Instead, she used one of the gathering drums in the classroom to make a chant. This makes listening to music a more active experience for young children. As for the teachers, no special music training or musical ability is required. They learn in mentored workshops not how to sing or produce music better but how to integrate music and rhythm into their programs and provide musical choices for children in their classrooms. Teachers might read books aloud, for example, with a drum in hand to tap out a rhythm, express rain, thunder or a mood or highlight a cadence.
Children also work on making up new lyrics to old melodies.
At parent conferences, teachers make a point to discuss a child's rhythmic or musical responses to raise awareness in parents of the importance of music and sound in their children's development.