AM T1.08Stop and Go to Music
The child moves while the adult sings or plays and stops still when the music stops.
Safety
- Clear the space of toys and sharp furniture corners, and keep the group small so children do not run into each other when stopping.
Presentation
- 1
Gather two or three children in the cleared space and move together to a song.
- 2
Stop singing in the middle of a line and hold your own body still. Say quietly: 'Stop.'
- 3
Hold still for two or three seconds, then start singing and moving again. Say: 'Go.'
- 4
Repeat several times, stopping at different places in the song. This is the point of interest: the silence is the signal to stop.
- 5
Do not single out children who keep moving. Stop again and let them see the others standing still.
- 6
After many days, leave out the spoken words and use only the silence as the signal.
- 7
End with a slow song and sit down together.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Move while the drum plays and stop when it stops
- Hold a position when stopping: arms up, crouching
- Move slowly or fast to match the music, then stop
- A child takes a turn stopping and starting the music
Control of error
The silence: when the music stops, the child hears it and sees the adult and the other children standing still.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Stops within a moment of the music stopping
- Holds still for a few seconds
- Starts again when the music starts
- Stops without the spoken word 'Stop'