Musical Milestones for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers

Art & Music Developmental Milestones

Music is one of the very first ways children connect with the world around them. From soft lullabies to lively dance songs, every beat, clap, and melody invites children to explore sound, rhythm, movement, and emotion.

At Li'l Tykes, music is thoughtfully woven into our learning curriculum each day. It sparks curiosity, engages the senses, encourages self-expression, and celebrates creativity in every classroom.

Let’s explore how musical milestones unfold from infancy through preschool—and how you can nurture them at home.

Infants (0–12 months): The First Notes

Babies are natural music lovers!

Between 0 and 6 months, infants often respond to music with wide eyes, smiles, coos, or excited kicks. By 6–12 months, they begin clapping, bouncing, and shaking small instruments as they discover cause and effect through sound.

In our Sunflower classroom, music is used intentionally throughout the day. We play songs with varying tempos and gently encourage babies to move fast or slow to the beat. You might see a teacher softly swaying with an infant during a calming melody or tapping a tambourine while babies wiggle and reach toward the sound.

We intentionally sing songs that are culturally diverse and from a variety of musical genres, including lullabies, folk songs, jazz, classical, and world music. Exposure to different rhythms, languages, and styles helps broaden infants’ auditory experiences while building early cultural awareness.

Teachers often sing personalized songs such as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Brooks,” because hearing their name in a song helps infants feel known, secure, and deeply connected.

At Home:

• Sing simple songs or lullabies while making eye contact.

• Gently clap or tap to the rhythm and encourage your baby to move along.

• Offer safe sound-making toys such as rattles or soft shaker bottles.

Toddlers (1–2 years): Finding the Beat

Toddlers love to move, bang, shake, and dance!

Between 12 and 24 months, children begin clapping in rhythm, singing small parts of favorite songs, and showing clear musical preferences.

In our Sweet Pea classroom, children explore simple instruments daily. Teachers intentionally model language by describing what children hear and feel:

• “That drum sounds loud!”

• “You’re tapping the blocks softly. Can you make them loud?”

• “You’re shaking that so fast! Can you try it slowly?”

These interactions support language development while introducing musical concepts like volume, tempo, and rhythm.

We also sing songs that are culturally diverse and represent a wide range of musical genres, including reggae, jazz, folk, classical, and children’s music from around the world. Experiencing different styles of music helps toddlers develop rhythm, listening skills, and an appreciation for diverse cultures.

Movement naturally follows music. Children dance with scarves, march to a steady beat, or hop like bunnies. Teachers join in to model new movements and spark imaginative play. We also connect music to literacy—for example, reading The Animal Boogie by Debbie Harter and then listening to the story as a song, allowing children to experience rhythm through both reading and singing.

Classic clapping games like “Pat-a-Cake” help build coordination and teach toddlers how to follow a steady beat.

At Home:

• Provide simple instruments like tambourines, shakers, or small drums.

• Play a variety of music genres and invite your toddler to march, sway, or bounce.

• Try call-and-response games by singing a short phrase and encouraging your child to echo it.

• Songs like “If You’re Happy and You Know It” build listening, self-expression, and movement skills. Try changing the action words to different emotions to help your child connect music with feelings.

Preschoolers (3–5 years): Making Music Their Own

For preschoolers and Pre-K students, music becomes a powerful tool for creativity and self-expression.

Three-year-olds begin singing more accurately, experimenting with rhythm, and moving with purpose. By age four or five, children can recognize patterns in music, maintain a steady beat, and describe how songs make them feel.

In our Dragon Lily and Daisy classrooms, children might:

• Count while singing “The Ants Go Marching”

• Move like elephants or swirling snowflakes while listening to classical music

• Compare how fast versus slow songs change their mood

Teachers introduce vocabulary such as tempo, rhythm, pattern, and steady beat, helping children confidently describe their musical experiences.

To deepen cultural awareness, we listen to music from around the world and invite families to share songs that are meaningful to them. Music becomes a bridge for empathy, understanding, and connection.

At Home:

• Encourage your child to create music using household items like pots and wooden spoons.

• Play music from different cultures and talk about how each one makes them feel.

• Try movement games like “Dance like an animal” or “Move fast/slow to the music.”

• Add simple hand motions or choreography to familiar songs to strengthen coordination and memory.

Why Music Matters

Music nurtures the whole child.

It supports:

• Cognitive growth (pattern recognition, memory, and problem-solving)

• Language development (vocabulary and listening skills)

• Motor skills (coordination and body awareness)

• Social-emotional development (self-expression, empathy, and connection)

Through listening, singing, and moving to music, children build foundational skills that extend far beyond the classroom.

Through our Links to Learning curriculum, every child at Li'l Tykes experiences the joy, confidence, creativity, and lifelong benefits that music brings.