KEYNOTE SPEAKER + EVENTS
Inspiring Educators, Professionals, and Parents Through the Power of Music, Play, and Love of Early Learning
Anne Meeker Watson, PhD, MT-BC is an award-winning speaker, music therapist, early interventionist, author, and creator of the internationally recognized sing.play.love.® program.
Looking for an engaging keynote speaker for your conference, school district, childcare organization, nonprofit event, or early childhood education summit?
Anne’s dynamic presentations are filled with practical strategies, music, storytelling, and real-world insights. She inspires audiences to help young children build essential kindergarten readiness skills through joyful learning experiences that are easy and impactful. Whether speaking to educators, therapists, parents, childcare professionals, or community organizations, Anne delivers memorable presentations that combine research-backed strategies with hands-on engagement audiences can immediately apply.
Meet Anne Meeker Watson, PhD, MT-BC
Dr. Anne Meeker Watson is a distinguished music therapist, early interventionist, and the visionary creator of sing.play.love.®, an evidence-based program designed to jumpstart early language and social-emotional development. With over 30 years of experience in early childhood and special education, Dr. Watson has authored 30 books and developed a vast library of music-based resources that are currently utilized by organizations and professionals across the United States and abroad.
As a PhD-level music therapist, Dr. Watson bridges the gap between clinical research and practical, "in-the-trenches" classroom application of joyful music-based instruction. Her work focuses on the critical birth-to-five window, prioritizing interactive, play-based, and face-to-face learning environments that foster deep connection and functional skill-building.
A sought-after expert in the field, Dr. Watson is widely recognized for her unique ability to translate complex developmental concepts into actionable classroom solutions. She specializes in creating and sharing easy, fun, and effective songs and strategies that directly address the everyday instructional challenges faced by early childhood professionals.
Her keynote presentations are more than just speeches; they are engaging, high-energy experiences that leave audiences inspired and equipped with immediate musical tools to support the diverse learning needs of every young child.
Speaking Topics & Themes
Check out the variety of topics Anne can present on. Looking for something specific? Just let us know!
I’D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING. Partnering with Families to Support Early Learning, Parent-Child Connection, and JOY.
Learn how to foster deep learning of important developmental skills by incorporating songs, playful family involvement, motor movement, and JOY. Discover the multiple benefits of rich musical experience for the brains and hearts of young children. Dr. Watson will share her catchy tunes, play ideas, and tried-and-true tips for embedding music and play across the environments and routines of a child’s life at home or school. Simple strategies for bridging learning and from school or center to home will also be shared.
JUST SEVEN SKILLS. Essential Skills Across the Ages and Stages of a Young Child’s Life.
JUST SEVEN SKILLS. Teaching Essential Skills Across the Ages and Stages of a Young Child’s Life with Music, Books, and Play
Session Description:
Every early childhood educator wants to teach deeply and intentionally, but a mountain of mandated learning outcomes can make it feel impossible. What if you could accomplish more by focusing on less?
Join us as we unlock "Just Seven Skills," a framework designed to rescue your daily routine and restore the connection between you and your students. By pairing the natural, preferred languages of young children—music, books, and play—with intentional teaching moments across the day, you can master foundational social-emotional skills without adding to your workload. Discover how to create a vibrant, joyful learning environment where every child thrives and every teacher feels empowered.
"WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE". Songs and Strategies to Support Young Children with Challenging Behaviors.
Discover how to blend intervention and prevention to help children who exhibit challenging behaviors, while guiding all children toward self-regulation, friendship skills, and emotional literacy. Anne will describe ways music- and play-based
strategies can support the work of teachers desiring to implement a program of social-emotional learning that aligns with a variety of curricula, standards, and philosophies. Learn how to build supportive relationships with all children as you support emerging SEL skills.
By utilizing engaging picture books, fun songs, and play-filled learning activities across the day, children have opportunities to master the content and skills.
By pairing the preferred activities of young children – music, books, play – with natural opportunities to teach skills across the day, teachers can add JOY
and intentional teaching of foundational social-emotional skills to their relationships with children.
The SING.PLAY.LOVE. ® PROGRAM. Fidelity Implementation Strategies to Maximize Benefits and Multiply Miracles.
sing.play.love. ® is a program that helps early childhood professionals and parents collaborate to teach important skills for early learning and kindergarten readiness to children age two to six years of age. The program utilizes music to create opportunities to learn and practice
early learning skills within loving relationships with the caring adults in a child's life. Learn the songs, books, play activities, and recommended instructional strategies that when utilized in combination, foster mastery of important early learning skills that prepare young children to love learning and be successful in school.
SING & SIGN WITH YOUNG CHILDREN. Supporting Emerging Language the Young Child's Way through Music and Play.
The author of the Baby Sing & Sign book series shares her easy and practical strategies for incorporating music, signing, and play into the daily lives of young children and their caring adults. Learn the benefits of signing key vocabulary words for babies, toddlers and preschoolers.
Anne’s engaging songs and fun-filled play activities support the language skills of young children at every stage of their development, including children who are talking.
WHY MOTOR MATTERS. Fostering Motor and Sensory Development through Music and Play.
Anne will show you how to embed fun motor activity within your daily routines, utilizing music and play-filled activity. Learn the importance of motor and sensory experiences for self-regulation, social relationships, language, strength, coordination and overall health. Explore simple opportunities for large and fine motor development, as well as motor imitation with objects. Learn how music can maximize positive motor outcomes for all children, including those who are atypically developing.
DEVELOPING MATH, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY the Young Child's Way through Music and Play.
Anne will show you how to create a meaningful and engaging context for early math, language and literacy learning through music and play-filled activities. Learn how easy and enjoyable supporting early math, language and a love of reading can be within your daily routines with young children. Her interactive session will include lots of practical tips and techniques for helping children understand and express with signs and spoken words. Anne’s song stories and print materials will inspire measurement, one-to-one correspondence, expanded vocabulary, phonological awareness, recall of story events, and a love of books.
BOOKS, BEATS, AND BONDING. Building Connections through Books, Music, and Early Childhood Fun.
This engaging and interactive workshop will explore practical, joyful ways to nurture early literacy, emotional regulation, and social connection in young children through the powerful combination of selected picture books, songs, rhythm, and rhyme. We will delve into clear criteria for selecting rich picture book literature that captivates young minds and offers concrete opportunities for teaching a variety of essential skills. The session will feature favorite books with concrete examples of activities and songs, demonstrating how to bring stories to life with musical elements to support learning and engagement.
Ideal Events & Audiences
- Early childhood education conferences
- School district professional development
- Childcare and preschool training events
- Music therapy conferences
- Special education events
- Parent education workshops
- Nonprofit and community events
- Virtual conferences and webinars
- Keynote presentations
- Breakout sessions and workshops
- Panel discussions and interviews
About the sing.play.love. program
The program helps adults build kindergarten readiness skills through songs, picture books, music videos, movement activities, and play-based learning experiences.
No specialized training is required — just a willingness to read, sing, dance, laugh, and connect with children in meaningful ways.
The program supports:
- Language development
- Early literacy
- Math readiness
- Social-emotional learning
- Communication skills
- Parent-child connection
- Inclusive learning environments
Best of all, children simply think they are having fun!
Book Anne Meeker Watson for Your Event
To inquire about keynote speaking, workshops, training sessions, or virtual presentations, please contact:
