Music and Movement Activities That Support Young Children’s Social and Emotional Learning

Presented by Dr. Lili M. Levinowitz, Director of Research, Music Together Worldwide, and Professor Emeritus, Rowan University
Moderated by Lisa Chouteau, Senior Video Producer and Manager of Video Production, Music Together Worldwide

Sponsored by Music Together

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Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation. Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more

Healthy social-emotional development in early childhood can have a profound impact on a child’s overall development and learning. In fact, many early childhood experts see positive social and emotional skills as paramount for school readiness and later school and life success. With the interruption of the school year and less socialization opportunities, there is valid concern among researchers, educators, and parents that the COVID-19 pandemic has had—and will continue to have—a negative impact on young children’s social and emotional development.

Music education curriculum components not only support music development but are naturally supportive tools for social and emotional learning in early childhood. Developmentally appropriate, participatory, group, and dyad music and movement activities have special characteristics that can support young children as they develop socially and emotionally, and also support social competence and reduce stress.

In this edWebinar, Dr. Lili M. Levinowitz reviews the important dimensions of social and emotional development and share some early research on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on young children’s social and emotional learning. She then demonstrates fun and accessible music activities that support a range of social and emotional skills, such as cooperation, prosocial skills, and self-regulation, which all contribute to social competence and positive group process in the preschool classroom. Attendees also gain strategies for extending the music making—and therefore the developmental benefits—to the home.

Attendees leave this edWebinar with a deeper understanding of the ways in which active music making can naturally support children’s social and emotional learning during the preschool years, as well as having experienced some new songs and music activities they can use right away in their work with children.

This recorded edWebinar is of interest to preK-3 teachers. 

About the Presenter

Lili M. Levinowitz, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of Music Education at Rowan University. She is the co-author of the early childhood music and movement program, Music Together, and Director of Research for Music Together Worldwide. Dr. Levinowitz is considered a national authority on early childhood music. In addition to teaching very young children, she presents at national and international music education and early childhood education conferences. She also presents professional development webinars to early childhood educators and the music education community. She was recently a key contributor to the NAfME (National Association for Music Education) teaching guidelines for early childhood music education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her articles appear frequently in professional journals and popular magazines. She earned her M.M. and Ph.D. from Temple University and her B.M. from Westminster Choir College.

About the Host

Lisa Chouteau is the Music in Early Learning edWebinar series host. She is the senior video producer and manager of video production at Music Together Worldwide and holds a B.S. in business administration, training, and development from The College of New Jersey. Lisa is also an Emmy Award-winning television producer of public affairs and educational programming for Public Television and cable networks across the country.

Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.

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Music Together® is a research-based early childhood music and movement program for children from birth through kindergarten. First offered in 1987, our award-winning music and developmentally appropriate activities have been found to raise the overall quality of children’s early learning while helping little ones develop their innate musicality.