SLP Tip of the Month for June Language and Music

It has been so great having Ms. Christina (Music Therapist) coming in every Wednesday to
the EDC. Music is great because it can be used to support development in many important
areas all at once!

Communication
Attachment
Spatial Awareness
Fine and Gross Motor

Specifically for language development, music is great because

it involves a lot of repetition

it helps your child to remember language
pairing a word and a gesture (as in a song with actions) helps support understanding
provides a lot of opportunity for imitation

Here are some strategies to use when supporting your childs language
development through music and singing:
Slowly: slowing down our rate during singing allows your child more time to learn and use
the language and actions of the song.
Big gestures: The bigger the better! The more obvious and clear your gestures are the
easier they are to learn, and then pairing this with the words of the song is a great support
for language learning.
Lots of expression: get silly! Using a variety of enthusiastic facial expressions and
changing the pitch of your voice can make you more animated which can be really engaging
and entertaining for your child, and children learn best when they are engaged
Sing simple songs: Keep the language simple and repetitive in your songs as this makes
it easier for your child to learn and use the language of the songs themselves.
Stress important words: Putting stress and focus on important words in the song
directs your childs attention to the important word. For example: If you are happy and you
know it Clap your hands by putting more stress on the final part of this verse puts the
focus on the action you want them to learn to follow.

Here are some examples of songs we use in our EDC classroom. It would be great if you
could continue the learning by using them in your home as well, or any other songs your
child enjoys :
Twinkle twinkle little star
If you are happy and you know it
Head and shoulders
Slippery fish
Five little monkeys
Old McDonald