Bug Dance: Teaching Left and Right Through Movement

Young piano students often have difficulty remembering how to distinguish Left from Right. This dance/rote piece combines the concepts of left/right, up/down, steps/skips and feeling the beat all into fun activity. When I checked out "Bug Dance"  (by Stuart J Murphy) from my local library for my preschooler this week, my piano teacher wheels started churning.  This engaging MathStart Book introduces the concept of left and right as coach caterpillar teaches his gym class of bugs a new dance with these simple steps (which you can see in the preview on amazon.com):
Two steps to the Left.
(E,             D,      C, )
(Step-        ping   Down)

Preschool "Staff Eater" Game

Sometimes my kids are lacking motivation for music practice when the sledding on the dirt hill outside or riding bikes in the vacant lot seem so much more appealing.

So after my son's Let's Play Music Class today I ramped up the motivation a bit by letting him pick out a little treat at the Dollar Store to play this tasty music game at home that I came up with. 
Materials Needed:
Dice
Small Edible Objects (golfish, m&ms, skittles, etc, marshmallows, fruit snackes, etc.)
Paper Music Staff (free printable staff from  Colorinmypiano) or (Susan Paradis.com)

Movement and Music with Traditional Songs

I am completely loving the Let's Play Music Class that my son is enrolled in and am excited to train to become a teacher in the future.  The order of concepts introduced is age appropriate and so many musical elements are couched into quick fun activities.  I love how his teacher layered so many concepts [bubble hand (hand position), finger taps (finger #s) and echoing rhythms] as she introduced the class rules.  In addition to his at home activities we've tried a few more music and movement songs on youtube.  Here are a few video activities that are fun for preschoolers that can be used to reinforce musical concepts through play and movement.
Going on a Bear Hunt
Concepts: (Steady Beat, Rhythm Fast and Slow, Pitch High and Low)