Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination

Music Therapy has many uses and benefits for children with special needs.




Benefit 1 – Music can help to improve memory and retention of thoughts and concepts.

Benefit 2 – Music can help to stimulate different neurological pathways to speech and thought

Benefit 3 – Musical rhythm can help children with time keeping and co-ordinating movement.

Benefit 4 – Music can help to engage a child’s attention, help their motivation and improve their mood.


Activities

Activity 1 – STORY SONG SOUNDS

Use a special story and read it to a familiar children’s song or tune or chant it rhythmically. Set it to a rhythm with an instrument like a shaker, a maraca or drum..

For example a familiar story song -
‘Goldilocks went to the house of the bears and what did her blue eyes see. A bear that was big, a bear that was small and a bear in the middle and that was all, when she went to the house of the bears..’

Another example could be a song like –
‘Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the early mist in a land called Honily.’

Help children to tap out the rhythm while you sing or chant the story or song.                                                                                                                                                                                  

Activity 2 - SHAKING SYLLABLES
Help the child to tap out the parts of a word or shake an instrument on every part of the words.

So for example the word BEAUTIFUL has three syllables (parts of the word) so help the child to tap out or shake out the word as you say it. Beau – ti – ful (3 taps or shakes)!

The word CATERPILLAR has four syllables Cat – er –pill –ar  so help the child with the shaker or drum or tambourine to tap or shake on each of the four syllables of the word.

Picture cards with a picture of the item or creature with the word beneath it.

Activity 3 – MAGICAL MUSICAL MIME
Let each child choose an instrument from a basket or filled with shakers, maraccas and tambourines. Then help the child or children to copy you as you mime the sound of an animal or object. It could be something like a Car.

You would tell the Children ‘Let’s make the sound of a Car’ then say in a rhythmical way say ‘broom broom broom broom broom’ while shaking the instrument in the same rhythm.

It could be a Duck and the rhythmical sound could be quicker – ‘quack quack quack quack’.

A Motorbike could be a longer shake – ‘Bruuuuuuuuu  bruuuuuuu’.

A Kite flying in the sky could be a longer slower shake – ‘Shhhhhhhhhh Shhhhhhhhhhh.’

This activity could be accompanied by picture flash cards of the various items and animals and their names written beneath.


Activity 4 -  SILLY SHAKER STORM

This activity could be used with a small group of children and workers.  Each person should have an instrument of some kind.  Then we make the noises of weather through shaking of tapping the instruments.  So we think about what a Sunny day with a breeze blowing sound. A windy day would be a but louder and faster shaking sound.  A rainy day would be short sharp shake.  A stormy Wind would be a strong faster shake. Thunder and lightning would be louder sounds.

Then one child or an adult can be the Storm Orchestra conductor.  They hold their hands up and you show them how to conduct with their hands.  They say what weather they are conducting and they conduct gently or wildly with their hands. Bringing the Storm to a noisy and loud conclusion before stopping the whole orchestra.


Breeze – Quiet slow shaking.
Gentle Wind – slightly stronger shaking.
Gentle rain – short sharp shakes.
Wilder wind – Louder shaking.
Thunder and lightning – Loud sharp shakes or bangs.
Waves crashing at sea – Loud sounds big noises.

The conductor can try to make the storm louder or quieter by the gestures they make with their hands.

(This may be an unsuitable activity for some children who cannot cope with loud sounds or groups. But it could still be done in a one to one activity session with quieter sounds or an instrument with softer sound).