Me and Music

"Music plays a significant role in development of human personality; it increases emotional responsiveness and interest about culture. In early childhood education and care settings, music is often looked at only as recreational and fun activity. It is important to increase understanding of a wider community of teachers that music is an important and very serious area of learning which has a significant role in development of children’s cognitive and non-cognitive achievements, that music facilitates children’s readiness for school work and transition to primary school, that music is a means for social inclusion of children and families.A well-qualified team, representing three EU countries (LV, HU, EE), have joined with a common goal to increase the quality and status of teaching music within the early childhood education thus contributing to the quality of early childhood education in wide range of ECEC settings around the Europe.The specific objectives of the partnership are as follows:- development of innovative methodology and teaching resources for teaching music within early childhood education;- approbation of the music methodology in the educational practice;- comparative educational research on teachers' and children's creativity;- encouragement of parental involvement in the pedagogical process and contribution to families’ social inclusion;- promotion of dissemination of the best practices among early childhood educators at local and international level.The partnership envisages the following directions and relevant results:- teachers’ experience exchange and professional self-development;- development of the set of teaching resources ""Me and Music"" including curricular guidelines, collection of descriptions of musical activities and collection of videos;- implementation of educational research and development of the scientific article;- local activities for approbation of the teaching resources in the framework of the early childhood education curriculum including institutions and groups having children with special educational needs;- implementation of eTwinning project on early childhood music education;- local result dissemination seminars.Every institution will raise its capacity and motivation for further co-operation within European projects. It is expected that the project results will impact wider community of early childhood educators via involvement of local teachers in approbation and research process, availability of the outputs on Twinspace and virtual collaboration during the eTwinning project.The innovative nature of the project is determined by the systemic approach to music within the early childhood education. Adaption of musical activities to the specificity of inclusive education is an important part of the project."