Music connects, music moves, music can beautify and make everyday life in a daycare center easier. Music plays a central role in early childhood education. Therefore, every child should have the opportunity to experience the positive effects of music and be able to participate in musical educational opportunities on an equal, participatory and unrestricted basis.

With its offers and training courses for educational professionals in daycare centers, the Netzwerk Kitamusik NRW is actively committed to ensuring that all children have access to music and can benefit from its positive effects

Numerous scientific studies underline the importance of music in children's development: In addition to promoting children's musicality, music contributes above all to language development as well as to the development of motor, social and emotional skills. Furthermore, various research findings show that musical activities have positive effects on children's resilience, attention and ability to concentrate. Musical education has an inclusive and integrating effect, connects people from different cultural backgrounds and therefore has particular potential for daycare centers.

Music can be used in a variety of ways in the daycare center: it can accompany rituals, facilitate transitions, be integrated into the activities, link educational areas or relate to the children's current play themes. Whether it's the "mud pants rap" in the checkroom, a creative "spoon concert" during lunch or an exciting "dinosaur sound story" - everyone has the opportunity to be active in a musical way.

The children's interest and enjoyment of music can be used as a starting point to create a musical environment. The basic participatory attitude of the caregivers plays a decisive role here. By involving children in musical processes and allowing them to contribute their own creative ideas, their ability to express themselves musically and their self-confidence are strengthened and their ability to actively participate in shaping their living environment is encouraged.

The network offers:

• Online and face-to-face seminars on various musical topics, such as drumming with children, accompanying morning circles musically, music for U3 children, singing with children, and much more)
• Inhouse seminars for daycare center teams who would like to continue their musical training together.
• One-year training course "Musical Daycare Center" for facilities that want to anchor music more firmly in their everyday life and concept
• Practical projects with children (such as drumming projects, musical readings or interactive hands-on children's concerts) in the daycare center
• Specialist conferences
• Networking various stakeholders in early childhood cultural education

You can find a film about the "Musical Daycare Center" training course at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL8fNQKzZY4

The Kitamusik NRW network has been actively pursuing the goal of sustainably anchoring music in the almost 11,000 daycare centers in NRW since 2017. This includes offers for the musical qualification of educational professionals and the networking of daycare centers, institutions and stakeholders who want to give children an early and self-determined approach to music. The sponsor is the non-profit Landesmusikakademie NRW e. V. The sponsors are the savings banks in NRW and the Unfallkasse NRW.

The network's partners include the Landesmusikrat NRW, the Landesverband der Musikschulen NRW with the "Kita und Musikschule" project, the Chorverband with the "Toni singt" project, the Bildungswerk Rhythmik, the Evangelische Pop-Akademie, the Peter Gläsel Stiftung, the nationwide network for early childhood cultural education and the partner daycare center "Familienzentrum Niehler Elternverein" in Cologne.

Offers and information at www.netzwerk-kitamusik.nrw
and from the project management of Netzwerk Kitamusik NRW:
Eva Biallas: eva.biallas[at]kitamusik.nrw (eva[dot]biallas[at]kitamusik[dot]nrw)
Christiane Kirchner: christiane.kirchner[at]kitamusik.nrw (christiane[dot]kirchner[at]kitamusik[dot]nrw)