creating music and movement opportunities for two year olds & their grown-ups
Hiya! I am Kate. That is me on the left. This little boy insisted we take a selfie when I was working on Music Moves On with him in his nursery setting. This photo was taken in the summer of 2023.
A more sensible photo of me, taken by Saya Rose Naruse.
Two-year-olds are tenacious, capable, gritty, hilarious, playful and inspiring. This is why I love spending time with them.
I value parents/carers as the most important adults in children’s’ lives, which is why I involve them in all of my projects.
More about my work and experience….
I am an early years music specialist with 20+ years’ experience.
I play flute, ukulele and djembe.
I offer music and movement play opportunities for two-year olds and their adults.
I have worked in a wide variety of early years settings. This has often been in a two-year-offer provision
I enjoy collaboration and partnership working.
I always work with parents/carers, and work alongside early years practitioners.
Historically, I have worked in one setting with one group of families for up to a year. This allowed me to build great relationships and for project work to have legacy.
I incorporate action research into all project work, and have worked with Dr. Jessica Pitt. Dr. Susan Young is working with me at the moment, with a particular interest in digital technologies.
These short video clips show my work-in-action with children in the room. See how they respond to different offers.
These videos are from Music Moves On project work in Riverside Ready for School provision for two-year-olds in North Shields.
I worked with these children for seven months in 2023.
Find below our Music Moves online sharing event. Hosted by Culture Bridge North East.
Exploring engagement of two and three-year-olds in music and movement play.
In this short clip I talk about the project, we reflect on video of the work-in-action
We hear from the early years practitioners on the floor who facilitated the work
This was designed to be a Covid-19 recovery project, so we discuss this too. Turn-taking comes up as a huge learning point for me as a music practitioner.
This full online CPD session is available to watch for free in full. Use player controls, to hear from all of these amazing people…….
Early Years practitioners Annie and Libby talk about how the project was on-the-ground
Lesley Forrester explains her animal assisted work supported by speech and language for all approaches
Head teacher John Croft talks honestly about what it is like to host an early years music project like this one
Dr. Jessica Pitt shares our research findings; and Gwyneth Lamb, our external evaluator closes with some powerful words of wisdom.
Testimonials
I will be more confident when singing songs
early years practitioner
I will continue to enjoy delivering musical activities and embed it into our daily practice
teacher
As a result of this training I will use music more than twice per day, every day! I will support each child with their own music competency
Nursery manager
I enjoyed trying new songs and adapting them to my own strengths, using more singing as well as dance. I have been able to capture the children’s attention for longer than ten minutes and have been at child height to help my working practice. I will continue to improve my practice by trying new activities weekly
early years practitioner
I will be more mindful of incorporating music into all activities, not just dedicated music sessions
early years practitioner