Feel the Beat!

In this week’s class the steady beat was at the heart of every activity—exercising to “Did You Ever See a Lassie?” bouncing to an old English song, “Ride a Cock-Horse to Banbury Cross,” and rocking to the calming tune of “Greensleeves.”

Steady beat is the unchanging continuous pulse in a song or chant and is an organizer for the child; purposeful and calming. Moving to a steady beat, a child develops a sense of timing, which is fundamental to the ability to organize and coordinate movements. Think of all we do that requires regularly-paced repeated motion (a sense of steady beat!): walking, running, riding a bicycle, cutting with scissors, bouncing a ball, and more.

It’s easy to find the beat in a nursery rhyme. Pick out a couple of your favorite rhymes and get the nursery rhyme beat!
Here are some ideas to get you started:
• Holding baby and walking—just add the rhyme and walk to the beat.
• Drying off baby after bath time—exercise legs up and down to a rhyme.
• Just finished dressing baby—lap bounce to a verse or two.

Bouncing along until next week!