02 May Math and Music: A Great Combination

“…the basic elements of music, such as the beat, rhythm and patterns within the melody or words, can stimulate mathematical growth in areas such as spatial reasoning, sequencing, counting, patterning, and one-to-one correspondence.”

At Especially for Children, we love to incorporate music into our days. This blog post, The Beat Goes On!, does an excellent job explaining one of the many benefits of music–its support of mathematical concepts. For example, “When a parent or teacher comforts a crying child they may pat, rock or bounce the child using a steady beat or a rhythmic pattern. They may even sing them a simple song while they do this. A steady beat and rhythmic pattern are prime examples of patterning activities and a very early introduction to mathematical concepts.” It is interesting to think about how as parents our instincts often cause us to interact with children in ways that are beneficial to their cognitive development.

In the brief video below, you can see how using music in more formal instruction can teach older children (older preschoolers and kindergarteners) about the mathematical concepts of patterns. So enjoy music with your child, and know that its benefits are great!