Early years music making

With Kate Maines-Beasley

Check out videos of Kate’s work in action.
Songs, videos, articles and all things early years music making. This is Kate Maines-Beasley’s resource website. If you are working with Kate on an early years music project (or have in the past), you will find all the songs she uses here.
Have a child under 5?
Checkout the songbank! More than 80 songs to download here

Please note, I am not currently doing any early years music delivery, which means this site is not being updated at the moment, as it supports my ongoing project work. I am on maternity leave with my first baby from July 2015, so will have my hands pretty full for a while! I will be back in 2016. Please do browse and download songs to enjoy with your little ones.

Teddy’s musical journey at Riverside Nursery

finding out what music the two year olds at Riverside enjoy at home

This little boy has a very musical family, as you can see from this video mam took

This is part of The Terrific Twos at Riverside, which took place in North Shields from May – December 2014.

The home learning environment is the most important one, and that’s why Teddy went on a journey with a video camera to find out what music these terrific toddlers enjoy at home.

Do you recognise this one? It’s a One Direction Song. This boy joins in amazingly doesn’t he?

Singing at the park

Look out for her foot tapping

What people say about Kate’s work:

"Since she started the project, we've been able to talk about different children more. It has celebrated her being an individual, and me being able to understand that and communicate about that. It's been fantastic."

− Parent about her three year old child (who took part in one of Kate's projects)

"Kate was excellent and made everybody feel comfortable. She delivered clearly and I’ve come away with great understanding. She was friendly as well as professional and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. She was very enthusiastic and explained everything well."

− Early years practitioner, Howdon Nursery (about Kate's CPD in Makaton)

"As a result of this training I will use music more than twice per day, every day! I will support each child with their own music competency"

− Nursery manager

"The music project has supported her speech, her speech is definitely progressing. She loves the music and singing, even if she can’t pronounce all the words to the songs she attempts to, so is practising her speech sounds"

− Early years practitioner, Battle Hill Childcare Nursery (about a child)

"I enjoyed trying new songs and adapting them to my own strengths, using more singing as well as dance. I have been able to catch and the children’s attention for longer than ten minutes and have been at child height to help my working practice. I will continue to improve my practice by trying new activities weekly"

− Early years practitioner, Battle Hill Childcare Nursery

"We had lots of stimulating fun, enjoyed action songs and the tactile scrunchy in a delightful, positive and encouraging environment led by an expert musician- Kate. Thank you."

− Parent, September 2014