In one of my teaching venues, I’m able to work with children in a preschool environment. This differs from our usual mixed-age, family classes. About half of the children in this preschool class have been in my Making Music Praying Twice program since they started as babies on their mommies’ laps. I do enjoy seeing the fruits in the children, but it is also fun to move on in some age specific activities with these 3 to 5 year-olds.
One specific activity is growth in executing echo patterns. These patterns are outlined in Edwin Gordon’s research and guidelines for early childhood music curriculum. The rhythm echo patterns consist of breaking the rhythmic elements of a song down into small 2 measure bites. We’re basically cutting up the food for these little guys. And it really works. The children truly internalize the patterns and this becomes part of their music vocabulary. In the preschool environment, I also give the children opportunities to lead echo patterns. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the children who started in the program as babies and have been fed these little bites for a few years are significantly more successful in creating a pattern with clear beats and within the established meter.
Another element we can explore at this level is echoing patterns with claps and taps. To us, this doesn’t seem much more difficult than echoing with the vocal “ba ba ba ba”. However, extending the expression of the beat from the core of the body out to the limbs is a big step. At this point, most of my little brood of preschoolers can easily clap an echo pattern. Many of these can take that to the next level by echoing with simple percussion instruments. 
With my own children, echo pattern practice seems to pick up when traveling in the car. When my little ones attempt to echo and don’t quite get it, I switch gears and echo the misspoken pattern right back to them. All of my children loved this and immediately continued “leading” the patterns. My littlest has had the extra excitement of her older brothers and sister echoing her patterns with me. This technique helps encourage the development of the objective awareness necessary to ultimately connect the receptive and expressive skills.
In Making Music Praying Twice, we outline the basics of both tonal and rhythm patterns in the Family Edition Parent Manual. For many families it is the example patterns used sporadically in the CDs that first get both parents and kids going on these patterns. Don’t be afraid to turn off the CD player and continue on as a family, echoing patterns of your own. You can do this for any song or rhyme at all. I pray that all parents and teachers will get a chance to enjoy the fruit of this fun little exercise with their little ones as I have with my bright and lively preschool class.
