Foundations of The Future

The 2023 convention theme celebrates the role of early childhood music and movement in providing foundations for both young children and the individuals who make music with them. The foundational areas may include:

• Increased connections - including global connections and interpersonal connections.
  Topics related to these connections can be related to (a) diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), (b) social-emotional learning (SEL), (c) empathy, (d) connections within school settings, (e) connections within home settings
• Child and adult development, including developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). This can include topics related to working with children with special needs and learning disorders as well as gifted children.
• The use of technology.
• Beginnings of lifewide music making.
• The pedagogical practices of tomorrow.

The 2023 convention theme celebrates the role of early childhood music and movement in providing foundations for both young children and the individuals who make music with them.

Dr. Bernstorf serves as Professor of Music Education at Wichita State University, and co-author of The Music and Literacy Connection published by Rowman and Littlefield. She holds a BME and MME in Special Music Education, PhD in Communicative Disorders and Sciences, and certificate of clinical competence as a speech-language pathologist. Her specializations include elementary vocal music, special music education, early childhood arts education, speech pathology (voice, fluency, and child language), literacy development, and curriculum development.

Dr. Bernstorf will address the roles of caregivers, teachers, and children in developing literacy learning through creativity. Appropriate music and movement activities often become personal anchors with special meaning for individual children or groups of children. We will explore developmentally appropriate activities that lead toward language and literacy anchor standards.

Elizabeth Andang’o is a lecturer in the Department of Music and Dance, Kenyatta University, in Nairobi, Kenya. Her main research interests are on culture and curriculum development in Early Childhood Music Education. She has published articles in several peer reviewed journals and co-authored chapters in several books. Dr. Andang’o is the Associate Editor (Africa) of the International Journal of Music in Early Childhood and a current board member of the International Society for Music Education.

Dr. Andang’o will discuss young children’s musical engagement and how it contributes to the construction of their self-knowledge (their feelings, motivation and character, etc.) and identities in and through music. The discussion will be framed within the Kenyan/African cultural context. Examples will be drawn from school, home and community settings.

Dr. Fox, an authority in early childhood (EC) music education, is a founding member of the EC Special Research Interest Group of the National Association for Music Education and has served on ECMMA’s Advisory Board. She co- authored Classroom Music for Little Mozarts, a curriculum for teaching music in EC classrooms.

Dr. Fox will share her experience creating Eastman’s early childhood music program and developing the early childhood music methods course to prepare teachers. She will focus on the importance of understanding the culture and development of children and will consider what has changed and what is needed for the future.

Cynthia Crump Taggart is Professor Emeritus of Music Education at Michigan State University, where she directed and taught in the Early Childhood Music Program.  She is co-author of Jump Right In:  The Music Curriculum, Music Play: The Early Childhood Curriculum, Music Play 2, and numerous book chapters and journal articles.

From an early age, children can express themselves musically. Yet, often adults are so focused on getting children to sing, chant, and move correctly that they forget to encourage musical play. This session will focus on how to empower children to express themselves musically using their bodies and voices.