Maggie McKiernan---------2010
Quality Time---What is it all about?
The unique music, movement, and drama program which I conceived and have implemented for the past 22 years under the name Quality Time was specifically designed to enhance self esteem, promote cooperation and appropriate social interaction, teach decision making, and develop the whole child through PLAY. The emphasis is on physical participation, not skill level, the exploration of ideas, and learning through fun in a non-competitive environment.
In my program children of all ages explore their world safely using role-play, puppets, mime, and colorful “dance” equipment such as balls, hoops, streamers, and parachutes. Music, which has such strong powers to heal, is considered an integral part of the program. Children of all abilities and emotional backgrounds have enjoyed this format, and it has been successfully used in programs for the mentally and physically challenged.
Guidelines for creating your own movement program
Always sit on the floor so you are at eye-level, and do everything possible to sit
WITH the children. Don’t expect them to know where you want them to sit. Provide small mats or carpets and have them sit in a circle where everyone can see everyone else.
Some musical ability on your part would be useful, though not essential, but your most important attribute is the ability to have FUN with the kids and occasionally be very silly!
The children need to have room to move and the chance to make a fair amount of noise with impunity. It is not however a license for chaos! Give them ample opportunity to make choices of colors or types of equipment (but sometime they will have to make another choice) and plenty of room for creativity in how they use the equipment, providing that that they keep themselves and others safe and follow any specific directions that pertain to the activity. Directions always precede the activity. There are many activities which can be done with equipment you can make yourself easily and cheaply.
Specific Activities –Movement
Don’t forget to warm up the kids and stretch muscles before beginning a very physical session. Almost any music will do from rock to ballet to opera to children’s songs designed just for your age group. Movement songs with actions like Animal Action or
Freeze Dance from the Kids in Motion tape, or Sammy from Hap Palmer’s Getting to
Know You are great to get them going.
Rhythm Sticks are terrific for the imagination and small muscle development. Try rolling them, spinning them, exploring what they could be (legs, bunny ears, chopsticks, flutes) as well as simply beating time with them.
Balloons are wonderful if you first make it a rule not to bite them or put them into mouths. They can balance them on heads, shoulders, noses, or place them under chins, between legs, punch them, pat them and kick them with or without music. Many similar
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things can also be done with beanbags
… they are not just for throwing. You can even shake them in time to music like maracas. Beanbags should always be made with materials that can be washed, and not beans, rice, or other food products that attract insects and mold.
Hoops of various sizes are great. They aren’t just for hula hooping. (Too hard for 4’s and under, but they can have fun trying.) You can spin them, roll them, sit and jump in them, imagine (necklaces, picture frames, steering wheels).
Scarves are for wearing, throwing, floating, twirling, and spinning, usually to slower music like some of James Galway or Careless Whispers by Wham. They are much easier to catch than balls or beanbags.
Streamers can be used for drawing shapes or letters, swirling above your head, to the side, or in front, (swap arms occasionally) making snakes and figure 8’s or flying them in the breeze. You can make your own 6 feet long for pre-schoolers, 10 feet long for grade schoolers. Just attach inch wide ribbon to a 2” plastic or metal ring or use a fishing swivel with a plastic rod (from the hardware store) so that it will swirl without tangles.
Puppets of any kind can be used to dance with, as well as for dramatic play. They help shy children get involved and troubled kids speak out. Everyone should use them often.
Another piece of equipment, which is very useful, is a 12 foot parachute with handles.
Children love to peek- a- boo, shake, hide underneath, bounce soft balls, make a ball go through the hole, or use it to tell a story. These activities are very good for encouraging cooperative play.
I also really like scooterboards
, a 12” square of blue plastic on four castors. They are terrific for developing arm and leg muscles. They must be used on tummies or bottoms, never standing up, and two of these are all you need if you keep turns short. They cost about $20 each. Inside use only.
Balls of all sizes are loved by all kids. Try using a beach ball inside, calling out the name of the child you are sending it to first, rolling or throwing. Bounce and catch it in the parachute.
Hobbyhorses are great for pretending; fairly durable ones can be made out of foam insulation for soft bodies and foam core for the head. The foam insulation also makes great safe ‘swords’ for getting rid of aggression.
Microphones can be made from small cardboard tubes with styrofoam ball heads. Kids love to pretend to be rock stars.
Guitars can also be made from tubes and card. Rubber bands can be used for strings if required. After dancing with them they can decorate them with glue, glitter and stickers.
Balance Beams can be made out of cardboard or even tape on the floor.
Funnels for putting oil in cars make great trumpets and beanbag catchers. Decorate them with colored tape and stickers.
Rolling tunnels can be made from any large, strong, straight-sided cylinder like a cardboard storage container. Remove the end and line with 1” thick foam padding using strong glue. Kids love to make themselves roll inside or help by pushing each other
(please supervise well!).
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Good Music to Use
There is so much music available it is often hard to know which ones to choose, especially when you can so often only get them through mail order. There is much children’s music that is good, and we all have our particular favorites, but there are also a lot that are not so useful, danceable, singable, or much fun. (Believe me, I’ve listened to them!)’Here are some of my personal favorites.
Of all the children’s entertainers I believe that
Hap Palmer is the best for little children to move to. He understands their pace, he pitches his songs so that kids can join in, and he knows what concepts to aim for. He has made so many tapes that sometimes the selection can be overwhelming, but for music and movement I find the most useful are
Walter the Waltzing Worm, Sally the Swinging Snake, Getting to Know You,
Learning with Circles and sticks, and Homemade Band.
Greg and Steve can be good but sometimes miss with me, partly because their songs are aimed at a slightly older age group. Some tracks on Kids in Motion, On the Move and
Vol. 3 We All Live Together are good.
Try also Frank Leto , Robin and Michael Goodrow, and Joe Scruggs .
Children also need to be exposed to different kinds of music. They love rock and roll.
Chuck Berry can be terrific, fast and fun.
Queen’s We Will Rock You
is a favorite, as is some rap. (Check the lyrics first.) Try some New Orleans jazz or Benny Goodman , and plenty of classical music, which can be especially good as a background to dramatic play.
Carmina Burana by Carl Orff is wonderful, as are parts of the Nutcracker Suite and
Mozart’s
Magic Flute . Ethnic music from Greek dances to African rhythms, Indian drums to the Japanese koto can take you in new directions. The possibilities are only as limited as your local library or your own or friend’s collections.
The tapes and ideas books that work less well for me are those that specialize in one thing, such beanbags or lummi sticks, or parachutes. They tend to stretch one idea too far and sometimes feel as if they haven’t been tried out with real children.
Take the time to explore as many different artists as you can. Your pace and your ideas may differ from mine, but as long as the kids are having fun with music it doesn’t matter.
Studies have shown that music can do wonders for young children, including dramatically improving their math skills.(Check out Time Magazine Jan 96 for example.)
What a wonderful way to learn!
Instruments
A good selection of child-sized percussion instruments is a wonderful thing, but some are expensive and not very durable and replacement parts like drumsticks or drum skins may be difficult to find.
A homemade band will be as much fun and you’ll be less likely to go deaf.
Everyone in your group can be provided with a shaker, (a soft plastic juice bottle containing beads, beans, popcorn, rice decorated with tape) bolts, (one with a string, one without to strike the other with) a stick tambourine, (2 metal frozen juice tops attached to
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a tongue depressor), a small wooden block, and two rhythm sticks. These can be used with
Hap Palmer’s Home Made Band
, or any music you choose.
Flowerpot or bucket drums are a cheap alternative to the real thing. All kids love drums and they are an excellent therapeutic tool. Decorate with colored plastic tape and stickers and use with your rhythm sticks.
Before beginning to use your drums or other instruments make a rule that when you give the signal (e.g. raised hands) everyone must stop and listen, as otherwise you will not be able to be heard above the din.
Try playing softly like a flea,
then
then
Work up from one to the other and then
STOP all at the same time. Then listen to the silence rush in.
Try sitting at first and then moving with the instruments. With only you playing get the children moving in different ways to each instrument. “Run when you hear the shaker, crawl when you hear the drum…”
Beat out each child’s name,
JENN – I – FER “That’s three beats…”
Ask children to repeat simple rhythms after you, or let each child be the leader. This promotes self-esteem. Keep it simple.
Sing and play together songs that everyone knows like ABC or BINGO .
Play Old McDonald Had a Band with hands clapping, feet stamping, drums beating…
Introduce some different rhythms such as Reggae or jazz as well as marching bands which they always love.
Hide the instruments, play them one at a time (or have one of the children help), and have the kids guess what they are.
If you have a xylophone count the notes. Let them hear the difference between the high and low notes and see the size of the notes on the instrument.
If you have an old guitar let them feel and pluck the strings and feel how thick the low string is and how thin the high string is. Show them how shortening the string makes the note higher. Rubber band guitars are good for this too. Tell them about vibrations and have them gently feel the vibrations in their own voice box when they growl or squeal.
Letting the children take part in the putting out and gathering in of instruments, scarves, hoops, or other equipment also provides opportunities for choosing, sorting, and decision making, helping, and shared responsibilities. It may take a little longer than doing it yourself, but should be considered an integral part of the program.
And finally SING, SING, SING, with your kids at every available opportunity, unless you really can’t carry a tune at all. Don’t worry, your kids will not be supercritical.
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Remember though that they do usually have quite high voices and cannot sing to their heart’s content if the tune is too low, so make sure to pitch it to their range.
Allow the shyer children the time to watch before they participate. Some kids may find the noise (or the license to make noise) difficult to cope with at first. Each child has a contribution to make, given encouragement, and will rarely sit out more than two or three times if everyone else is having fun. Have a good time yourself!
Chances are that if you’re enjoying yourself then they are too. It’s a great way to keep fit, laugh a lot, learn to feel good about yourself, and share a lot of love.
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