We all know that babies and toddlers make a lot of noise. They may cry and scream to draw attention to themselves, and they also gurgle, babble and laugh and give us a great deal of pleasure when they try to imitate the words and language we use. They also enjoy banging objects together and throwing toys around as they play.
Many early years practitioners try to discourage young children from being noisy. However, this may limit their curiosity and inhibit their learning.
Knowledge of the Birth to Three Matters framework will help practitioners encourage babies and toddlers to develop positive attitudes and skills through investigating the nature of materials and testing the power of their own voices.
To become competent learners, children should be exploring the environment and be supported sensitively by adults to name objects and materials. They also need to be able to make connections, by understanding the sequence of events that their actions have caused.
To develop self-assurance and confidence, children need to engage in creative experiences that challenge them to make choices and use imaginative skills. Practitioners can help children learn to listen for the sounds that different materials make and present them with music and musical instruments that stimulate physical movement.
A happy baby is a busy baby. Finding enjoyment in making noise is one of the most exciting early experiences that babies and toddlers have. And one of the most important aspects of this enjoyment comes from sharing the excitement with other children and adults.
Bells and chimes
In the first few months, babies show interest in all sorts of noises.
However, their hearing is geared in particular to listen for more high-frequency sounds, such as the modulated and high-pitched voice of their mothers' speech. To stimulate their experience of similarly high-pitched noises, make available bells and wind chimes.
* Attach small bells to a mobile to encourage babies to stretch, reach and hit with their hands or feet. They will begin to learn that they are responsible for making the bells ring.
* Hang wind chimes from a low tree branch so that they can watch them knock and tinkle as they lie in a cot or on a blanket on the grass below.
* Attach bells to your ankle or wrist so that babies can hear you approaching. They will learn to listen out for you as you move around the room and greet you with pleasure as you reach them.
* Give babies toys and rattles that have bells inside or attached to them.
Sing and clap
Children learn about language and communication long before they begin to speak, so it is essential that practitioners provide an environment that is rich in language and sound. Singing and clapping, methods of communication that all babies and toddlers instinctively enjoy, are two ways of supporting early language development.
Clapping is an excellent physical activity for babies and one that is always accompanied by big smiles of contentment and excitement. Adults, too, feel an immediate sense of achievement when babies respond with enthusiasm and close attention.
* Sing a welcome to babies and toddlers when they arrive and leave the nursery.
* Sing along to daily routines such as setting the table or walking to the park.
* Make up songs introducing characters and names that babies and toddlers recognise and which are likely to make them giggle.
* Sing traditional nursery rhymes that support the acquisition of a rich vocabulary.
* Encourage young children to clap along to songs, copying you so that they learn to clap to the beat of the rhythm.
* Clap to praise children's achievements and encourage them to clap each other's success.
* Try clapping with different parts of your body, such as clapping your feet together, clapping hands on your head, your forearms, your legs, your cheeks and your bottom. These physical movements will enchant children as well as challenge them to stretch and balance.
* Clap on other surfaces such as the floor and objects around you.
Rattle and bang
Once babies can sit without support, they will enjoy examining objects and learning what they can do with them. Older babies and toddlers also love investigating objects and playing with them. Treasure baskets are excellent vehicles to extend knowledge of objects. You can stock treasure baskets with contents to suit the developing needs and interests of these children.
Use baskets in particular to encourage them to pick up objects, rattle and bang them together and listen to the sounds they can make.
* A basketful of household equipment such as pans, lids, mixing bowls and wooden spoons make excellent play tools to explore making noise. Let children bang lids together like cymbals and tap with the spoons on the sides of the pans.
* Use recycled plastic drink bottles to create rattles and shakers. Fill them with beads, gravel, rice, dry pulses or pasta.
* Make a collection of objects that ring and jangle, such as anklet bells, cowbells, tambourines, and balls with bells inside.
* Hang low washing lines outdoors between or against fences so that children can explore making noise in the open air. Attach pan lids, triangles, tambourines or coconut shells to the line, and give children drum beaters and wooden spoons with which to create their own effects.
Listen and dance
Babies and toddlers gain knowledge of all sorts of music if it is offered to them regularly, and practitioners should ensure that the variety of music reflects the diversity of cultures in our society.
* Play games that encourage toddlers to dance, such as musical statues, musical bumps and musical chairs. Never mind if they ignore the rules of the game -two-year-old children just love to take part.
* Listen to peaceful classical music when you want to create a relaxed atmosphere, and to vibrant classical music to encourage children to march around the room or garden.
* Ask members of staff or parents who play instruments to perform for the children. Listening to live music will have a real impact on concentration and behaviour, and children will be entranced by the experience.
* Use contemporary mood music to inspire dancing and encourage children to move rhythmically while waving chiffon scarves in each hand.
* Play lively music to inspire action and commitment at tidy-up time.
* Play follow-my-leader games in which children each carry a musical instrument and parade around the nursery and garden.
* Give children musical instruments to play accompaniments to nursery rhymes and songs.
* Make collections of natural objects that can be used as musical instruments, such as large African seedpods, coconut shells and gourds filled with dried seeds.
Adults can help children learn that music is not just background entertainment. Music should be appreciated for the mood it creates and the experiences, feelings and sensations that it promotes. Early efforts to make noise will create the idea that children are budding musicians and that it is good for them to practise new skills of listening to and playing instruments. NW