{"id":370173,"date":"2026-07-12T11:28:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T11:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/370173\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T11:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T11:28:14","slug":"how-can-ftw-kids-be-stronger-readers-research-says-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/370173\/","title":{"rendered":"How can FTW kids be stronger readers? Research says music"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Children<\/p>\n

Children play with a parachute during a Music and Movement class at the Southwest Regional Library on Thursday, July 9, 2026 in Fort Worth. The program designed for 3 to 5 year olds usually takes place from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. on Thursdays.<\/p>\n

Abigail Dollins<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

A swarm of toddlers and preschoolers filled the Southwest Regional Library\u2019s meeting room on a recent Thursday, eager to move and groove with a reading break in between.<\/p>\n

They sang \u201cIf You\u2019re Happy and You Know It,\u201d \u201cItsy Bitsy Spider,\u201d and \u201cOld MacDonald Had a Farm\u201d alongside their parents and caregivers. They used egg-shaped, multicolored salt shakers to dance while identifying body parts such as their stomach, nose and elbow. They sat crisscross applesauce and listened intently as they heard the story of Parker the T. Rex while the book \u201cParker\u2019s Place\u201d was read to them.<\/p>\n

This was a typical day at the Music and Movement class provided at various branches of the Fort Worth Public Library system, which incorporates music and early literacy to children up 5. The class is one example of many where music and dance are used as tools to help children learn the world around them during their most critical years of child development.<\/p>\n

\"Katie Katie and Junie Wagner, 1, participate in a Music and Movement class at the Southwest Regional Library on Thursday, July 9, 2026 in Fort Worth. The program designed for 3 to 5 year olds usually takes place from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. on Thursdays. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

Research shows that music can help improve children\u2019s vocabulary<\/a> and promote phonological awareness<\/a>, a foundational skill that helps children recognize and manipulate spoken parts of sentences and words. The National Association for the Education of Young Children<\/a> encourages parents to use music as a tool to help children develop skills in math, reading and social studies through repeating patterns, creating rhymes and exposing them to music from around the world.<\/p>\n

Natalie Redmon and her 5-year-old son Noah, 3-year-old son Graham and 1-year-old daughter Letty go to the library\u2019s Music and Movement class every Thursday, she said. At home, singing and reading are incorporated into daily routines. They sing \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d while brushing their teeth every morning and gather before bedtime to read a story together.<\/p>\n

\"Claire Claire Gigli, 4, sings along to Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes during a Music and Movement class at the Southwest Regional Library on Thursday, July 9, 2026 in Fort Worth. The program designed for 3 to 5 year olds usually takes place from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. on Thursdays. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it starts with a parent. Your kids are going to be interested in the things that you love. I love to read myself, and the kids are always seeing me read,\u201d Remond said. \u201cI think that\u2019s helped them to be like, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m going to get my own book out\u2019 or \u2018I have my own stack of books\u2019 or \u2018(I) get my own library card.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay Boaz, whose almost-2-year-old daughter Lyla also attended the Music and Movement class, said they\u2019ve been listening to classical music composer Bach recently. Lyla seems more likely to focus on something, like playing with blocks or Play-Doh, for a longer period of time when the music is playing. Lyla also knows the ABC nursery rhyme sequence and can point out the letters in books.<\/p>\n

\"Youth Youth Library Assistant Julia Ornelas Glowacz leads the Music and Movement class at the Southwest Regional Library on Thursday, July 9, 2026 in Fort Worth. The program designed for 3 to 5 year olds usually takes place from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. on Thursdays. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that reading is one of the most important things you can do for a child\u2019s language development,\u201d Lindsay Boaz said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about being perfect or getting through the whole book or anything like that … I\u2019m so grateful that the library provides programs like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitney Flores, managing director of Creative Soul Music School<\/a>, noted how research shows that musical training has positive effects on children\u2019s cognitive development. One study notes<\/a> that these children have \u201cbetter verbal memory, second-language pronunciation accuracy, reading ability and executive functions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Natalie Natalie Redmon and Letty, 1, sing along to a song during Music and Movement class at the Southwest Regional Library on Thursday, July 9, 2026 in Fort Worth. The program designed for 3 to 5 year olds usually takes place from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. on Thursdays. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

Creative Soul Music School, which coins itself as the largest music school in North Texas, has locations in Fort Worth, Southlake, Watauga, Colleyville and Lewisville. It offers early childhood group classes for ages up to 3 and 4 to 6, and children can take private lessons as young as 3.<\/p>\n

The goal of the Mommy Baby Makin\u2019 Music Class for infants and toddlers is to expose them to music and instruments early and to foster a love for it. The Lil\u2019 Soul Music Class for preschoolers and kindergartners aims to foster independence and confidence while learning the basics of music and performance.<\/p>\n

\"Doha Doha Choi, 2, plays with toys during a Music and Movement class at the Southwest Regional Library on Thursday, July 9, 2026 in Fort Worth. The program designed for 3 to 5 year olds usually takes place from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. on Thursdays. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

Flores noted how voice lessons can also help develop young children with language development.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s great about voice lessons at an early age is that they can learn how to pronounce,\u201d she said. \u201cWe also teach them how to match pitch, which is matching sounds essentially as well \u2026 it\u2019s really helpful with speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Lina Ruiz<\/a><\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

Lina Ruiz covers early childhood education in Tarrant County and North Texas for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A University of Florida graduate, she previously wrote about local government in South Florida for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Children play with a parachute during a Music and Movement class at the Southwest Regional Library on Thursday,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-370173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}