CHLD 122: Music and Rhythms for Children

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2025
Credits: 2
Total Contact Hours: 36
Lecture Hours : 36
Lab Hours: 0
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 72
Total Student Learning Hours: 108
Strongly Recommended: ENGL C1000.
Transferable to CSU: Yes
Transferable to UC: No
Grading Method: Standard Letter, Pass/No Pass

Catalog Course Description

This course will provide the student with basic skills and techniques for using musical instruments, recordings and songs and develop rhythmic movement activities to use with preschool and early school-age children. Students will analyze, discuss and plan developmentally appropriate curriculum that supports children's music and movement appreciation, creative expression and knowledge. Previous music experience is not required. 36 lecture hours.

Course Objectives

  • Assess and evaluate a variety of musical artists and their creative uses with young children.
  • Develop a repertoire of developmentally appropriate songs and rhythmic movements beneficial to young children.
  • Analyze and develop techniques and curriculum for implementing instruments into the early childhood curriculum.
  • Analyze and describe children's natural chants, songs and rhythmic movements.
  • Describe the developmental benefits of music and rhythmic movements to young children within early childhood education.
  • Develop techniques and curriculum for integrating rhythmic movements with or without music, utilizing principles of child development.
  • Analyze and develop age-appropriate lesson plans that nurture development across the curriculum, including literacy and language, math and science.
  • Describe strategies to facilitate musical guests in the classroom and parent education program about the importance of early childhood musical experiences and expression.

Major Course Content

  1. Singing
    1. Song experiences for infants & toddlers, preschool and early school-age children (0-7 years)
    2. Use of children's own natural chants and songs
    3. Musical and singing games
    4. Songs with the flannelboards and puppets
    5. Creating an illustrated song
  2. Rhythmic Instruments
    1. Techniques for use with infants & toddlers, preschool and early school-age children
    2. Using instruments with physical activities
    3. Use of metronome and music box
    4. Creating musical instruments
  3. Physics of Sound for Young Children
    1. Vibration
    2. Collecting and experimenting with sounds
    3. Recording sounds and voices
  4. Recordings
    1. Sources
    2. Creative expression and use with children in early childhood curriculum
    3. Developing a sequence of activities and records for use with children
  5. Rhythmic Movement
    1. Experiencing rhythmic movement with and without music
    2. Skills and techniques with children
    3. Using children's natural rhythmic movement and creative expression
    4. Use of pompons, scarves, and other movement apparatus
  6. Instruments the Teacher Plays
    1. Autoharp or guitar
    2. "One finger" piano
    3. Drum improvisation
    4. Additional teacher played instruments
  7. Children's Music and Adults
    1. Musical guests in the classroom
    2. Interpreting young children's music to parents
    3. Parent education
    4. Philosophy of creative musical activities and experiences to the development of the whole child
  8. Listening - Auditory Discrimination Games
    1. Musical sounds, contrasting sounds, associating sounds to objects
    2. Rhythmic patterns
    3. Presence and absence of sound - where it is, how long it lasts
    4. Word sounds - relationship of music and language development in children
  9. Creative Musical Development of Young Children
    1. Infants, toddlers and two year olds
    2. Three to five year old children
    3. Six to seven year old children
  10. Music Across the Early Childhood Curriculum:
    1. Math, science and art
    2. Social studies and language arts
    3. Other experiences with curriculum                                                                         
    4. Musical appreciation with young children

Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook

1: Open Textbook Library Resource: Sarrazin, N., Music and the Child. College at Brockport, SUNY, 2016. https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/283
2: Fink, C., and Marxer, M., "10 Ways Babies Learn When We Sing to Them," National Association for the Education of Young Children. https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/10-ways-babies-learn-sing-to-them
3: Luthey, M., and Miller, Paula, and Reyes, Julia, 1999 Language Through Music: Prekindergarten Through Second Grade, Learning Through Music Publications
The reading for this course is:
PRIMARILY COLLEGE LEVEL

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

Example #1: Learners will collect and organize a repertoire of developmentally appropriate songs and movement activities for use with children in the professional field of early childhood education. Example #2: Learners will create developmentally appropriate music and movement curriculum lesson plans for use in the professional field of early childhood education.

Examples of Outside Assignments

Example #1: Survey music and movement experiences for children. Example #2: Observe and evaluate early childhood musical and movement curriculum.

Instruction Type(s)

Lecture, Online Education Lecture