Project “Music in the Wild”

Winning project of the 5 senses for kids Foundation’s 2022 Educational Action Award: “Musique au naturel !/Music in the wild!”

Aims of the “Music in the wild” project

  • The project “Music in the wild!” is a show that aims to be performed in nursery schools (or other structures) with an educational booklet including the story, songs, and instructions for making instruments from natural elements.
  • The aim of this project is to awaken all the senses of the child through the different activities proposed with a musical adaptation on the basis of permaculture in the garden with songs accompanied by instruments made by the children with elements of nature that surround them.

The birth of the project

  • This project is a creation in partnership with the “Université du Domaine du Possible”. This is a research centre for permaculture based on the same site as the school.
  • The “Domaine du Possible” school is open to children from kindergarten to 3rd grade. It is inspired by pedagogies based on cooperation, children’s curiosity and an active learning experience. Located on a 136-hectare farm, it fosters a strong relationship with nature (ecology, horseback riding, etc.) and the arts (literature, music, plastic arts, etc.).

Measures of the project’s impact

  • The impact of this project will be evaluated by different groups: teachers, parents and the children themselves.
  • The expected changes in the children will be measured on the following criteria:
    • The relationship with nature
    • Listening skills
    • Singing
    • Precision of gestures
    • Development of the imagination
    • A taste for the discovery of smells and flavours.

Timetable for the project

  • The work has already started by presenting the story to the children.
  • The second phase from January 2023 to the end of April is the writing of songs and learning.
  • Then, from the beginning of January to the end of March, the making of the instruments will be carried out throughout the year according to the harvests and the seasons: almonds, wood, rosemary, lavender…
  • From the beginning of April to the middle of May, the instruments will be put into shape to be played back.
  • The recording will be made as the musical instruments are developed, also using sounds from nature.
  • From mid-June to mid-July 2023 distribution of the educational booklet.

The link between music and permaculture

  • Through this project, a link is naturally created between music and permaculture. Nature serves music and music highlights the different sounds of nature. The objective is to highlight for the child this relationship with nature and the possibility of growing up with his five senses.
  • This project will allow us to put the development of the five senses at the very heart of our work because music is deeply linked to hearing. Developing listening skills, both external and internal, allows children to gain self-confidence from an early age.
  • We find that working with music at these ages enables the child to develop much more than musical skills.
  • At the heart of the project are the other senses that are so important to a child’s development:
    • Touch with a lot of manipulation and creation around musical instruments
    • The sense of smell with the recognition of aromatic herbs that will be used to make certain instruments: bags of lavender to make percussion instruments, prints on pieces of clay that will form a mobile…
    • Or, for example, taste with experiments based on garden crops that we can transform into musical instruments: aromatic herbs, vegetables…

For more information :

  • To support 5 senses for kids Foundation