Ways to Keep a Steady Beat with Preschoolers

Preschoolers:  practice OWN beat and EXTERNAL beats in variety of ways

This week, the students in the Imagine That! class kept a beat by using their arms and bodies to “See Saw, up and down, in the air and on the ground”.

·         Play steady beat on drum, encouraging child to walk steady, then stop; then encourage other movements; running, jumping, skipping, galloping, sliding, etc.

·         Walk or march to a song or poem the child knows so well that they don’t have to think as they sing or recite it – it is a part of them.

·         Use hoop or rope and gently sway from side to side to the beat of song or poem.

·         Draw shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, figure 8 – up/down & horizontal)  on cards and have them move scarves to make the shapes in the air.  Encourage them to do so with a steady beat.  Then try it with the other hand, or even foot.

·         Use alternating (right/left) hands to clap, pat, play instruments, etc.

·         While drawing, make lines, scribbles, or dots, to beat of music. 

The ability to match an external beat, such as playing a steady beat, purposefully and consistently, along with recorded music, is not expected until a child is 5-7 years old.  That is why it is important to adapt to their natural rhythms during the younger years.