Family Engagement Through Music

Lili Levinowitz,
Ph.D.
Lauren Guilmartin,
M.A.
May 22, 2014
FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
THROUGH MUSIC:
HOW MUSIC CAN SUPPORT PARENT
INVOLVEMENT IN CHILDREN’S LEARNING
AT SCHOOL AND AT HOME
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TODAY’S SPEAKERS
Lili Levinowitz, Ph.D. Lauren Guilmartin, M.A.
Professor, Rowan University
Director of Research, Music Together
Early Childhood Specialist
Research Dept, Music Together

CopyrightCopyright © 2014 Music Together LLC
Family Engagement Through Music:
How music can support parent involvement in
children’s learning at school and at home,
and build stronger home-school connections
Lili M. Levinowitz, Ph.D
Professor, Rowan University
Director of Research, Music Together
Lauren Guilmartin, M.A
Early Childhood Specialist
Research Dept, Music Together LLC

Hello Everybody

Music & Family Engagement
•  What kind of family engagement do we mean?
•  Importance of family engagement in early
learning
•  What kind of music curriculum are we talking
about?
•  What are the beneﬁts of family participation in
children’s music-making?
•  How you can use music to engage parents in their
children’s learning and strengthen home-schoolCopyright © 2014 Music Together LLC

What do we mean by
Family Engagement?
•  Ongoing two-way communication between home/parent and
school/teacher
•  Family involvement in class/school
•  Family involvement in child’s learning at home
–  Parent-child relationships
–  A multi-generational approach that includes extended family
and primary caregivers
–  A positive home learning environment
Copyright © 2014 Music Together LLC

Leads to….
A shared responsibility in
children’s learning

The Reality:
•  Family engagement is complex
•  Some parents might not feel qualified to participate in
their child’s learning
•  Some parents may now know the significant impact they
have on their child’s learning and development
•  Some parents may not know how to become involved, at
school and at home
•  Considerations for time, financial situation, education,
different culture and languages

Biddy Biddy!

Why “Biddy Biddy” is a great song to use
with parents and at home:
•  It’s a “song without words” so it is easy to learn –
for both children and adults!
•  It’s a great song to use to support children’s early
language development
•  It’s developmentally appropriate and fun for a wide
range of ages
•  It’s so easy to make your own substitutions and
variations
•  You don’t need a CD/recording to sing this song!

Multiple contexts interact to inﬂuence children’s growth &
learning
Importance of Family Engagement
Family
SchoolNeighborhood
Child

At an urban public preschool, researchers
found that more parental involvement in
school was associated with children’s
higher assessment scores in math and
social skills, and fewer problem behaviors,
even after considering a parent’s
education, children’s race and ethnicity, the
home learning environment, and the
quality of teacher’s interactions with the
children (Powell, Seung-Hee, File & San
Juan, 2010)
Research indicates that family engagement is associated
with children’s learning and school success…some
examples:

Among a group of low-income, urban,
kindergarten children, those whose parents
talked more about school/practiced more
learning activities with their children at home
as well as had more frequent contact with their
child’s school when their child was in
preschool, showed greater self-control,
cooperative skills, prosocial engagement in
school, higher levels of motivation, and more
positive outcomes in reading and math
assessments. Children whose parents were
less involved in these areas exhibited higher
levels of problem behaviors (McWayne,
Hampton, Fantuzzo, Cohen & Sekino, 2004).

Policy and Programmatic Initiatives to
Promote Family Engagement
•  Establishing relationships with families
and fostering parental involvement is
part of NAEYC’s framework for
developmentally appropriate practice in
early childhood education (2009).
•  The Obama administration’s 2010
reauthorization of ESEA included in its
Blueprint for Reform an emphasis on
family engagement in early education,
setting aside funding for comprehensive
family engagement efforts.

Saying and Doing
Ø Easy to learn and take home
Ø Participatory vs performance
Ø Parents feel qualified to lead

Why Music?
Music Learning Supports All Learning®
•  Making music simultaneously nurtures and develops a
child’s mind, body, and spirit!
•  Children’s natural learning cycle of play, discovery,
repetition, and mastery is engaged.
•  Music supports many important areas of development
q Approaches to Learning
q Language and Literacy
q Cognition and General Knowledge
q Social and Emotional Development
q Physical and Motor Development

Ridin’ in
the Car!

Ridin’ in the Car
Ø Parents and children play together
Ø Supports imagination/creativity
Ø Time for family bonding
Ø Supports development of narrative skills
Ø Supports gross and fine motor skills
Ø Play with others – builds social skills
This song can be sung in multiple settings!

She Sells Sea Shells
Ø Time for bonding
Ø Supports language development – phonemes,
sound-letter associations, vocabulary
Ø Supports imagination
Ø Great ritual song
Ø Supports development of narrative skills
Share books between school and home!

What Kind of Music Curriculum
Provides for Family Engagement?
•  A curriculum (not a sing-a-long)
•  Designed speciﬁcally for young children
and the adults who love them
•  Materials that are rich and varied (i.e.
different styles of music, multi-cultural)
•  Participatory – children and adults
•  Materials for the home
•  Opportunities for school music events

Benefits of Bringing the Music Home
•  Parents can share in something their child is
experiencing in school
•  Parents learn they are important models, can support
learning and development
•  Provides a place, space, and time for parent-child
interaction and bonding
•  Opportunity for inclusion of extended family
•  Catalyst for conversation between parent and teacher
•  Strengthens home-school connection

Music as a Catalyst for
Family Engagement
Music at School
Music at Home

Family
Engagement
Through
Music:
How Music
can Support
Parent
Involvement
in Children’s
Learning at
School and at
Home
QUESTIONS?

…and
educational
materials that
will make sure
your class
brings down the
house!
TECHNOLOGY
THAT REALLY
WORKS
Preschool Global Music Bag Frog Rasp Collection Toddler Instrument Set

COMING THIS FALL
September 9th
Dawn Braa, M.A. & Laurie Greeninger, M.A.
Topic: Art in Early Childhood Education
October 9th
Susan Polojac, M.Ed., Michael Robb, Ph.D. & Tanya Smith, M.Ed., M.S.
Topic: Exemplary Technology Use & the Fred Rogers Technology Checklist
November 13th
Sid Gliford, Ed.D.
Topic: “Learning from Head Start: A Teacher’s Guide to School Readiness”

…ONE MORE THING
Fill out the survey for
your chance to win a
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THANKS!
SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER!

Family Engagement Through Music

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