Dream Pillow, Week Five

Music is rich with patterns of rhythm and melody, from simple to complex. Baby’s brain is designed to seek patterns, right from birth, as she makes sense of the world. Thus, the simple, engaging song provides experience Baby’s brain is hungry for. 

This week when we sang Sarasponda, sometimes I left out the “oh”.  This was to help our babies develop a patterning skill of noticing when something is left out.  The musical term is audiation, “to think”. This is the ability to hear music when no musical sound is present.  It requires listening and memory skills.  This skill carries over into other areas of brain development and learning. 

From time-to-time this week include audiation into playtime.  Sing your baby’s favorite song and leave out the last word. Wait and give your little singer time to fill in the missing word or see if he notices that the word was left out. After a while, leave out the word at the end of sentences. (Example:  Old MacDonald had a ______, Ee-I-Ee-I _____.)