Celebrating World Music Day in the playground is as easy as A, B, C (or Do Re Mi!). World Music Day takes place on Wednesday 21st June and is a day of worldwide free events designed to celebrate the universal language of music. Each year there are activities and events in over 120 countries and 700 cities around the world. It’s a fantastic opportunity for people to bring music to the outdoors and get the whole community involved.
Want to celebrate World Music Day at your school or nursery? Think about arranging your own event in your playground. Incorporating musical play into the school day has been heavily researched. It can improve language abilities, increase self-confidence, boost attention span and focus and have a lot more positive impacts that you can read about here.
Music should be an opportunity for children to express themselves creatively and goes hand-in-hand with making a lot of NOISE! The playground is the perfect space for this as children can bang drums, shake maracas and sing their hearts out without worrying about disturbing other classes.
Planning to take part? We’ve put together a few ideas to incorporate World Music Day into your school day on 21st June (and any other day!).
Make storytelling interactive
We love taking storytelling outside and World Music Day is the perfect chance to make it even more interactive. Tell one of your favourite fairytales in the playground but ask the children to add a soundtrack. Introduce the villain with a loud drum or accompany the princess with a jingling bell.
Music challenges
Add some challenges to your outdoor music lessons with some fun games. Stick a photo of different musical instruments on your play equipment, play some music and ask the children to run to the photo of the instrument they can hear. Share your favourite outdoor music games with us on Facebook.
Host a talent show
Budding singers, dancers and musicians can take part in a talent show outside. Set up a stage in your outdoor shelter and encourage the whole school (and parents!) to take part. Use it as an opportunity for children to showcase their skills and add a little healthy competition by offering a prize to the talent with the biggest cheer.
Shadow dancing
If it’s a sunny afternoon, head outside for some shadow dancing. Play some of the children’s favourite music and let them dance with their shadows. Encourage them to try and make funny shapes against the wall. You could even draw around their shadows with chalk to provide your dancing backdrop!
Find out how you can incorporate musical play into your outdoor space throughout the school year. Take a look at our outdoor musical instruments and play options.