ORANGE Regional: Orchestrating Joy - Planning Music Time in the Early Years (2-part series)

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the endless sea of digital music resources? Wondering how to begin creating meaningful musical experiences that align with your skills and the interests of the children in your care? This practical workshop series is designed especially for early childhood educators — whether you have little or no formal musical training, or you're simply looking to reconnect with the joy and developmental power of music-making in early learning settings.

Session 1: 

Session One explores ways to utilise carefully selected repertoire (songs, rhymes and recorded music) across multiple age groups. Taking a song eg and using it with and without props, learning movement strategies, adding handheld percussion, find creative ways to play with lyrics – all actionable in your own situation, no matter what musical skill you have. 
 
 

Session 2: 

Session Two draws upon several carefully chosen musical examples and showcases how to use recorded music to not only cover many musical outcomes but build joy, relaxation, inclusiveness, well-being, listening skills, problem solving, awareness of others to name a few. A Spotify playlist is part of this workshop. 

 

 

In these workshops, Teachers will 

  • develop a deeper understanding of what musical outcomes are achievable in the early years 
  • learn the skills needed to use known repertoire and musical examples to create meaningful, developmentally appropriate, sequential musical moments 
  • make all the links to the EYLF 
  • confidently be able to apply these musical and teaching strategies in multi age settings 
  • apply these organisational strategies to your own favourite repertoire 
  • rediscover the joy and benefit of including music in your centres 
    • $250

    • Date

      Mon 23 March – Mon 30 March
      • Session 1 - Sequencing Musical Experiences in the Early Years
        23 March 2026
        6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
      • Session 2 - Using Recorded Music in the Early Years Context
        30 March 2026
        6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

    • Location

      Orange

    • Presented by

      • Ruth Thompson
    Register

About the presenters

  • Ruth Thompson Headshot
    Ruth Thompson

    Music education has been at the heart of Ruth’s teaching career for over 30 years now. Initially trained as an Early Childhood Teacher, her natural love of music and singing meant offering developmental and sequential musical experiences in all her classrooms. Her career has led her into early childhood settings, infants and primary school and private colleges, as well as being called upon regularly to deliver music education to teachers.

    Taking up full time work as a Classroom Music Specialist in Qld in the early 1990s led her into further studies with University of Qld and Kodàly Music Education Institute of Australia. The philosophy of Kodàly, “music for children, music for life”, has inspired her own practice and led her to design her own dynamic syllabus in use at Early Years Music School, using a developmental and sequential framework.

    “Specialisation in early childhood and music education, has enabled me to deepen my understanding of the value of music development in children as young as babies, and the immense impact it has on their learning, language development, socialisation, physical and emotional well-being, identity and self-expression.”

    Ruth’s research-based syllabus is aligned to the Early Years Learning Framework and is woven together with her own passion, dedication, creativity and love of her job.