Author: Kindermusik

Sign language is one of the many ways in which adults can engage babies and young toddlers on their paths to learning language. Sign language is unique because, when paired with words, it makes language learning a multisensory experience. Signing comes naturally to babies and toddlers, and it comes with a host of other benefits as well.

8 reasons why every baby should learn sign language:

1. Signing allows baby to engage as an active participant in the learning environment.
2. Using signs can reduce or eliminate baby’s frustration at not being able to communicate.
3. Signing makes learning to speak even easier.
4. Learning to sign stimulates intellectual development.
5. Success with signing nurtures baby’s self-esteem and self-confidence.
6. Since signing often requires eye contact, it helps children focus, an important skill in cultures in which children are often overloaded with various stimuli.
7. Signing strengthens the bond between parent and child.
8. Using sign language empowers parents because they know they are providing their children with an invaluable additional communication tool.

Watch as this little communicator shows off some of the impressive sign language skills he learned in Kindermusik class!

Find out more about how Kindermusik can help your baby communicate earlier and easier at www.Kindermusik.com.

 
 

So why DO kids blur the line between work and play?  Because play IS their work!  Play is the most important activity of early childhood.  So even when it looks like a child is “just” playing, there’s really some serious learning and developing happening as a result of the play.
Music and movement activities are perfect for inspiring a child’s play, not just in Kindermusik class but also at home, because musical activites:

• encourage children to think creatively and “out of the box”
• give children many opportunities for open-ended exploration
• use usual objects in unusual ways (i.e., a plastic hair curler that becomes a pull toy)
• invite children to use their imaginations
• stimulate expressive skills
• incorporate pretend play

Children will engage in play in different ways at their different stages of development.  Here’s a quick overview so that you know what to expect as you observe your child at play.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The steady diet beat of “Pizza, Pickle, Pumpernickel” helps children learn how to read. Of course, we are talking about the children’s nursery rhyme, not the food! Being able to move the entire body to a steady beat contributes to the ability to speak and read fluidly. In fact, children who can keep a steady beat independently score higher on reading assessments.
In this lap bounce version from Kindermusik@Home, even the youngest children can experience steady beat throughout their entire bodies. The more children experience steady beat with the help of a grown-up, the more likely they will be able to keep a steady beat independently. This steady beat activity works for older children, too. Try clapping hands to the beat or bouncing a favorite stuffed animal. As an added bonus to this music activity for kids, fingerplays improve and advance memory and language skills by linking motions to words.

So, go ahead and order in some “Pizza, Pickle, Pumpernickel”!

Find out more about Kindermusik at www.Kindermusik.com.

When you send in the clowns, you can also introduce a whole lot of fun practicing all kinds of ways to move, jump, listen, focus, and even stop.  At first glance, it might seem like an activity such as “I Am a Clown” is just about moving and dancing.  But watch a little more closely, and you’ll see that there are a whole lot more benefits than just developing gross motor skills.
Linking language and movement – With each new verse, there’s a new movement… and a new movement word for labeling that movement.  This is how children expand their vocabulary and their repertoire of moves.
Inhibitory control – This is that all-important skill of learning self-control, both externally and internally.  Having to stop their movements helps children learn how to be better in control of not just their bodies, but also their emotions and their interactions with others.
Active listening – “I Am a Clown” is a fun way for children to practice listening and responding to those aural cues.  Active listening is a learned skill, and one that will serve a child well even into adulthood.
Following directions – Bringing together several different ways of moving into the different verses of the same song helps children with the all-important excecutive function skill of following directions.
Social-emotional development – There’s nothing much more powerful than bonding together through music and movement activities, whether that’s parent-child together time or whether it’s enjoying the company and inspiration of friends in a music activity.
With all of these great benefits from a simple music and movement activity, enjoy a little “clowning around” with your own child (or with your whole class if you’re a teacher!) for a sneak peek into how the Kindermusik curriculum works through music and movement.