactions create an interest in playing with others.
Children love imitative play when they can lead the “copycat” game as well as follow the actions of another.
Imitation is a foundational skill for early learning. Imitation is a skill that serves two purposes for young children:
Sing
Read and sing a long!
Play the Song
Watch the Video
Play
Here are some simple ways to enrich and extend your child’s learning and
other key developmental concepts.
Show You Know
Sing very high pitches to accompany the words “tweet, tweet, tweet!” Ask your child to “show you know” whether the song that you sang was high, in the middle, or low by performing these actions: HIGH – both arms above head; MIDDLE – hands clap; and LOW – hands pat legs or floor. Model the movements for him. Repeat the game, and let your child take a turn being Birdie.
Bird’s Nest Fun
Turn a sturdy cardboard box or plastic bin into a bird’s nest the perfect size for your favorite little “birdie.” Add a cozy blanket or towel and invite your child to hop into her perch. Place the nest by your bookshelf so she can easily reach her favorite books to enjoy in her special spot. Move the nest to your kitchen so that you can sing together as you make dinner.
What Do Birdies Do?
Birdies are busy! They fly, eat worms, build nests, sing, peck, walk, flutter, fluff their wings and lay eggs. Ask your child to “be a birdie” and act out one of these actions. You can guess what your birdie is doing. Now it is your turn to be the birdie! Imitate him as he shows you how to move like a birdie.
Nourishing Nest
Make a bird’s nest good enough to eat! Mix some peanut butter “mud” and a few chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Warm slowly, stirring frequently. Remove from the microwave and enlist your child’s help to stir in some “sticks and twigs,” such as whole grain cereals, pretzel sticks or chow mein noodles. Substitute the contents of a butterscotch or chocolate pudding cup for peanut butter if you are preparing the mix for children who may be allergic to peanuts. Scoop the warm, gooey mixture into a child-size cup so your child can gobble it up with a spoon!
Family Songs
Make your bird song personal by inserting your child’s name in place of the “Birdie, Birdie” lyric. Rock, spin or gently pat your child as you sing her very own song. Allow wait time at the conclusion of the song so that she can sing “tweet” or any lyric she contributes: “Hi, hi, hi ... me, me, me … cookie, cookie, cookie!” Give your child plenty of opportunities to hear you sing the “tweet” refrain so that she can imitate you and learn to add the “tweets” or special lyrics she creates without your help.
Your Little Storyteller
Imagine the birdie has some friends who live in the beautiful yellow cottage with the brown roof in our book. Encourage your child to make up her own story about the inhabitants of the little house, and their friendship with our birdie.
Love
More things to enjoy. Recommending Reading.
Here are a few wonderful recommendations if your child loves books about birdies and moving their bodies!
- Birds by Kevin Henkes and Laura Dronzek
- Counting Is for the Birds by Frank Mazzola Jr.
- Flutter! Fly! by Karen Pixton
- Clap Your Hands by Lorinda Bryan Cauley
- Follow the Leader by Erica Silverman
- From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
- Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle and G. Brian Karas
