A study of children's literature in preschool education in the context of elementary music and movement pedagogy and a content proposal

Elementary music and movement pedagogy is an approach that fosters inherent creativity in people, is based on rhythm, movement and speech, and that combines all artistic fields to provide an environment for participants to learn, explore, experiment and create. Furthermore, this pedagogy has a natural connection with children's literature because both fields include elements of storytelling, rhythm and movement that support children's creativity, imagination and emotional expression. The aim of this study is to explain how picture storybooks enhance creative expression, communication and musical learning through elementary music and movement activities, emphasising the role of children's literature in music education. Key objectives include fostering children's imagination, developing music and movement skills, enhancing cultural understanding, providing engaging and holistic learning experiences, and promoting process-oriented learning. It also provides criteria for selecting picture storybooks appropriate for elementary music and movement activities. In this study, document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods, was used to examine picture storybooks for 36 to 72-month-old children in the context of elementary music and movement pedagogy. The researcher reviewed 150 picture storybooks written in Turkish and translated into Turkish for 36 to 72-month-old children and among these books, 10 picture storybooks which were determined to be appropriate for use in elementary music and movement activities in preschool, constituted the sample of the study. These 10 selected books were handled within the scope of elementary music and movement pedagogy and content analysis was applied to these 10 books. As a result of the content analysis, the connection points of the picture storybooks with elementary music and movement pedagogy were found and elementary music and movement-oriented activities were created from the selected 10 books to be used in preschool education. In conclusion, this study reveals that combining music and movement activities with picture storybooks not only supports children's multidimensional development but also makes abstract concepts concrete. Additionally, this study emphasised the importance of creating space for children to produce original works by triggering their imagination, the critical role of art in developing creativity, and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between preschool and music educators.