Every month we share the wonders of Kindermusik with the residents of the Belmont Village Senior Living Center. Our Kindermusik for Grandfriends events bring the young and young at heart together to experience the joy and cognitive benefits of music! This is truly a magical experience for all that attend. The toddlers love engaging with the elders and the seniors in turn are invigorated by the little ones’ youthful spirit. These events are free to current MLC families as a perk to your enrollment.
So much of classical music evokes a feeling of romance and love. It’s perfect for setting the ambiance for a romantic dinner or a cozy evening cuddling with the kids while reading a story. It’s no wonder that some of the greatest composers created songs of romantic love. They were in the midsts of some inspiring love stories. Go behind the classical music and discover the love stories that inspired some of the most beautiful classical compositions.
Piano lessons as a gift? Well, the short answer is – yes, of course! And here’s why.
If you’re like me you might feel tempted to want to give a gift that gets you instant excitement when they open it. Yet, I also have quite a few photos that show my kids playing with the box it came in rather than the gift itself. That instant excitement when a gift is opened can be a fairly fleeting moment.
Thinking back to when I was little, the memories that I have are more of things that I did rather than things that I received. These years with them, in the long run, are so few. We want them to remember them fondly. That’s why experience gifts are becoming more popular. And giving them an experience gift will have a longer “shelf life”.
But I know, you want to give them something that will make them super excited and instantly happy. So how does giving piano lessons make them happy when they might not even know they want to play the piano? Well here are three reasons why it’s better to give piano lessons rather than the latest hot toy as a gift.
1. Piano lessons changes kids’ brains for the better
It can be rather hard to find toys that are both fun and good for your child. Piano lessons, however, can be both. Research shows that playing the piano develops the brain to work in a more complex, yet efficient way. Both sides of their brain can work together. Plus their language and math skills are being developed.
Additionally, they’re building executive function skills that help with school and life.
2. Piano lessons are a unique gift (i.e. your kids will be happier)
Piano lessons are an unexpected, surprise gift. Unless they’ve been asking for them for a while. Experience gifts are hard to compare with a gift someone else got. And it’s hard for your child to compare their piano lessons to another sibling’s or friend’s lessons, especially if they started at different times. The experience is unique to each person. And research has shown that the uniqueness of the gift and the experience makes people happier. We tend to look back at experiences with rose-tinted glasses. Even if they had a bad day, overall they’ll look back and remember the overall good feeling of their lessons. So they are certain to have happy or rewarding memories attached to an experience present like piano lessons.
3. Piano lessons last a lifetime
The hot toy of this year will be forgotten next year. When they’re so little their wants are fleeting and change so often. We all know that physical gifts can make you happy for only so long. But it’s also backed up by research into happiness. Ultimately you need to get more stuff to keep that happy feeling going.
But when you give experiences, like piano lessons, the feeling the gift gives will live longer. And the positive changes that piano lessons make to their brains and the skills that they develop will never be lost. Plus the memories of the fun they had will forever be a part of them and they’ll consider being a piano player as part of their identity.
How to wrap it?
For smaller children, it might help them to understand what they’re getting if you give them a little something to go along with their piano lessons gift. There are so many wonderful picture books out there that have a piano in them or are about a composer. Here are a few special ones that I’ve found:
Most little kids can start to take piano as soon as they firmly know their ABC’s and can count to 10. Check out this article if you’re wondering, “Is my child ready for piano lessons?”
If you’d like to gift the gift of piano lessons to your child aged 4 to 9 years old, please contact My Little Conservatory directly, and we’ll work with you to schedule lessons.
Written by Amelia Vitarelli, owner and educator of My Little Conservatory in San Jose, CA. Amelia has been enriching the lives of children in Silicon Valley for over 20 years.
Many parents put in a lot of thought into what preschool activities their child will do thinking that what their child learns there will have a huge influence in how they do in elementary school and beyond.It’s true, however not in the way you may think. I hear “my 3 year old can already read,” or “my 4 year old already knows how to multiply.” That truly is great! I love kids that love to learn. But it should not be the main focus for a preschooler. Studies have shown that focusing on academic knowledge early on is not what’s going to ensure that your child does well in school. Read more
Have you ever left your child alone for a brief moment only to find she’s pulled out the pots and pans to bang away on them? Or perhaps your child literally dances to the beat of his own drum that he’s made out of a box? Mine have! But there are great reasons for it and benefits from doing it. Toddlers have an innate drumming ability. And it’s one of the easiest instrument types for them to explore at such a young age. Rhythmic music and drumming have been the foundation of music since before written history. It’s a universal language! You see pictures of it on the walls of caves and still see it as fundamental to popular music. We are born with an appreciation for percussion. And listening to and performing percussion actually helps your child’s brain and body development. Read more
Kids brains develop so quickly through the age of 6. The leaps and bounds that I see in children that take our Kindermusik classes is amazing. We know that they are little sponges at this young age. During those early years, it can be easy to feel that if we don’t cram their little brains with as much experiences as possible that our kids will miss out on developing a key skill.
But our brains are not considered fully formed until age 22. So you don’t need to feel that you started too late or missed out if you didn’t start music classes as a baby. During childhood, your child’s brain is still pruning and wiring the brain. The brain is speeding up electrical impulses and stabilizing neural connections. It’s also working on fully developing executive function skills that are so essential to being a successful adult. And music can help with this development. I’ve seen music help teenagers and young adults become more focused and help with their school work. Read more
When parents of toddlers get together and the subject of schools comes up, the question of whether or not your child will be prepared for school inevitably comes up. It’s easy to start worrying if they will be able to read and write in time. But what I know from my experience as an elementary school teacher is that children need to learn how to be ready to learn. We teachers want children in our classes that know how to get along with other children, listen to the teacher, and take turns. We look for these signs of school readiness: self-regulation, listening, social-emotional skills, plus pre-literacy and pre-math skills.
One of the best ways to gain these skills is through group music classes. Why? Well, firstly, kids learn these school readiness skills best in an environment with other children. Secondly, they also learn pre-math and pre-literacy through music. Third reason? The learning is all through play – it’s fun!
Music class helps self-regulation
Depending on where your child goes to school, there could be up to 30 children in a classroom – that’s 30 possible distractions! So, if your child can control their own behavior, emotions, thoughts and impulses, they are better at being able to focus. In our Kindermusik classes, children are given lots of practice moving to music, stopping and then starting again – all in a safe space with other children. By taking turns, they learn how to control their behavior and emotions. They learn about personal space and controlling their bodies while dancing with their friends. So what may look like kids rocking out to their favorite songs, is really them learning what is considered safe and appropriate behavior through example and positive reinforcement. Read more
Babies learn so much when we sing to them!
- Bonding – When you sing to your baby, they bond with your voice and then with YOU! Singing makes your voice the first and most important voice in her life. Your baby learns that you LOVE her!
- Transitions – Babies thrive on predictability! It makes them feel safe and nurtured. Adding songs to their transition times (waking up, sleeping, bathing, eating, etc) helps them know what comes next. Your baby will grow in confidence.
- Language – Language is inherently musical. When you sing, your baby learns about language and communication. Through your singing, baby gains a greater comprehension of our beautiful language.
- Vocabulary – Songs are full of rich vocabulary. Not only are common, everyday words used, but often songs contain more unexpected words. Songs are full of interesting lyrics, helping to build your little one’s vocabulary. When you hold up a stuffed bear and sing about it, baby learns to associate the name of that toy with the words you sing.
- Math Skills – The rhythm and steady beat of our songs helps build early math skills. The patterns found in music along with the beat represents the most basic expression of math.
- Singing names – A baby learns her name by hearing it in songs. If you substitute your little one’s name for other words in songs, they hear their name sung over and over again.
- Listening skills – Like reading stories, singing is an activity that requires listening. Everyone wants a child that is a good listener! Hearing is something we are born with, but listening is a skill that needs developing.
- LOVE – Using your singing voice is a way to express love. Your little one doesn’t care if you are a great singer. To them, you have the most beautiful voice in the world.
Early intervention matters in all areas of child development…from speech and language, motor skills, early literacy skills, positive behavior, and more. The sooner a child receives help the greater the impact. As educators, therapists, doctors, and researchers learn more and more how to identify early markers for intervention needs, children at risk for delays receive early intervention strategies, well, earlier. Some of the indicators may seem unrelated at first. For example, new research gives guidance in identifying young children who may need extra mathematical help…all by looking at their motor skills!
Motor Skills as Early Predictor of Math Skills
A Norwegian study shows that two-year-olds with poor motor skills also exhibit poor mathematical skills. Teachers can use this information to identify children who may need extra help.
“It is important that teachers of small children are aware of these findings. It will be easier for them to identify children who may be at risk of having difficulties in understanding mathematics. This knowledge can ensure that teachers and staff are quicker to help and support such children with mathematics,” said Associate Professor Elin Reikerås of the Norwegian Reading Centre in a University of Stavanger press release.
In the study, the research team evaluated the motor skills of two-year-old children by assessing their abilities to complete jigsaw puzzles, eat with utensils, use scissors, walk around a room without bumping into things, playing on the playground, and throwing and catching balls. Based on their motor skills abilities, the team divided the children into three groups: poor, average, and strong.
Then, the team examined various mathematical abilities of the children, such as if the children were able to use their fingers to show how old they were, if they could use the shape sorter box, play picture lotto, sort toys or objects by color or size, demonstrate the difference between big and small through the use of body language or words, and use numerals.
Contributed by Lisa Camino Rowell, a freelance writer in the Atlanta area.
Have you ever wondered: Why do we have a movement component in our music classes? What types of movement experiences should I expect?
Young children experience the world through movement. Movement plays an important role in how and what children learn. It is a crucial component to ALL learning at this age. This is why it seems to us adults that the child is constantly moving.
Our classes use circle dances, finger plays, free/expressive dances, imitative movements (ie: moving like a car, train or animal), and much more in every single class.
There are several important movement concepts that are used in our Kindermusik classes:
Body Awareness: Labeling, moving, focusing on and controlling specific and isolated body parts as well as the whole body.
Spatial Awareness: Fostering an understanding of how our body’s move in space and understanding our personal space. We use important directional words like: around, through, over, under, up, down, inside, outside, behind, next to, to the side, etc.
Fine Motor Experiences: The movements made by coordinating small muscles such as fingers, hands, toes and feet. These experiences greatly help children develop writing skills! Read more
