Assistant Children’s Librarian Mt. Zion District Library Music and Movement Ashley Batchelder Assistant Children’s Librarian Mt. Zion District Library Mt. Zion, IL ashley.mtzlib@gmail.com 217.864.3622

Mt. Zion is a village with a population of nearly 6,000 people Our district serves 12,682 people Our community is home to many young families We are a suburb of Decatur, IL so there are several small libraries in the area all a part of the Illinois Heartland Library System Patrons do not have to be from our district in order to come to our programs In our area there is only one other free program for infants and caregivers and it is still a 30 minute drive from our Library Demographics

A little bit of background… The Library offers 3 story time sessions Sleepytime Tales – Hour long family storytime in the evening. Perfect for parents who work and have children of varying ages. Toddlertime – Half hour long storytime for toddlers ages 18 months-3 years old. Storytime – Hour long traditional story time for preschool children ages 3-5. January 2016 – Started at the Library and noticed there were no programs specifically geared to infants under 18 months old It was an area that was lacking not only in the Library but also in the community A little bit of background…

Graduated from Millikin University in 2013 with a BA in Music Music and Movement at Millikin During my time in the Music Department we had to shadow a Music and Movement class and this is from where the idea stemmed Wanted to create a program involving music for infants to fill the need for the community My Background

Meets Monday mornings from 9:30-10:00 am in 8 week sessions Caregivers and infants sit in a circle around the story quilt and grab rhythm scarves We start every class with the same “Hello Song” which uses sign language We sing songs for the first 10 minutes – usually songs with rhythm scarves and other movements The next 10 minutes is called “Instrument Time” where infants have the opportunity to experiment and play with instruments such as drums, egg shakers, xylophones, and tambourines The last 10 minutes we come back as a group and sing more songs – during this time we sing our shaker song as well as use sign language At the end, we sing our “Goodbye Song” which is the same as our “Hello Song” Program Format

Benefits of Music and Movement for Infants USC Study – Children’s brains develop faster with music training https://news.usc.edu/102681/childrens-brains-develop-faster-with-music-training/ Infants recognize melodies before they understand the words of songs They will try to mimic sounds and move to the music https://www.brighthorizons.com/family-resources/e-family-news/2010-music-and-children-rhythm-meets-child-development Utilizes multi-sensory learning https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/instructional-strategies/multisensory-instruction-what-you-need-to-know Helps infants develop large and small motor skills https://www.educationalplaycare.com/blog/benefits-of-music-and-movement/ Teaches them to express emotions Helps improve their balance and coordination Promotes group learning and social skills such as sharing Using repetition (singing most of the same songs every week) helps to build vocabulary and memorization as they get older Benefits of Music and Movement for Infants

Types of Movement Used in this Program Bouncing Lifting the baby in the air (a great arm workout for caregivers!) “Open Shut Them” Song involves spreading hands wide and then closing them followed by lines such as “lift them to the sky and touch them to your nose” Helping identify body parts Rocking “The Animal Song” Song goes through the way different animals walk i.e. bunnies, elephants, penguins, kangaroos “Hands Are Clapping” “Hands are clapping, toes are tapping, fingers are wiggling, eyes are hiding” Types of Movement Used in this Program

Resources Jbrary – Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnjsY7TmClktuQLNCXXra6Q What’ll I Do with the Baby-O by Jane Cobb https://www.amazon.com/Whatll-Baby-Rhymes-Babies-Toddlers/dp/0969866666/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536707992&sr=8-1&keywords=what%27ll+i+do+with+the+baby-o Use children’s songs and rhymes you know already! Tweak them or add to them if needed. You don’t have a music background? That’s okay! Most of the songs used are children’s songs that are easy to sing. If you’re not comfortable singing and no one on staff is either… Use a recording; it’s okay! Reach out to a local school or university to see if you can collaborate on a program Resources

Instruments Remo Kid’s Drums Maracas Egg Shakers Xylophone/chimes Floor Tom Drum, Gathering Drum, Konga Drum Maracas Egg Shakers Xylophone/chimes Tambourines Rhythm Scarves for songs If you or another staff member can play, ukulele is great to accompany some songs Instruments

Other Programs to get patrons active Annual Garden Party Garden Club of Decatur First program to kick off Summer Reading Program Several Stations Planting Seed Bombs Recyclable pots to take home and plant Bird Feeders Other Programs to get patrons active