“Mrs. Mees, can we sing that song again? It was so much fun to sing!”
Motivating students to sing along with their peers isn’t always an easy task, so I was quite surprised to hear this quote from a fourth-grade boy (who loves athletics more than anything) this past week. The benefits of singing are insurmountable and range from cognitive and social development to health and psychological benefits. The key to helping a child reap all of the amazing benefits of singing is to introduce them to singing early in their lives.
Professor Graham Welch, Institute of Education wrote of the studies of the benefits of singing and concluded that “Singing is important because it builds self-confidence, promotes self-esteem, always engages the emotions, promotes social inclusion, supports social skill development, and enables young people of different ages and abilities to create something special in the arts.”
The social and developmental benefits of singing have been widely known, but interestingly, singing has also been linked to stress reduction, improving alertness, general well-being and longevity, and many more health-related benefits as outlined in an article by britishcouncil.org.
The wondrous advantages of singing are gifts that should be shared with everyone. Here are a few fun ways to get the children in your life to sing, sing, sing!
- Begin singing to them at bedtime or naptime.
- Play their favorite songs in the car to sing along to.
- Play singing games or add a song to a game like “Duck, Duck, Goose”
- Watch a musical. They’ll be singing the songs for the rest of the day!
References and Resources
Professor Graham Welch. “The Benefits of Singing for Children”. 2012. https://efdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ThebenefitsofsingingforchildrenGFW.pdf Accessed Feb. 9, 2022.
Lin Marsh. “Why Song and Dance are Essential for Children’s Development”. 2015.https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/why-song-and-dance-are-essential-childrens-developmentAccessed Feb. 3, 2022
Gina Mees is an elementary school music teacher in Sioux Falls and here is her story.
I was born and raised in Huron, South Dakota and have lived in this great state for my entire life. As a toddler, I remember climbing up onto my mom’s lap as she was giving piano lessons from our home. Slightly annoyed that some of her students struggled to play every note correctly, I would often stretch my fingers out onto the keys and play the song how it should have been played. Playing piano “by ear” was a gift that I was given in the womb as my mom played piano and gave lessons. During my high school years, I was deeply involved in the orchestra as a violinist and choir and knew that I wanted to continue music into college. At the University of South Dakota, I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Music Education and later earned a Master of Science degree in Technology for Teaching and Training.