Background

Early music-making is a multisensory form of play involving voice, movement, and sound (Nieuwmeijer et al., 2019), situated within specific temporal and spatial contexts (Young & Ilari, 2019). Through their audacious experiments in sound, children create a "children's musical culture" (Bjørkvold, 1992), through which they “negotiate ways to be heard in the adult world, appropriating and internalizing multiple experiences and realities” (Lim, 2021, p. 344). Drawing on outdoor education research that views the natural environment as an inclusive, rich setting for sensory and embodied learning, this study explored the musical play of five children at a forest school kindergarten.

Aims

Recognizing children’s innate capacity for music-making and their potential to learn through exploration and peer interactions, along with an enriching "third teacher" environment (see, Reggio Emilia), we aimed to explore the musical play of six young children with diverse abilities and cultural backgrounds in outdoor spaces using natural setting resources and loose parts. The following research questions guided the action research study:

1. How do the young children use natural materials to make music?
2. How do the young children perceive the affordance of the outdoor environment for their musical play?

Method

Over three cycles of environment-based teaching scenarios, we collected data through teacher-researcher observations, reflective journals, and informal discussions with children. The teacher-researcher served as a facilitator.

Findings

The findings showed that all children engaged in a dynamic improvisational activity involving movement, gestures, language play, and sophisticated sound exploration. The environment and natural resources offered inclusive affordances for all children to interact with their peers using sound (see Small, 1998), while also enhancing their environmental awareness.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that nature can support young children’s self-initiated music-making and offer an inclusive environment for sound exploration and connecting with nature.

In early childhood music groups, social cohesion is not an abstract concept but a daily, lived experience. This presentation explores how music can transform disorganized, emotionally charged group dynamics into moments of connection, empathy, and belonging. Drawing on the practical experience from Muzikutis, an early childhood music education studio in Vilnius, Lithuania, this session illustrates how music can help even the youngest learners—and their parents—learn to live and act together harmoniously.

At Muzikutis, children as young as one and a half years old attend group sessions with their parents. These classes often begin in apparent chaos: children move freely, explore sounds unpredictably, and express strong emotions. However, through carefully structured musical activities—rhythmic games, songs, and movement—the group gradually finds common focus and emotional alignment. The transition from noise to music mirrors the process of building social cohesion itself: through listening, repetition, and shared attention, participants start to attune to one another.

The presentation discusses how musical interaction fosters empathy, co-regulation, and non-verbal communication between children and adults. It also highlights the teacher’s role as both facilitator and emotional anchor, shaping a safe environment that encourages inclusion and self-expression.

By analysing real classroom examples, this talk demonstrates that early childhood music education can serve as a microcosm of society—where trust, cooperation, and respect are learned through sound and silence. Music, in this sense, becomes not only an educational tool but also a social practice that helps us learn how to be together.