Central CPD sessions are fun, experiential, and pitched at the right level for Early Years Educators.
Educators join in practical music-making together, and establish a range of simple musical skills, supported by simple concepts and strategies using language familiar to the Nursery Floor.
Educators receive innovative approaches to IT training, with high-quality handouts, and hands-on practical demonstrations in the sessions.
Educator are introduced to the wide range of information in the resources- including advice on best-practice, guides to assessment and a review of the neuroscience of brain development.
Half-day on-site support visits let Educators see the ideas put into practice with their children, allow ABC staff to model good teaching approaches, address IT issues there and then, and support educators in gaining the practical confidence in transforming their practice.
The wide range of activities are presented in a familiar format of laminated instruction sheets and Audio CDs.
Easy-to-use step-by-step instructions allow Educators to take an activity plan from the ring-binder, plug in the CD player and get started.
High Quality teaching aids include A2 banners, A3 laminated teaching aids, puppets, A3 laminated stand-on icons, and a wide range of velcro-backed icons.
All the resources come in a handy jute bag, making them easy to find, store and put away.
Activities presented on Interactive Whiteboards and iPads. Try them for yourself here.
Activities come from a dedicated website straight into the interactive whiteboard on the nursery floor.
The same activities are available on iPad or Tablet.
A safe lockable kid-zone means interactives can be safely left available on-screen during freeplay; children can’t leave that part of the website.
Activities presented three ways has proved adaptable and very popular, allowing Educators to engage a wide range of children in the activities, and flexibly consolidate learning.
Parent’s log-ins means that learning can continue at home.
The planning section of the website allows Educators to quickly select activities based on learning intentions, curricular areas or musical skills- and were designed with and for Educators.
Educators can assess individual children or key groups, and document activity by uploading and tagging photos- with printable reports.
Linked ABC Instrument Bags- in sets of 8 or 11 Bags.
Each bag contains the same set of five percussion instruments- so no arguments over who gets what!
Each bag contains a colour-coded pitched bell and chime bar- linked to the colour and number on the bags label.
Linked activities in the resource help children to learn about colours and numbers, while exploring pitch and developing pitch perception.
Lots of easy-to-follow activity instructions show educators how to lead activities with all the instruments using grids, stand-on icons and composition sticker sets- plus linked activities on iPad and website.
This format is proving a big hit with Educators and children in this age-group;perfect for use with a key group session, while easy to get out and clear away during Freeplay.
Educators are trained to interact with childen during Freeplay with strategies to support Musicality through Observation, Modelling, Scaffolding and Play.
Assessment Guides help Educators know what to look for in children’s responses, and suggest where their development may take them next.
More confident Educators are supported in adapting their own Musicality activities to topics and children;’s emerging interests.
Educators can then embed Musicality activities in activities form all Topics and different areas of the curriculum.
5 Musicality Areas
Research now shows Musicality underlies the earliest relationships in childhood, and then drives developmentin all areas of the brain.
ABC Resources are divided into 5 Musicality Areas,
represented by this jigsaw, that help children develop:
Active Listening Skills – Listen
Gross and Fine Motor Skills – Move
moving to music and making sounds with body percussion.
Instrumental Skills – Play Sounds
making sounds and rhythms with instruments and objects,
and exploring pitch with coloured bells and chime bars.
Vocal Skills – Say and Sing
finding your voice through vocalising, talking and singing.
Choosing Skills – Create
creating meaning and patterns through play, exploration and choosing
