• Music Building Blocks

    Encouraging academic, artistic, social-emotional, and gross motor growth through music and movement.

    Music and Movement in Early Childhood

    Children begin learning music at birth. They gain musicial skills much in the same way they gain language skills: by listening and watching other utilize the skills, then exploring those skills independently and with others. Musical exploration is often play-based and includes vocal, instrumental, and movement experiences. High-quality music and movement experiences include music from a wide variety of genres and cultures, and teachers are encouraged to use "authentic" music rather than music marketed for early childhood educators to ensure that children always have high-quality models.

    Early music and movement experiences build upon the developmental needs of children. Activities are scaffolded to help children progress at their own rate while striving toward a common goal. Through music activities in the PreK classroom children learn to count, identify colors and shapes, build vocabulary, recognize feelings, and develop reading skills. Singing song improves speech and language skills and promotes social interaction and emotional bonding with others. Music activities help children recognize patterns, which is key to the development of math and reading skills, as well as memory.

    The Music Building Blocks Program

    The Purpose of the Music Building Blocks Program

    The Music Building Blocks program has been a part of the Rochester City School District UPK and EPK programs for over 20 years. In that time, we have developed a curriculum to encourage teachers to:

    • Provide students in UPK and EPK program access to quality music experiences aligned to the PreK Core Arts Standards
    • Use music as a tool to establish classroom routines such as greeting, transition, and dismissal time.
    • Promote learning by integrating music and movement into the HighScope Curriculum.

    The PreK Music and Movement Specialist

    The PreK Music and Movement Specialist works with classroom teachers, providing support and modeling activities. This includes:

    • Helping teachers choose and learn songs, movements, and activities that enhance learning across subject areas.
    • Helping teachers create music resources and centers for their classrooms.
    • Participating in teacher-designed classroom activities to support arts integration in the classroom.
    • Maintaining instructional support through the use of online communication (e-mail, website, blog, etc...) and professional learning opportunities.

    For more information or to coordinate classroom support contact:

    Ashley Moss Fox, PreK Music and Movement Specialist

    email: ashley.moss@rcsdk12.org

    phone: TBD

     Content for this website was created by Ashley Moss Fox and former Music Building Blocks Teachers M'Lou Speranza, Grace Wetzel, and Denise Ondishko in collaboration with early childhood music teachers, occupational and and physical therapists, and EPK and UPK teachers from the Greater Rochester Area and beyond.