Educational musical games for children

Music lessons are not only about singing and learning to play instruments, but also a great opportunity to add variety to almost any activity. You can start practicing at any age; educational musical games for children will benefit both mental and physical development.

Outdoor musical games

Kids love to listen to music, and children start dancing almost before they walk. Dance and rhythm classes for children are based on adapted songs that encourage the child to perform certain actions, for example:

There are a lot of similar songs. Children especially love songs in which they need to depict a bear, hare, fox, bird and other animals. As they grow older, the tasks become more complicated: make lanterns with pens, spin, and the like. Carrying out gymnastics and exercises with music is much more fun than with a strict count: One! Two! Once! Two! So, to a cheerful song and using simple equipment, you can walk, run, crawl, jump, reach for the sun, squat and much more.

Finger Games

Developing musical games for children are not limited to dancing only. Practicing finger games with music is very useful for relieving tone, as a gentle massage, for developing speech, and as a way to relax your hands while learning to write. Everyone probably knows:

You can find plenty of suitable music; a lot of song lyrics are written specifically for finger games. For babies about a year old, “Ladushki” and “Soroka” are suitable. The older the child, the more difficult the task becomes; for example, for one and a half to two years the following would be suitable:

Fairy tales – noisemakers

Another type of musical games are the so-called fairy tales – noisemakers. The basis can be any musical fairy tale or audiobook. And then “revive” it with improvised means: when the bear walks, the children beat the drum, the hedgehog rustles – a plastic bag rustles, the horse gallops – the bells ring. Such games will involve the child in the creative process, help develop attention, imaginative thinking and auditory perception.

Children’s orchestra

Playing in an orchestra is an interesting and useful activity for the development of musical ear. Children are quite capable of mastering such musical instruments as: triangle, drum, tambourine, maracas. Before playing the composition, children are given instruments, and a place in it is allocated where the child must “play.” The main thing is that the music is age-appropriate, and the child can clearly understand where his instrument should play. After a little time, kids will be able to perform such tasks perfectly.

So, our conversation about educational musical games for children is coming to an end, let’s make some generalizations. Children really like games, especially collective ones; the task of adults is to invent or select them.

In addition to the games that were described in this article, parents are recommended to teach their children as many rhymes and songs as possible in a playful way. In such activities, toys can play an important role, which, on the one hand, involve the child in the process, and on the other hand, serve as “theater props.”

And here are video examples of some finger games. Be sure to check it out!