Music in the Classroom

"...success [in music education] is bound up with the need for the production of plenty of music around the child, so that there is set up an environment calculated to develop musical sense and intelligence." —Maria Montessori, The Discovery of the Child

Music is a universal language, loved by children and adults in cultures throughout the world. Children have an uninhibited inclination to move, dance, and make music, as well as an innate capacity to appreciate all types of music. Musical activities are included in the daily life of the Montessori classroom and respected as much as other curriculum subjects.

While many schools bring in a music teacher to give weekly classes, it's essential that classroom teachers integrate music into everyday activities through song, movement, instruments, music appreciation, the Montessori Bells, and Walking on the Line to music.

Music gives children opportunities to perfect their movements and refine coordination, with songs such as "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, " and "Farmer in the Dell." Music and movement provide children with ways to express their own unique spirits.