Kindermusik -- Yes, for babies!

Really? Bring my baby to a music class, when he can’t even walk or talk yet? Kindermusik is far more than a music class.

We're not teaching music, but rather using music and movement to develop our children in all areas: physical, language, cognitive, social and emotional. All the while, Kindermusik creates a community of support for parents who are going through the joys and milestones of babyhood, as well as the same struggles, worries and challenges. Parents in a Kindermusik class become a network for support for each other.

Physical: Babies love to move, need to move, and learn best through moving. We move the legs, arms, cross the midline of the body, stretch, and wiggle. As children begin to crawl and walk, they are encouraged to explore the large classroom space without fear of dangerous things in their way. Through bouncing, swaying, rocking, bending, twisting, we work on the children's vestibular system which allows us to stand upright, maintain balance and move through space. Through instrument play we work on fine motor skills and their ability to manipulate and grip items placed in their hands.

Language: Label, label, label – we label everything in Kindermusik. By labeling our motions (bounce, dance, tiptoe, march), directions (up, down, around, side-to-side), and ways to play (short, long, loud, soft) children begin to understand and associate words with their meanings.

Cognitive: We work on concepts such as understanding cause and effect (peek-a-boo, ball play, bubbles), counting, colors, patterns and sequencing. Every activity stimulates the children’s brains either through familiarity and repetition, or by adding something new which causes them to process variety.

Social: Most babies are surrounded by adults and possibly older children. It is rare that they are in a group that consists of people their size. As we greet each other, play together, and watch each other move through circle dances, babies become aware of their peers.

Emotional: The time spent skin to skin, cuddled in a parents arms, making eye contact is priceless to a baby. As we sing the child’s name, look him in the eye, massage him and rock him, we are developing his sense of self, a sense of security, and teaching him to relax. Every class includes infant massage, rocking songs, and a Quiet Time – lights out/time to rest – even for the parent.

Music: We share a variety of genres (classical, world, folk, jazz etc), tonalities (major, minor, modes), and instrumentation in every single class. The music is as enjoyable and interesting for the adults in class as it is for the children. And, we send this music home. Find a Kindermusik parent and she will say that Kindermusik CDs are among her child’s favorite.

Don’t be fooled, Kindermusik is not just a music class. It’s an experience and an investment in your child’s development.

Music and Art

A little child gripping a paintbrush in her hand can quickly discover her “inner conductor.” Smocked in your old shirt and hovering over the kitchen table, arms raised, she conducts the swirl of colors on (and sometimes off) the page.

That’s just one small example of how music and art can go hand in hand. Plus, the same activities that develop musical skills in a young child also develop skills that a young artist needs: hand-eye coordination, creative expression, and visual literacy.

Want some ideas for bringing music and art together with your child?

For Babies…

Your face is the artwork. You instinctively tend to hold your baby about eight to nine inches from your face—just close enough to provide her with needed visual stimulation. In the first two months of her life, that’s also her best field of vision. According to Carla Hannaford, author of Smart Moves, Why Learning is Not All in Your Head, sight is the least developed sense in a young baby. Most learning, almost 90 percent, occurs through touch and taste. Visual literacy (the ability to see texture and perspective in two-dimensional pictures) is learned later. You can help your baby develop visual literacy by showing her things that encourage her eyes to move. And in the first year of life, her favorite thing to look at is your face.

Your baby loves the contrast between your bright eyes and dark mouth, the many lines of your face, your facial expressions, and so on. The distance between your facial features begins to give your baby the information she needs to build her visual literacy.

Visual and auditory experiences actually shape the wiring of the brain. While seeing moving objects is not necessarily easy for infants, your newborn’s attention will also be attracted to bold, sharp patterns and objects. Showing your infant high contrast items such as black-and-white designs, brightly colored toys, and smiling faces is a great way to support his or her development.

Here are a few more activities to develop eye strength:

• When you read together, trace your finger across the words as you read. This encourages your baby to follow your finger.
• Hold and shake a rattle or instrument. Move it slowly allowing your baby to track the instrument with her eyes.
  
• Sing. Research has shown that babies will turn their heads to look in the direction of the sound of their parent’s voice.

For Toddlers…

The development of your toddler’s drawing ability begins when the scribbling stage is over. Sometime between the ages of 12 and 18 months, your toddler will probably attempt to “write” by making marks on paper, and at about 18 to 24 months she may surprise you by drawing vertical and horizontal lines or a circle, according to Art and Creative Development for Young Children by Robert Schirrmacher.

The toddler years also mark a phase of drawing sometimes referred to as “Potato People.” These are drawings that feature wide bodies with stick figure legs and arms. Since your toddler spent so much time looking at your face as a baby, much of what he draws in the first year will be faces like these with appendages as an afterthought. Give him plenty of time with paper and crayons to help him develop his drawing skills and move beyond the “Potato People” phase (despite how cute those drawings end up being).

For a colorful activity, “paint” with tissue paper:

• Cut the tissue paper into strips, or squares and put a very small amount of water into shallow bowls.
• Show your toddler how to scrunch up the tissue and dip into the water to create a watercolor effect.
• Encourage your toddler to tell you all about his creations. Talk about the colors, ask him about the shapes. To incorporate music, can you two make up a little song about the creation? Point and label—as you do with everything else in your toddler’s world.

For Preschoolers…

With preschoolers, you can dive in and draw to the music! With her increasingly abstract reasoning skills, her imagination is soaring. She’s also more physically coordinated and able to hold a pencil, crayons, and scissors with greater control. And while she enjoys being to able to draw more geometric shapes, much of the preschooler’s choice of color, is emotional, according to Art and Creative Development for Young Children.

What does the music look like? The emotional aspect of music, combined with tempo and rhythm, make drawing to music a perfect activity for this age.

• To really get the imagination going, pick out some music and ask your preschooler to “draw out the music.” Ask him if this is blue music or red music. What would purple sound like?
• Use the paper for wall art or wrapping paper. Glue it to bookmarks and give them to Grandma and Grandpa.

Children are ready to learn long before going to school

Music is a magic little key to your child’s heart and mind. More than a song, it’s a sensory experience that evokes a powerful response in children.

Research shows us that early exposure to music is profound for a child's education. Music and movement that involves interaction, demonstration, and exploration is the perfect way to introduce a child to the learning environment. That’s why Kindermusik provides a unique opportunity to begin your child’s preparation for school – and, for that matter, for life.

Our program is carefully structured and developmentally appropriate, which means the music and activities in Kindermusik are just right for your child's specific age. We encourage all children to learn and participate at their own pace. You’ll hear Kindermusik educators say this all the time.

The Kindermusik classroom is set up in a manner that is similar to what your child will experience in preschool and/or kindergarten. However, don’t confuse Kindermusik with the potentially stressful environment you might find in a “toddler prep school.” Our program is not design to push children. Instead you’ll find that our curriculum nurtures each child’s development with a fun, engaging, and stimulating environment. Kindermusik may be your child's first classroom experience, or an addition to your preschool program.

We know that these days parents have dozens of activities to choose for their children. Kindermusik's goal is to stand out above the rest as the best option for you and your child. We feel that our research-based, research-proven program will not only prepare your child for school and the future, but you’ll get to have a lot of fun along the way!

Kindermusik Over the Mountain is currently accepting enrollments for Fall 2010 classes. Classes will be held in Hoover, Homewood and Vestavia. For more information, call Jill Vaughan, licensed Kindermusik educator, at (205) 413-4225, or visit www.KindermusikOTM.com.

http://www.kindermusikotm.com/

http://www.kindermusik.com/

Too hot to go out? Make an instrument!

Children love making things as much as they love music, so why not put the two together? Following are some ideas for making your own family band:

Guitar
Remove the lid or cut a hole in the lid of a shoe box. Stretch rubber bands across the box. If your little one really wants to jam, attach a ruler for the guitar arm.

Tambourine
Start with two heavy-duty paper plates. Facing each other, glue or staple the plates together. Punch holes around the outside of the plates and tie on jingle bells, metal washers, or whatever you can find.

Option two (safer for a younger toddler): Place your jingles on the inside of the plates before gluing together.

Shakers
Endless opportunities here! Start with a water bottle, paper plates as mentioned above, last year’s plastic Easter eggs, Tupperware, etc. What can you fill it with? Cheerios, dry beans, rice, etc. Let your child decide!

Drums
My favorite drums: Oatmeal canisters. Tupperware also works, along with hundreds of other empty canisters and containers. I was lucky enough to snag two huge cheese puff canisters from a camp this summer. Yes, they are still riding around in the trunk of my car, and the “bag boys” at Publix think I LOVE cheese puffs. I just couldn’t pass up a good drum or two!

Rain sticks
Cap the ends of paper towel tubes using paper and rubber bands. But first, fill with dry rice.

You’re not done yet!
Don’t forget to decorate your instruments. Stickers are always an easy choice when you don’t want to get out the markers, paint or glue. But who knows, maybe you’ll get fancy with yarn, ribbon, sequins, glitter and magazine pictures.

I’m not the craftiest person in the world, so write in your ideas. Or better yet, send me a picture! Above is a picture of some of my favorite preschoolers and their homemade instruments.

Happy Birthday Disneyland

Disneyland, Walt Disney's first theme park, opened on July 17, 1955 in former orange groves in Anaheim, California. According to the History Channel, Disney intended Disneyland to have “educational as well as amusement value and to entertain adults and their children.” Sounds like something near and dear to my heart … Kindermusik.

Just today I found myself at Costco talking to a stranger (yes, a mother with two preschoolers) about Kindermusik. You would think I could explain Kindermusik easily after 6 years of teaching. But, I still lack the words to tell her just how much fun it is, or how much my own children learned from Kindermusik, or how Kindermusik moms make friends who often make lunch dates following class and playdates on the weekends.

In fact, I’m guessing that those of you who have attended Kindermusik could best describe its benefits. So here are some highlights of the past year. The following quotes were taken from letters, emails and surveys I’ve received.

“… has learned so much, and the improvement in his abilities to listen, share, and follow directions is amazing. It has also really helped push his speech along. Plus, he just loves going to class!”

“Our Kindermusik songs have become lifesavers! We were having a very fussy time in the car this weekend and I started singing … just smiled so big and started bouncing and clapping! I have seen how she understands several new words just from the one week class. It truly helped me gain a new perspective on playtime. It is more fun to play and help her learn because of the new things we learned together in Kindermusik.”

“I have seen firsthand the way children grow and change during just one session of Kindermusik, particularly in the ‘Our Time’ age range. They learn so much more than an appreciation of music, such as how to share, how to follow directions, and certain fine and large motor skills.”

“This class gives us a time to learn things together in a really fun way. While he is learning the principles of music, I think we both have benefited from the time to learn how to interact and share especially with children younger than him.”

Infants can talk through sign language

Between the ages of 9 and 30 months, a baby’s desire to talk usually exceeds his ability to speak. Multiple research since the 1990s shows that infants can talk through sign language before they actually begin to speak.

Communication is not the only benefit to learning sign language with your baby. Sign language actually increases a baby’s ability to learn to speak as it provides intellectual stimulation. And, sign language greatly strengthens the bond between the baby and his parents as they teach signing.

So where do you begin?
Infants and toddlers will learn signs faster if they are first taught words that are meaningful to them. Pick a couple of words that you use frequently throughout the day. For example, your child may already know to wave to say “hello” or “goodbye.”

Teach the sign for “yes” and “no”
The sign for “yes” will make sense to children. The fist is closed with the thumb on the outside, then nods up and down, just like a nodding head. “No” is not quite as easy. The index and middle fingers tap the thumb (like a bird’s beak opens and closes).

Remember, your child’s signs may look slightly different. I often see children and parents who sign, using a variation of the proper American Sign Language sign. It’s serving the same purpose, so don't get caught up in perfection!

Learn through play
Just as in Kindermusik, children learn through play. Ask silly questions and sign “yes” or “no.” For example: Are you a kitty cat? Do you want to eat some mud? Do you live in a tree?

What is the baby in the green shirt (above) signing? Dad. Use the same motion, but touch your thumb to your chin to say "mom."

www.KindermusikOTM.com

Time to turn on that brain!

The area of the brain that deals with cognitive thought is activated through movement. It can literally turn on your child’s mind. For example, if you whirl in one direction while holding your child, then stop and whirl in the other direction, his or her neural pathways actually develop from the experience, stimulation, and interaction.

So here's a few tips for your baby, toddler, or preschooler to turn on the mind and ensure you're helping build those neural pathways.

Your Baby
Put on a favorite piece of music and pick up your baby. While holding him, place one foot in front of the other and rock from front to back, balancing most of your weight on one leg at a time. Swoop, swirl, and swing your baby high and low in response to the music.

Your Toddler
The world of a toddler is a very physical place, and your child will learn a new word more easily when you pair it with the action. So, for example, hop up in the air when you say “jump” or swing your arms side to side when you say “swing.” This will help reinforce the learning.

Your Preschooler
Preschoolers tend to be very creative. Encourage your preschooler’s creativity through dance. Play a song -- either by singing, banging on an instrument or household item, or on a CD -- and ask her to dance in a different way to each verse and chorus. You'll be amazed at what she comes up with, and the beautiful thing is she's stimulating the brain the whole time!

www.KindermusikOTM.com
www.Kindermusik.com
www.Kindermusik.com/mindsonmusic.com