Posted by Kindermusik International |
Filed under kindermusik,
Posted March 17, 2010
Did you know Kindermusik has a monthly newsletter called "Tune In"? It contains the latest news, activities ideas for home, and some amazing deals on products. Want to check it out? Click here.
If you want to sign up for Tune In, you'll find a link near the bottom of the page.
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Posted by Kindermusik International |
Filed under childhood, children, development, emotional, kids, kindermusik, laughter, music, skills,
Posted March 15, 2010
We've all seen energy build up in toddlers, preschoolers, or big kids. But you can usually redirect this energy with a fun little game. At the same time, you'll be helping to develop your child's physical control and something called "inhibitory control," or his or her ability to start and stop behaviors. Sometimes, all you need to do is turn on some music and play Freeze Dance!
All you need to do is:
• Get some lively music going.
• Dance around with your child or encourage him or her to dance -- let your child burn off some of that energy!
• Every so often, quickly pause the recording -- everyone (including you) should immediately freeze!
• To spice things up, after each freeze you can call out a new dance word like twirl, twist, leap, wiggle, or turn.
• Now start dancing like that until it's time to pause the music and freeze again.
Don't have any music handy? No problem! Sing a song or bang a funky rhythm on something you have lying around the house. Stop at random times, just like you were pausing the music.
Redirecting your child's energy into a fun game or activity can work like a charm. Try it next time you see your little one developing a case of ants in the pants!
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Posted by Kindermusik International |
Filed under childhood, children, connections, educator, kids, kindermusik, laughter, music, music experiences, young children
Posted March 11, 2010
Bowling Green, KY, educator Mary Anne Kell recently sent us this fun little note and picture. With spring and baseball season around the corner, we thought it was a good time to share it.
"Just wanted you to know about another exciting Kindermusik activity. Our Young Child classes have always enjoyed playing musical baseball. However, this year was special! The class was thrilled to be GIVEN baseball caps by our new professional baseball team -- the Bowling Green Hot Rods -- to wear while playing musical baseball. We are working with the Hot Rods office to attend a game in the spring so the girls can throw out the first ball.
Kindermusik is so much fun! (...and that is clearly evident on the girls cute smiling faces!)
-Mary Anne Kell"
No doubt about it, Mary Anne!
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Posted by Kindermusik International |
Filed under childhood, children, brain, kids, kindermusik, music, skills, young children,
Posted March 8, 2010
From the time your child wakes up in the morning to the time he or she goes to bed a night, sounds surround her: music, children at play, traffic, birds, TV, ticking clocks, and more. The ability to focus on one sound and distinguish it from background noise is different than simply hearing -- that’s why listening is truly a learned skill.
You can help your little one develop the awareness needed for active listening when you stop and listen to the nuances of sound. Developing good listening skills is vital to helping her learn to follow directions, read, or play an instrument.
Here are some Kindermusik tips for you:
• For your baby: Sit comfortably and hold your baby on your knees so that you’re facing each other. Imitate her facial expressions and sounds. Allow long pauses, letting her notice that you’re really listening.
• For your toddler: When you hear an interesting and easily repeatable sound, such as a doorbell, a knock, or footsteps, ask your toddler, “What’s that sound?” Imitate the sound yourself and then ask if she can make the sound too.
• For your preschooler or big kid: Play “I Hear” (instead of “I Spy”). Start by saying, “I hear with my little ear . . . something in the kitchen.” Your child can ask questions about the sound or try to identify it. Then switch roles. Here's another one -- try playing the “If you can hear me” game. Say, “If you can hear me, hop on one foot.” Let your voice get softer and softer, while the actions get sillier and sillier. The crazier the actions, the more fun you'll have.
You can find all kind of fun, silly, and exciting learning games at Kindermusik. Check out a class today.
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Posted by Kindermusik International |
Filed under baby, benefits, childhood, children, development, kids, kindermusik, music, play, sing, skills, speech,
Posted March 2, 2010
One of our favorite things at Kindermusik International is when we are emailed stories from happy parents. These stories usually make us smile, not only because we get to see how the parents are enjoying their classes, but we know happy parents means happy Kindermusik educators too!
Here's one of those emails we got with a little story that made us smile. Kindermusik parent Shaunna sent this story about her daughter Jessie (pictured, right) to their eduator, Linda Courchesne of Kids Music & Movement in Ontario, Canada. It really captures a what it's all about -- how Kindermusik classes bring learning into the home.
"I just have to tell you what Jessie did tonight ... I always put on the Do-Si-Do CD after her bath (she now runs to the playroom and waits by the CD player for it!), and we did the Hello Song and then just started playing with her toys, as usual. BUT -- when it got to the Boom-Pa-Pa song, she immediately dropped her toys and stood up and started dancing and saying, "Ba Pa Pa Pa" and when it got to the "swoopy and swervy" verse, still standing, she bent over in half, dropped her arms all "noodle like" and swooped and swerved her whole body. Then she stood up and clapped for herself! SO cute! I just had to share my happy little at-home Kindermusik moment with someone who would REALLY appreciate it! ... Shaunna"
Big thanks to Linda for passing this along to us, and, of course, Shaunna and Jessie for making us smile.
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Posted by Kindermusik International |
Filed under baby, benefits, children, childhood, development, kindermusik, music, play, skills, social,
Posted February 25, 2010
The more you expose your baby to language, the stronger his verbal skills will be. Language acquisition is a gradual process that involves many facets of development including listening, imitating facial expressions, playing peekaboo, and babbling. Your child will learn language naturally by hearing it used in context when you sing, read, talk, and listen to him.
Kindermusik tips...
• Your Baby: At two months, he coos and babbles. In his first year, he’ll begin making vowel sounds (oohs and aahs), and then move to new sounds and vowel-consonant combinations. Your baby is also learning the art of conversation. Bring your face close to his, and talk to him. Ask him a question and let him respond. He is learning that conversation is a two-way street.
• Your Toddler: In a verbal growth spurt, your toddler’s vocabulary expands from about 50 to 200 words. When your toddler displays emotion, give him the language to identify it. “You’re happy!” or “I can see that you’re sad.” You’ll enhance his emotional intelligence as well as his vocabulary.
• Your Preschooler: Playing rhyming games is a fun way for a preschooler who is developing phonemic awareness – the recognition that sounds make up words. Encourage him by making up rhymes and laughing together.
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Posted by Kindermusik International |
Filed under
Posted February 23, 2010
One thing I love about teachers: the great ones want to learn from each other. A fascinating article recently came out in The Atlantic. “What Makes a Great Teacher?” seeks to answer that time honored question with data from Teach For America (TFA). It’s a powerful finding: great schools have great teachers. But so do lousy schools. In fact, we ought to be obsessed about teachers -- not schools -- in looking for the answers to our public education challenges.
So, what does make a great teacher, at least those whose students perform best among the over 7,000 TFA teachers? “Superstar teachers had four other tendencies in common: they avidly recruited students and their families into the process; they maintained focus, ensuring that everything they did contributed to student learning; they planned exhaustively and purposefully -- for the next day or the year ahead -- by working backward from the desired outcome; and they worked relentlessly, refusing to surrender to the combined menaces of poverty, bureaucracy, and budgetary shortfalls.”
Funny thing, this sounds exactly like what we train our licensed Kindermusik teachers on during their Kindermusik Fundamentals course and as they grow in various Kindermusik Professional Development courses. Moreover, it is what we observe among our very best licensed educators. I’m proud to say Kindermusik licensed educators are provided extensive opportunities for in-service training and that their relicensure requires them to take full advantage.
Teach for America & Teach for Smile (Kindermusik)...birds of a feather!
-by Michael Dougherty, CEO of Kindermusik International
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Posted by Kindermusik International |
Filed under benefits, childhood, children, connections, kids, kindermusik, music, music experiences, skills,
Posted February 19, 2010
"It turns out that mere exposure makes an enormous contribution to how musical competence develops." -researchers at the University of Amsterdam
In Kindermusik class, we tell parents that simply having their child in an interactive musical environment has huge impact. This impact usually goes well beyond what we are seeing in class. (For example, a child may initially be shy about singing in class. At home, however, she will sing the class songs all the time! We know she's learning and abosorbing).
Recent research backs up what we have known and seen for years. According to researchers at the University of Amsterdam (2008), there is evidence that some musical capabilities are developed just by being exposed to music, especially music of the listener’s preferred genre. And we can tell you that Kindermusik kids LOVE their Kindermusik music. (And most parents are closet fans too!)
When it comes to music, listening equals learning. Most parents instinctively recognize the power of music and want to do all they can to foster their child’s musical interests and development. One of the easiest things you can do is surround your child with an active musical environment. Kindermusik International’s experience over the past 30 years has shown that for young children –- baby, toddler, preschooler, or big kid -- there’s no better way to listen and learn than with us!
Check out Kindermusik Play, our new e-music site to preview and download some of our music. Have a listen with your kids. They'll be learning!
To check out the research, click here. From ScienceDaily (Aug. 13, 2008): Researchers at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) have demonstrated how much the brain can learn simply through active exposure to many different kinds of music. "More and more labs are showing that people have the sensitivity for skills that we thought were only expert skills," Henkjan Honing (UvA) explains.
Special thanks to Kindermusik educator Theresa Case for her contributions to this article. Theresa's Kindermusik program, Kindermusik at Piano Central Studios, is in the top 1% of all programs in the world.
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Posted by Kindermusik International |
Filed under music, kindermusik
Posted February 11, 2010
One thing that really gets us excited at Kindermusik is when we stumble across blog entries from moms (or dads) writing about Kindermusik. We get to peek into the real world of real parents experiencing the highs (and occasional lows!) of raising kids. We're humbled to be a small part of so many parents' lives. Plus, some of the stories we find are just too fun!
Here on the Minds on Music blog, we've put together a collection of short quotes and links to some of our favorite Kindermusik-related blog entries. Wow -- there are so many creative parents out there in the blogsphere!
You can check out these Real moms, real blog entries. There is also a link to the page in the right rail of Minds on Music. We'll be routinely adding new entries as we come across them.
Thanks to all the mommy bloggers out there. Write on!
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Posted by Kindermusik International |
Filed under baby, benefits, brain, children, connections, early, development, kids, health, kindermusik, music, play
Posted February 9, 2010
Indoor or out, as part of a raucous romp or a well-controlled environment, ball play can be a great developmental exercise for kids as they develop balance, posture control, stability, core muscle strength, and spatial judgment. Not to mention, it's pratically impossible not to smile and have fun when playing with a ball!
Have your kid grab a ball and try these:
• Kick the ball -- it requires him to shift weight to one foot for support
• Throw the ball -- it calls for balance, coordination, and the use of two hands
• Jump up and reach for a ball -- it promotes stretching, strengthening, and conditioning
• Sit on top of a big rubber ball and bouncing gently -- not only does it elicit giggles, it strengthens core muscles and promotes balance
Need a ball? The Gertie ball is available in our online store, found here.
Need some music to inspire your ball play? Do a search for the word “ball” at KI’s new e-Music site, Kindermusik Play. See what you come up with!
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