Bringing Music Into Your Everyday Routine Can Support Early Learning!
This episode of the Learn With Less® podcast is the third of a 4-part series about incorporating play, language, music, and movement, into everyday routines. These episodes feature a conversation between Ayelet Marinovich (pediatric speech-language pathologist, founder and creator of the Learn With Less® curriculum) and Miranda Zoumbaris (early childhood educator & interventionist, licensed Learn With Less® facilitator, and entrepreneur).
In this series, we’ll explore the four pillars of the Learn With Less® framework, and examine how we can incorporate more of each of those into our everyday routines to support connection and early learning.
For each episode, we chose one routine and one everyday object, and explored the ways in which we could infuse developmentally enriching experiences into everyday life, and helping families see they can do this using the time, energy, and materials they already have.
Be sure to check over at our Instagram and Facebook pages (linked below) for additional content that may support your understanding and experience of these episodes. As we release each episode, we’ll link to them here in the show notes so you can access them easily.
In this episode, we discussed:
- What is SING (as we define it in the Learn With Less® curriculum), and how it can be woven into everyday routines
- How to take the routine of transitioning (from one activity to another, from inside to outside, etc), and incorporate more musical elements into these moments
- What kinds of musicality can we infuse into the routines we have when it comes to transitioning between activities
- Using the power of music to create levity in a stressful moment – for both children and adults
- How to incorporate music into simple routines, using simple, everyday objects
- The power of “group sing,” and learning within a group
- How to create inclusive environments for children (or adults) who are reticent or averse to music
- The value of learning in community, of parallel processing with other families, and of experiencing the practice of following your child’s lead, through caregiver and child classes like those led by licensed Learn With Less® facilitators
Helpful Resources to Acknowledge For This Episode:
Daily Routines Freebie: download Miranda’s free handout about winter dressing, and get ideas for incorporating play, talk, sing, and move into your everyday routines!
Free Infant/Toddler Development Blueprint: what are the four major areas of early development… and how can you use the pillars of Learn With Less® to support that learning, using the time, energy, and materials you already have?! Download our free blueprint today.
How to Incorporate Play into Everyday Routines: our first episode in this podcast series, featuring a conversation with Miranda Zoumbaris and Ayelet Marinovich
How to Incorporate Language Into Everyday Routines, the second episode in this 4-part series!
Infant-Directed Speech: Tips for Talking To Your Baby, an early Learn With Less® episode
Learn With Less® Facilitator Training & Certification Program, helping educators and therapists create lasting impact in their communities with a high quality, evidence-based, “plug & play” program
Expand Your Impact Workshop Bundle: for early childhood educators and developmental therapists hoping to serve new families in their community and support themselves, using their existing skills
Learn With Less® Bundle: our best infant and toddler development resources for families and educators alike, including our bestselling books Understanding Your Baby and Understanding Your Toddler, our acclaimed family music album, recorded Learn With Less® “caregiver & me” classes, and a caregiver handout featuring ideas for carryover in the home
Learn With Less® Stories: Testimonials from educators who’ve provided the Learn With Less® infant/toddler family enrichment curriculum and families who’ve experienced our programming.
Connect With Us:
Miranda: Website / Facebook / Instagram
Ayelet: Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest
Text Transcript of this Episode
Ayelet: Okay, welcome back to another episode of the Learn With Less® podcast. I am again joined my my fabulous current co-host Miranda Zoumbaris. Hi, Miranda!
Miranda: Hellooooo!
Ayelet: Hello!
Miranda: I know that’s like almost how I always say hello, when I’m on a call like this. I don’t know why. But…
Ayelet: Well, I would like to propose a thought, which is that, I think it’s because it’s fun and playful and musical. And that is the thing that we’re talking about today. I’m very excited because the last few episodes that we’ve been chatting together have been about the first two pillars of Learn With Less®, PLAY and TALK. And today, we’re going to talk about SING!
I know that SING is sometimes one of those more divisive, maybe… You either know the power of musicality, and you’re always singing to your child or always humming in the shower, whatever it is. Or, you’re like, nope, I am not musical, I am not a singer, I do not want to do that. I do not feel comfortable, I hate all children’s songs. They sound like nails on a chalkboard… or nobody wants to hear me sing or whatever it is!
We all have a story that we have in our heads about what music means to us and our relationship with it. And also, I hope that today, you and I Miranda, can just give people a few extra tools in their toolbox about how they might consider utilizing musicality, and really what that means to us here at Learn With Less® with regards to how we can utilize it with young children, and in our families, and in our daily routines.
Because I know, Miranda, you and I both know that there is a great power in singing and in music. And in utilizing music to enhance, energize, or decrease energy and lull to sleep, our young children, or lull into a more regulated state. Lull into? I don’t think that’s really the term I want to use, but help move into a more regulated state. I don’t think I want to be loaded into a regulated state.
Miranda: We’re gonna lull you in. Yeah. That’s for our podcast listeners, we’re just going to let you lull you in!
Ayelet: Listen to what we say. Anyway. So let’s just talk a little bit. Again, we’ve been doing this structure of sharing with you listeners: what are the definitions about how we define these pillars of PLAY, and TALK and SING and MOVE, those pillars of Learn With Less®. And then also, we’re going to be talking today again, about how we can weave this pillar of SING into everyday routines and give you a few specific examples and ideas around one particular routine. That of… you want to introduce it, Miranda, go ahead? I’ve been talking a lot!
Miranda: Yeah, going in and out of the house, or transitions in and out of the house.
Ayelet: Yeah, the transition piece and maybe bundling up or heading outside. Miranda, you are in Michigan. And right now it’s January. And it’s wintertime, and it’s cold. Here in California right now, it is also wintertime and it’s been raining a ton. We’ve been very wet. And you know we’re in a drought, still, despite all the rain. But it’s meant a little bit of a different kind of transition for us than maybe our children are used to, and us as adults, as well. So those going in or out transition types of things.
Singing To Babies – For Non-Musical Parents!
So let’s just start a little bit with what is SING as we define it here at Learn With Less®. So really, as we know, singing, yes, can look like singing a song from start to finish through and through. Having particular lyrics, and having it be the lyrics that you associate with that song in particular. Or, it can just be humming a tune, or tapping a rhythm, or moving, swaying to the beat of something that is happening.
Holding your child! It can be really just adding a silly element and adding more joy, often, into routines through this idea of musicality: of quickening or slowing the pace. Of enhancing the pitch intonations, which as it happens, is something that we actually naturally do in every single language – spoken or gestural – in the world. It’s what we call infant-directed speech, sometimes referred to as “parentese” or, more archaically, “motherese.”
It’s this idea of naturally slowing down, enhancing those pitch contours, being more melodic in our voice, actually. And this is something that I linked to the podcast episode that I did about infant-directed speech years ago. But this is something that we do to help our young children really feel considered naturally. And when we don’t even think about that we’re doing it, right? Think about the connection between all those specific things: shortening a phrase, making your voice more melodic, all those kinds of things… You are already doing it. You are literally already enhancing the musicality and this experience of SING for your child.
But then also remembering that we can distract or engage with music. We can heighten an experience or an energy level, like we said, or we can lower the energy level with a lullaby, for instance. We can connect and cuddle with a lullaby, or a cozy song, or we can have a wild dance party. Rhythms are everywhere, right? They are literally everywhere – in the sounds that we hear, the environmental noises everywhere. We can bring them into a song, knock, knock, knock, who’s there? Whatever it is, like Tada, like, there it is.
Really, remembering to make music with what you have, whether that is a fancy, organically stained, hand carved wooden drum, or a laundry basket. They are all great. Yeah. So let’s talk a little bit about relating this pillar of SING into this routine of going in and out. And that transitional thing that happen, those micro routines of transitions that we all experience – whether we are at home with our children all day long, whether we have another caregiver with our child all day long.
And we’re only present for a couple of routines throughout the day, I want to just really name that this is for all of us. And whether you are a full time working parent, or a full time stay at home caregiver, or anywhere in between, you can utilize this information, you can utilize some of these ideas.
Again, these are tools for your tool belt, and I know that you’re present for at least one routine throughout the day. So let’s think about how we can utilize this pillar of SING and make it more fun, if that’s the one you choose. If singing just really doesn’t speak to you, and you’re like, No, I refuse to do that. That’s fine! After you listen to this whole episode, go back and listen to the other ones that we have around, PLAY and TALK and MOVE. But Miranda and I are hoping to convince you otherwise, that there’s something here that you can take away and utilize. So Miranda, take it away, let’s hear a little bit about how we can use this pillar of SING with these routines of going in and out and transitions.
Miranda: And the other thing I’ll say before I dive into that, too, is I think I would hope that this will allow anybody that is a little bit hesitant to see SING and music and rhythm around them more frequently. Like when you see your child on the floor banging a whisk that all of a sudden you notice that it happens to be kind of in a rhythm or that you are watching a group of parents swaying back and forth. Nobody told them to do that. They happen to be doing that.
Ayelet: Oh my gosh, I still do it when there’s a baby around.
Miranda: Right? Yeah! So just open those pathways up in your brain to see it when you go out and pick up on on where it might be coming in. And maybe that makes it a little bit easier for you if you are hesitant, so search it out. But yeah, so, okay, right now I’m gonna give a very real example. So we use SING a lot when we have grumpiness going on in our house. And there is so much grumpiness when it happens to come to transition time, right? So even just the way that we might call our children to come into what we call it the Magic Room. It’s our laundry room where we exit our house, everybody comes in there and we’ll be like, Okay, come to the Magic Room.
Ayelet: Oh my gosh, that’s amazing.
Miranda: Or, you know, and it’s not every time we’ve talked about this, right? Or it’s time to go, how we say it, you know, the words that we use to give some instruction for older toddlers who may have a good understanding of receptive language, who have good receptive language skills, right? Or we’re modeling it for them. That is a way to kind of get their attention. It’s not mom and dad just chattering in the background. It’s this calling, of them to come.
Ayelet: Right, and it’s a shift in tonality that they recognize as distinctly their family. Actually, a funny example of that is a specific whistle that my dad used to use. And if we were in a store, a grocery store, whatever, I’d always know if he was looking for me. I’d be like, Oh, that’s mine. That’s my, that’s my family. That’s my family’s whistle. Right? So that’s just that even – if you don’t want to sing it, or call it, or use your traditional speaking voice, there are other ways to do it. A whistle is great one!
Miranda: Yeah, or chanting, right? It’s time to go. It’s time to go. It’s time to go out the door. I know you don’t want to go anymore. It’s time to go out the door. Like it doesn’t have to be singing, it can just be saying you know, I mean… My husband and I sometimes I have some very humorous moments where we’re like we don’t want to go eiiiiither!
Ayelet: Love it right? Yes.
Miranda: Levity just for us, even.
Ayelet: That’s for sure!
Miranda: But yeah, so I would say for us, we use this so much to regulate ourselves. And I think to just rhythm and that beat helps us regulate when we’re having a difficult transition. I think oftentimes, we see clean up songs being used in transition. So thinking about having some kind of song that signals when it’s time for something to be done. Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho it’s inside we go, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, you know, something like that.
So something that, like you said, when you hear it in the store, you knew what it meant? It meant come find me. I’m waiting for you. This signals, Hey, it’s time to come inside. And we’ve set the routine and you know it. Or singing about what we’re going to put on next to go outside? You know, we’re gonna put on your… gloves next. Now we’re going to put on your… hat. Pausing for them to add those things in.
Ayelet: Yeah, right holding up the object so they can see what it is and then waiting for them to fill in the word, for instance. Yeah, that’s great. Right or even, the transition that comes to mind for me, this is not like an indoor outdoor but like diaper changing. And especially for a little ones for whom diaper changing and that sensory experience is not a pleasant one, adding in a little levity, through your voice and through song, or just a little playfulness and connection. Where you’re looking into their eyes, and you’re being silly, and you’re my… Do you mind, Miranda, if I share my favorite song that I made up when my child was young?
Miranda: No! Please sing about the poop!
Ayelet: Is their a poo-poo in there? Is there a poo-poo in there? Was it only air or is there poo-poo in there? Good one. And it still gets giggles! It still gets giggles. In fact, my six year old now is like, hmmmmm, Mama, stop being silly! There you go. But even if it doesn’t work for him, it works for me!
Miranda: Yeah, yeah!
Ayelet: What child doesn’t love talking about poop as they get older. Right. So right, right. Good. All right. Back to you, Miranda.
Miranda: Oh, well, I’m just remembering, now that you’re singing about your little one, we have lots of songs for this when we were doing diaper changes, too! I used to sing, every party has a pooper, that’s why I invited you! Poopaloop? Poopaloop! Yeah, right! I think we as adults kind of know when we need to add a little bit. And it is such a mood shift. Yeah, I’m sure there’s plenty of research about how music, like you talked about, but how it can really like calm and, and shift moods and all of that.
So the other Oh, the other things I’m thinking about, right? If you’re transitioning a little tiny baby to go outside how, as you’re putting them in their car seat, maybe you’re humming, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm! Even if it’s just one tone, because maybe you don’t – you have a Shusher upstairs in your nursery and you don’t have one when you’re putting them in the car. Maybe it’s shh shhh shhh shhh. So even just simplifying it to that, or as you’re swaying, waiting for the garage to close or something, and you’re racking their car seat back and forth. Or giving a gentle bump on it to give a little bit of that patting sensation that they got.
Ayelet: Yeah, or just in the stroller, right? I’m thinking of folks who don’t live in suburban areas. Like for the first three years of my journey through parenthood, we lived in cities and did not have a car and so it’s the stroller, right? So yeah, just all of all of the things that’s just think about how you can apply it to you. And if you’re having a hard time envisioning that reach out, reach out to us we we got ideas clearly. I think that’s pretty clear here, Miranda! All right. What else? How about a song modeling a familiar tune with the steps to get ready to leave the house, for instance?
Miranda: Yeah. Oh, gosh, we love The Ants Go Marching. My favorite Learn With Less® classes, too, we utilize this, but so let’s let’s just sing it! Let’s say your child really needs you to walk them through each step. It’s time to get our shoes on, hurrah, hurrah. Now we’ll put our coats on, hoorah, hurrah. Time to go out the door, walk to the park once more. And we’ll be ready to go play at the park, at the park park park park… And then you might even say something like and now you’re laying on the floor hurrah, hurrrah. You don’t want to put your shoes on hurrah, hurrah. But we’re gonna do it anyway, so we can go play!
You know, I think singing through some of that… Obviously we want to attend and attune when our child is upset, but it does help sometimes to sing through it! You know, sing through it, and then acknowledge where we’re at, and pause and, and use that other pillar of TALK to be at their level.
The Power of Group Sing
Ayelet: That’s right. That’s right. I love it, I also want to actually use this moment to chat about that power of “group sing” in a Learn With Less® class, for instance, and this is slightly off topic in terms of our routines piece. But I mean, you can certainly utilize it with a caregiving partner even, right, in your own home. Or replicate this in your home with, maybe it’s a family dinner, you know, extended family, if you can get people on board.
But my goodness, when you have people within your community all singing the same tune at the same time, there are such limited opportunities for humans to experience this. I think, especially in the United States, outside of, say, a religious or cultural, specifically cultural experience, I would say. It’s that creation of a ritual that is very special, and very special somehow to give our children the experience of. Can you, would you mind talking a little bit about what that can feel like for families in your classes or for you as the facilitator of a space that’s doing that?
Miranda: Yeah, I mean, to me, it’s like the evolution. When I have a group of families that have committed to come for a several week session, the beauty of the evolution of them coming at the first class and kind of looking around, like, we’re gonna do this? We’re gonna do that… we’re gonna, oh okay, everybody’s singing, I’m good, I’m gonna join in! Or they’re like, oh, I want to, I want to have this moment with my baby. And they sing.
And just, I think, you know, to see people be a little bit afraid, a little bit brave, too, to call out something to add into a song. Or maybe they really enjoyed the singing piece of it. And other parents get a giggle out of it, because they’re singing about something ridiculous. Or oftentimes using humor, and we all can sing together.
We’ve had little celebrations, you know, at classes, too. I know some people, some people celebrate birthdays, some people don’t. But like, that’s really a powerful thing to have happen on a normal basis. But for us all to sing together, or when oh, gosh, this is a good example. I had a class where we were doing, “way up high in the apple tree.” And I am not very familiar with that song. And I had a few other parents who were! I was like, Oh, please, please. And they just kind of go over for that part.
Just, the joy that we had hearing them sing and lead was just… yeah, just just really wonderful. I think in class – Ayelet, you and I are reading a book right now, and one of the things that it talks about in that is the power of strangers. Kind of how you might be a little bit more willing. And I think there is that element of it to a Learn With Less® class, too! You’re coming into it and you know, it’s not your, it’s not your aunts and your uncles that you never sing around that you just happen to be doing. It’s just everybody is getting to know each other, perhaps, and there is that element of… well, they don’t really know me, I guess I can sing and feel comfortable and, and do it.
Creating Accommodations, Centering The Marginalized
Ayelet: That’s right. That’s right. And also just noting that creating accommodations, too, for people who are like either not interested in singing. Or where song or music or voices in unison can be a very overwhelming sensory experience both for adults and children in the space. So creating opportunities for families to note that this might be an issue in advance, or noticing yourself as the facilitator of a space when there might be some discomfort for a child for instance, who’s covering their ears because things are too loud. And just giving that opportunity also in a community group that creates that space that helps people feel seen and heard, and helps them feel noticed and valued. And their needs valued. So I just wanted to say that, as well.
Miranda: I love that you’re pointing that out because that’s bringing up for me, I have a little person who has attended several of my classes and he needs to move. And a lot of times the start of that movement is with the welcoming when we’re all together having that group sing of the Hello Song. And he kind of heads off on that.
Then when we, it has been really great with the outdoor classes I’ve done, to allow him to move away — or not allowed, just to, we have the space and safety in place for him to be able to move far away from the group. But ironically enough, sometimes with that SING portion, being able to call out to the mom across, she’s a little bit away attending her little one, to invite her back in, be a part of the SING like, “call out what he’s doing right now and we’re gonna sing about it!” It kind of brings her back even though she might not be able to be right at the circle.
Ayelet: Exactly, exactly right. Because within that structure, there’s always… It is like, we like to call it sort of a semi structured class structure. Because yeah, there’s always that flexibility. And you’re never stuck trying to accommodate the needs of a curriculum versus the needs of the families within your space. So yeah, love that. Thank you. That’s a that’s, I think that’s really helpful for people to know, actually. Anything else? What other songs do we want to leave people with? Or other other ideas for song prompts, right?
Miranda: Yes. So what about if you’re, we oftentimes, on the way going places, instead of singing Wheels On The Bus, we’ll sing about the wheels on the car. So we’re just changing a little bit. Yeah, you know, the wheels on my car go round and round. Or the clip on your car seat goes click, click, click. Or with a stroller, right the buckles on the stroller go click, click, click. Or on your carrier, or whatever it is, but taking that very familiar song and just changing a little bit of it is something we do all the time in Learn With Less®. It doesn’t have to be a particular song. Pick something that you know, and feel comfortable changing. Or instead of singing, like we talked about, do a chant: buckle buckle, put on the buckle!
Ayelet: Talk through it in a rhythmic way.
Miranda: I just want to point out, too, we’re talking I think a lot about activities that work really well for toddlers. But just keep in mind, you’re doing a lot of this with your babies and infants, tiny people. And yeah, they need to hear this language. They need to hear your voice and be connected with you from the time they’re very little. So, just remembering that they’re soaking all that in, like we talked about, from the womb, and though when you’re pulling them out of their bassinet in the morning, or rolling over if you co-sleep. Good morning, good morning, you know, just those little moments with your tiny ones. It doesn’t have to look like this preschool circle that you’re sitting around.
Ayelet: That’s right. Thank you for that. That’s so important for people to just remember and hold. Awesome. All right, well, Miranda, just a little recap of where they can find, our listeners, a special little freebie that you’ve created all around routines. Why don’t people head over to your website at…
Miranda: https://earlyinterventionmama.com/dailyroutinesfreebie!
Ayelet: Amazing. And of course, go ahead, if you haven’t already, go ahead and download the Learn With Less® infant and toddler development blueprint that goes through all of the four pillars of Learn With Less® that we’re talking about in these four episodes of PLAY, TALK, SING, and MOVE. And just what they’re all about and how they can relate to early development, as well.
So go ahead and follow what we’re doing over at Instagram and Facebook and social media in relation to these episodes, because we’ve got lots more visual content and maybe even more auditory content that you can see us doing these things. What we’re doing with our hands or the things that we’re holding with relation to the music or chants or songs that we are encouraging you to utilize.
And we’d love to hear from you about what you feel regarding this episode. Did this change anybody’s perspective? Give you new ideas for utilizing music or musicality in new ways? What’s your big takeaway? We’d love to hear it. So head over to Instagram and let us know. I love Instagram right now. Looking forward to see you at @earlyinterventionmama and over @learnwithless. We will be back next week with our final installment of these four pillars, with our pillar of MOVE. So we’re going to be talking all about that next week. But in the meantime, head over and we will see you on the socials. Okay, bye Miranda!
Miranda: Good bye!
