Benefits of music for children

• Can help develop their vocabulary: songs and nursery rhymes can help toddlers develop their vocabulary. At first they cannot understand the words in the song, they develop their understanding by the storytelling in a song.
• Helps develop social skills: if children hear and play music from a young age  it often becomes a hobby when they are older. Joining a choir  or band, playing an instrument, joining a music group, can teach them how to work in a team and develop leadership skills.  
• Encourages creative self expression: musicians are some of the most creative people out there. Whether it's writing songs or creating raps, children will tap into their inner creative side.
• Can boost self confidence: if children realise that they are good musically and are able to sing or play an instrument, it will build their confidence and make them feel more confident particularly if they have encountered bullying at school.
• Aids brain development: a study showed that musical experiences in early childhood can accelerate brain development particularly for language acquisition and numeracy.
• Improves concentration: incorporating music in everyday kids’ life has proven to be extremely beneficial for developing certain cognitive skills, such as memory, concentration, and thinking. Music combined with dancing gives children an opportunity to make spatial relations, successfully memorize choreographies, think about movement and singing simultaneously, which helps in overall brain development.

Musical games to play with your host kids 

• Musical statues - Let children start dancing while music is playing. Then pause the music. Everyone must freeze when the music stops.The people moving after the music has stopped are eliminated. The game continues until only one person is remaining.
• Limbo - Two people hold a sweeping brush at chest level and the children must lean backwards  bend their knees and go under the brush. No hands are allowed to touch the ground. Each round the stick gets lowered. If anyone falls or their hands touch the ground they are out.
• Dancing Clothes - Have a bag full of unusual and funny accessories (wigs, hats, costumes etc.). Put chairs in a circle and turn on some music and have the children pass around a bag of clothes and accessories. When the music stops, the child with the bag must put on an item. The person with the craziest outfit is the winner!
• Tissue Ballerina - This is a fun and easy game to play. All you need is tissues and music. Everybody puts a tissue on their head. When the music starts playing everyone should move around and dance. If someone drops their tissue on the ground they are out of the game. If they catch their tissue before it falls on the ground they can put it back on their head and continue playing. The last person remaining is the winner. 
• Musical Chairs - Put a group of chairs or cushions if you don't have a lot of space in a circle and play music. After the first round start removing a chair or cushion. When the music stops everybody must find a seat. The person left standing without a seat is eliminated.

Dance songs