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Music theme for 3 and 4 year olds: a week of activities

A music theme lesson plan for 3 and 4 year olds: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (ten to fifteen minutes, with a child holding the book), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for 3 and 4 year oldsThe whole music week

A day of the music theme with 3 and 4 year olds

  1. Arrival, sign-in, and a job from the helper chart.
  2. Circle (ten to fifteen minutes): calendar, “What sounds can you make with your body?”, sing “old king cole”, then Tim Taps.
  3. Centers, with the craft at one table: shaker.
  4. Letter M: trace it once, then hunt for M around the room.
  5. Snack: Fruit Kabobs, with children pouring and counting.
  6. Outside: room band parade.
  7. Rest, then a longer read-aloud.

Music circle time

  1. Good morning song, then say each name together.
  2. Calendar: the day, the date and the weather.
  3. Ask: “What sounds can you make with your body?”
  4. Sing: Old King Cole.
  5. Read: Tim Taps (level 0).

Threes and fours: ten to fifteen minutes; let a child hold the book.

Music theme books

  • Tim Taps (level 0, free on peabody.kids): Tapping out a beat.
  • Ring the Bell (level 2, free on peabody.kids): A bell and a friend at the door.
  • Pit, Pat (level 0, free on peabody.kids): The beat of rain, to tap along.
  • Rain on the Hat (level 3, free on peabody.kids): A pattern you can drum.

Music craft: Shaker

You need (4): a small bottle with a lid, dry rice or pasta, tape, stickers.

  1. Pour a little rice in the bottle (a grown-up helps).
  2. A grown-up closes it and tapes the lid shut.
  3. Decorate it and shake it loud, then soft.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Music song: Old King Cole

The words

Old King Cole was a merry old soul, And a merry old soul was he; He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl, And he called for his fiddlers three.

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Music snack

Fruit Kabobs from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Letter M activities

MmM is for music. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Threes and fours: trace M and m once, then find M in the room and in the book.

Outside activity: Room band parade

March with shakers and pots: play loud for big steps, soft for tiptoes, stop when the leader stops.

Music theme for toddlersMusic theme for 2 year oldsMusic theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30