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Preschoolers love music. Preschoolers love books. So of course, preschool music books really get them grooving!

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Musical Sound Books for Babies and Toddlers - Cali's Books

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Our Musical Books for Babies and Toddlers are the best children's books to help improve communication skills, learn vocabulary, enhance memorization, practice hand-eye coordination, and support our little one's creative minds. Get singing with these catchy tunes from Mozart to Bob Marley there's a song for everyone!

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Raffi is great! There is also "I'm Going on a Bear Hunt" and other familiar songs you already know the tune to!

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Raffi's most popular and beloved song about the "little white whale on the go" is available in a sturdy board book edition--just the right size for babies and toddlers!

Singing supports and encourages even the youngest child's speech and listening skills, which makes Baby Beluga perfect for early learning. Join this adorable baby whale in a busy day at sea, culminating in a warm mother-child bedtime ending. With its delightful illustrations, this is the ideal sing-along for a whole new generation of readers.

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Visit Amazon's Raffi Songs to Read Page and shop for all Raffi Songs to Read books. Check out pictures, author information, and reviews of Raffi Songs to Read

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Consider asking families to share their favorite music. Think beyond "Baby Shark" and to adult/family favorites, too! Do parents love the Beatles? Motown? Folk? You can use Spotify or Amazon to make a playlist.

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Parents can be invited to play an instrument or record themselves doing something musical to share with your whole program. Consider having a family concert or sing-along where every family/child gets to perform or lead.

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If you choose familiar songs, your toddlers can participate in choice making and leading!

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Adding music into the home or classroom environment is so important to do. Music is a wonderful, powerful tool for little learners. It captures their attention and minds in an important way.

Finding the Beat

Even with young preschoolers, learning how to find the beat in songs is a completely do-able and learnable skill. It's important they learn to hear the patterns in music, the "heart beat", and be able to tap along with it.

Music is a good introduction to math for young children. The beat of a song is the basic pattern that underlies it. Helping children feel the beat and respond can help them begin to think about patterns and rhythms. Also, moving to the beat helps develop gross motor skills and control over body movements. Music is a great teaching tool!

Music and Song Cubes

One of my favorite ways to incorporate songs and teach the beat is by making a simple song cube. For this music activity, we made two cubes for double the learning fun.

Song cubes are a great tool to have on hand at home or in the classroom. They can be easily customized to fit thematic units, seasons, or various holidays. They make a great addition to the morning routine in a classroom or as a fun "what should we do next?" activity in the home.

Materials for making a song cube:

Tissue box cube

Construction paper for covering the cube

Labels for each side (Song Cubes Printable)

For the "simple tunes" song cube, I covered the tissue box with construction paper and added a label for each of the possible simple songs. I made sure to fill my song cube with easy-to-learn songs that we can quickly find the heart beat in.

The second cube we made is where things take a little turn. This second cube included different ways to express the beat - either with gross motor skills or homemade instruments.

On the song cube, I selected:

B-I-N-G-O

Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands

The More We Get Together

London Bridge

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (or The Alphabet Song)

Yankee Doodle

(Choose songs that you use regularly with your children. Or you can search for these songs on KIDiddles or other online sources.)

On the second "ways to express the beat" cube included:

Clapping

Tapping legs with hands

Using egg shakers

Tapping sticks together (craft sticks work great, so do spatulas)

Dancing

Stomping feet

Using the Song Cube

Since this is an at-home activity for my family, my son tossed both cubes to see which song and which movement go together each day. "B-I-N-G-O" plus clapping means we will find the beat with our hands. Maybe the next day it'll be "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" plus tapping on our legs. The 36 possibilities for matches gives an added twist of surprise and anticipation each day.

In a classroom setting, inviting class helpers to toss a cube is a great way to share and take turns.

Toss the cube. Sing the song and show the beat in way rolled. Sing the song slowly as children are beginning to discover the beat. Adjust the tempo of the song as children master clapping/moving to the beat.

To extend this activity, consider speeding up or slowing down the song on a day-by-day basis. A fast version of "London Bridge" is a simple way to demonstrate the variety of beat patterns.

Creating a simple song cube for my son has been a huge hit in learning some classic old songs. Pairing the song cube with our "movement cube" has made for a great daily lesson in finding the beat.

BIO: Susie is a former kindergarten teacher turned SAHM mom who's just trying to make it to nap time. She blogs about the simple activities she does with her kids at Busy Toddler. You can join her party on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.

Other Ideas for Activities-
Plastic Egg Music Shakers
Song Sticks: Building Skills in Transitions
Exploring Music with Leaves
Corn Shakers Music Activity

Follow myMusic in the Classroom Pinterest Board for more great ideas!

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Music with Kids: Song Cubes and Finding the Beat - Pre-K Pages

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Adding music into the home or classroom environment is so important to do. Music is a wonderful, powerful tool for little learners. It captures their attention and minds in an important way. Even with young preschoolers, learning how to find the beat in songs is a completely do-able and learnable skill.

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Teaching music with fun, tried & tested lessons, DIY classroom projects & ideas your students will love with Tracy King, the Bulletin Board Lady.

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You'll want to have some people for musicians and audience members. Consider adding paper and pencils (or a magnet writing board) for them to design their own concert venue or performance space.

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18 Of The Coolest Concert Venues In The United States

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It’s ALWAYS worth traveling for a concert.

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Musical note buttons are great for fine motor and exploration if you can play their song later! If you're hosting a performance, let them make flyers for you to copy and distribute to parents announcing the performance.

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A simple music inspired music craft for kids

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10 Sensational Sound Activities for Preschoolers - Explore the Science of Sound.

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I love these fun ways to explore sound with kids! Fantastic hands-on learning. 10 sensational sound activities for preschoolers.

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Many of these can be turned into independent or partner works that can be completed over and over!

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Preschool Music Themed Math & Literacy Activties

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This pack of music inspired math and literacy activities are a fun way for children to explore music while working on cognitive development.