Do group music classes help kids prepare for school?

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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

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Kindermusik Maestro Award

Recognized as a Kindermusik Maestro

We are thrilled to announce that our studio has been awarded the Kindermusik Maestro award, the highest recognition awarded by Kindermusik International. This award recognizes the top Kindermusik programs internationally for profoundly impacting the mission to reach all children with the benefits of Kindermusik.

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Babies Learn Through Song!

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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.

 

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Sing and Sway Your Summer Away!

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Kindermusik Summer Classes 2016
Baby Class: Ages 0-1
Toddler Class: Ages 1-3
Preschooler Class: Ages 3-5

Class details:
Flexible Summer Schedule: pick any 4 classes per session
Session 1: June 13-July 23 (no classes July 4-9)
Session 2: July 25-August 27 
Child(ren) and Caregiver attend together
Class Size: Maximum of 12 Students
Tuition: $80 (sibling discount: $60) per 4 Class Session
Kindermusik@Home provided for free

Bring your little one for some summer music fun!  You and your child(ren) will love our  summer themed classes complete with creative props, instruments and imaginative play.  Story time, family jams, dancing, and singing all  encourage discovery and exploration as your children strengthen their ties with each other and with you. Kindermusik@Home downloads, ebooks, and home activities are provided for you to enjoy together. Read more

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Want to Teach Toddlers Math Skills? Better Get Moving!

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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.

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Why movement?

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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

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Music Paves the Way to Literacy

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Listening to and identifying sounds is the earliest phonological awareness skill and one of the most important pre-literacy competencies. Without this skill, there will be no progress toward phonics, spelling, or text comprehension.

How Children Become Phonologically Aware

Children become phonologically aware in a specific developmental sequence, beginning with the larger sound units (e.g., tapping each word in a sentence), then focusing on parts of individual words (e.g., blending two words to make a compound word, such as cup-cake), and finally focusing on smaller sound units (/b/-/ig/) within words.

This developmental sequence is universal…meaning that children who are English language learners are able to transfer phonological awareness skills from their first language, even when the two languages are very different! And children who speak other alphabetic languages also progress through the same sound-awareness sequence, from larger to smaller units.

Kindermusik@Home Activity that Supports Phonological Awareness

There is such a thing as training an ear. Parents can extend the application of a listening activity like this one from Kindermusik@Home to pre-literacy by gathering a variety of sound-making materials and playing with different pitches, paces, and lengths of sound. The more experience children gain in learning to identify the subtle nuances between musical timbres and pitches, the more prepared they will be to recognize and identify the distinct sounds within words.

Kindermusik@Home activity: “Which Woodwind?” Give young children’s listening skills a workout with this fun, musical game. Kids will learn to identify a piccolo, flute, oboe, bassoon, and bagpipe.

This post was written by Minds on Music (the Kindermusik official blog).

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Winter Kindermusik Unit Descriptions

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Here are the upcoming unit descriptions for December, January and February 2015-2016.

Cuddle & Bounce (0-1 year olds):

December
Mama Goose: Nursery rhymes endure for a reason. They’re quirky, rhymey, and memorable–and are also magical for speech and language development, as they work to “wire” the brain for communication before speech even begins! What bliss to share something with your child that your parents shared with you–or better yet, to learn and share one for the very first time! Welcome to Mama Goose.



January
Nighty, Night: It’s nighttime, but not quite bedtime yet! Let’s use our vision to explore the night. We’ll see the moon and the twinkling stars, and say hello to Wee Willie Winkie and the man in the moon! Finally, it’s time to get ready for beddy-bye—with bathtime, a little playtime, and then it’s time to say Nighty Night!




February
Peekaboo!: A house with a baby is a house full of love. (And fun…and toys…and noise!) Peekaboo! peeks into the “1, 2, 3, punch” patterns of repetition, anticipation, and surprise. Have fun with vocal play, sensory exploration, and learning through play.




Sing & Play (1-2 year olds):

December
Family All Around Me: For toddlers, family means everyone who loves them! They are often surrounded by family members, friends, and other loving caregivers who look after them and shape their days. Family All Around Me celebrates these bonds and offers lots of opportunities for fun, connection, movement, and instrument play.




January
Rain or Shine: Up the water spout, down the water spout, you know how it goes. We’ll use our senses to explore the sights, sounds, and sensations of sunny days, rainy days, and all the other kinds of days in between. Rain or Shine, we’ll be ready for some fun!




February
Around the House: Home is where the heart is but also where the cooking, eating, playtime, bath time, and pets are! Around the House makes its way through the typical routines and day-parts, from active games and play-alongs to calming, rocking lullabies.




Wiggle & Grow (2-3 year olds):

December
Family & Friends: Sing, dance, rhyme, move, and play your way through this celebration of why our very special Family & Friends matter so much! Using our imaginations, well visit our friends houses, interact with family, go to the market, play with playmates, and more.

January
Silly All Over: This month, you’ll catch a case of the giggles. Motor skills and self-control get a workout with plenty of stop-and-go motion, energy gets tapped with plenty of up-and-down, and sense of humor gets a tickle with silly sounds, silly movements, finger plays, and fun. Hold onto your funny bone, because you’re about to get Silly All Over!

February
How Do You Feel?: Young children can go from happy to upset and then back again in the blink of an eye! Understanding and managing emotions can be complicated, but using music to explore and identify different feelings, their causes, and how we can navigate them, can be useful (and even fun)!

Move & Groove (4-5 year olds):

December
Jazz Kitchen: What’s cookin? Step into our Jazz Kitchen and you’ll find out! With a bowl full of movement and generous servings of vocal play and improvisation, you’ll be well on your way to a jazzy good time.


January
All Keyed Up: Were All Keyed Up! There is magic to be found in those 88 keys! Immerse yourself in the magic of keyboards of all kinds: pianos, organs, synthesizers, &  harpsichords. You’ll explore staccato & legato sounds, get to know a few famous composers, & even experiment with composition.

February
Feel the Music: Don’t you just love when you can Feel the Music? Music is a powerful trigger of emotions. In this unit, we explore how music can elicit feelings as well as how to express feeling through music. We start with facial expressions as they relate to music and build up to listening to and engaging with the music of one of the great masters of emotion, Ludwig Van Beethoven.

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10 Reasons to Give Baby a Daily Dose of Music

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We like to tell parents that they are their child’s first and best teacher because it’s true! Sure, parents may not always know all the answers—like that initial night home from the hospital (now what?!) or when a baby experiences a growth spurt and wakes up every two hours (why?!).

But, thankfully parenting is not about personally knowing all of the answers all of the time. It doesn’t change the fact that parents ARE the early childhood experts when it comes to their own children.

Of course, everyone needs a little help and affirmation now and again…even the experts. Music can be the go-to resource to help make parenting just a little bit easier and support a parents’ unique role in a young child’s life. In fact, we think music gives parents super powers! Music can provide moments throughout the day (or night) to pause and celebrate the parent-child bond and reinforce a young baby’s development. Here are a few ways babies benefit when parents add music to their parenting toolkit. Read more

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