The Source for Learning is proud to participate in NAEYC’s Week of the Young Child, celebrating 50 years of early learning with children, families, and educators! 
Monday, April 12th
Theme: Music
Infants
Happy
By Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams brings his beloved song to life with exuberant photographs of children across cultures celebrating what it means to be happy. Sing along, encourage infants to vocalize, and share moments of joy with the babies and young children in your life.
When adults and children share music and rhythms, they are also learning to attune to each other and join their attentions. These are the roots of attention span and self-regulation! Make bottle shakers, record infants vocalizing and shaking, and share videos with families to encourage them to sing with their babies at home.
Toddlers & Twos
Music Is . . .
By Brandon Stosuy
Many moods, styles, and senses of music are introduced in this book. Music Is... features diverse characters and explains how we experience music through our eyes and ears to transform our sense of hearing into a visual experience.
Once children are familiar with the book, go page by page and play clips of different styles of music that illustrate the concept pictured on each page. Ask toddlers to move in rhythm and perform actions that match the styles.
Preschool/Pre-K
What a Wonderful World
By Bob Thiele
The colorful illustrations in this book bring the lyrics of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” to life. Children will feel inspired to share their thoughts on what makes our world a wonderful place.
Invite children to draw, paint, and illustrate the words on large paper to make a class big book version of this timeless song! Type the words on each page in extra-large font and print them out. Mount each sentence on the corresponding illustration and then glue the artwork on a piece of poster board. Punch holes along the left side and use loose-leaf binder rings to hold the pages together. Children will love singing this beloved song and seeing their own illustrations!
Preschool/Pre-K
Jazz Baby
By Lisa Wheeler
This book introduces jazz to young children. Play some jazz music while you read this rhyming book, and your young learners will soon be tapping their feet to the rhythm.
Give children drums or plastic containers to turn over and tap as you read the story, emphasizing the rhythmic text! Then play snippets of various types of music: jazz, classical, opera, country, and traditional music from around the world. Ask children to dance and listen, then talk about what they think makes jazz music recognizable.
All Ages
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
By Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault
This rhythmic, rhyming book follows A, B, and C letters as they climb to the top of a palm tree straight and tall. What will happen when the other 23 members of the gang decide to follow?
Ask children to help create a tree by stacking soft blocks and hand out large alphabet letters. Read the book, emphasizing the rhythmic text, invite children to chant along, and help them as needed, place their letter on top of the stack as you read the story. Infants and toddlers will enjoy knocking the “palm tree” down! Invite preschoolers to help find the letters that fell off the tree as you finish reading the story.