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5 essential skills taught in early childhood education

Source: She Knows Activity Center

In early childhood education, we understand that teaching children involves celebrating the uniqueness of each child and preparing them for academic success beyond the preschool classroom. As creators of a standards-aligned daycare and preschool curriculum, we also know just how important these early years can be to a child’s lifelong learning abilities. Early childhood education may look like fun and games (and it is!) but the skills learned through these “fun and games” as part of a daycare or preschool curriculum can help a child make a smoother transition to Kindergarten.

5 skills taught in early childhood education that prepare a child for Kindergarten

  1. Early literacy skills, including knowing all the letters in the alphabet by sight and sound, vocabulary acquisition, phonological awareness, and print awareness, help prepare a toddler and preschooler for the more rigorous reading instruction in elementary school.

  2. An elementary school classroom usually includes more students and involves more time sitting at a desk when compared to a preschool classroom. Children with strong inhibitory control abilities can sit quietly, stay focused on the task at hand, think before they act, and behave in other appropriate ways.

  3. In Kindergarten, a child’s fine motor skills get a workout with writing letters and words, drawing shapes, using scissors, and even typing on a computer.

  4. Social and emotional skills help a child make friends, share, participate in classroom discussions, and like inhibitory control, can help a child experience fewer classroom behavior challenges.

  5. Children may spend up to 75 percent of classroom time learning through listening. While hearing is one of the five senses, learning how to actively listen takes practice and can also be a foundational skill for literacy and language development.

Preschool curriculum uses music to teach key skills

When used as part of a daycare curriculum, research shows music can engage young ABC Music & Me - Early Literacy and Language Curriculumlearners and teach them these key skills needed for continuing academic success. For example, a new study shows that children participating in ABC Music & Me, our daycare curriculum, 30 minutes each week experience a 32 percent literacy gain when compared to other children.

Schools, preschools, and childcare centers can learn more about using our daycare curriculum, ABC Music & Me, by emailing us at info@abcmusicandme.com

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Research Proves Just 30 Minutes/Week of ABC Music & Me Delivers 32% Literacy Gain!

Improving Student Language & Literacy Skills:

A Study of the Effectiveness of ABC Music & Me

Overview

To evaluate the effectiveness of Kindermusik’s ABC Music & Me curriculum, an independent research firm, SEG Measurement, conducted a national, multi-site study* following 299 preschool children during the 2012-13 school year. ABC Music & Me is a supplemental early childhood curriculum that uses music and movement to engage young children while teaching a variety of skills critical to later school success. Extensive at-home materials, provided to parents monthly with each new curriculum unit, inform families of their children’s classroom experiences and provide the means for continuing classroom learning at home.

Research Proves 32% Literacy GainThe findings indicate that students in classes using the ABC Music & Me program made significantly greater gains in language and literacy skills as compared to students in classes that did not use any of the ABC Music & Me program components.

Study Design

The study examined the effectiveness of the ABC Music & Me program by comparing the growth in language and literacy skills among preschool students receiving the ABC Music & Me curriculum to a comparable group of preschoolers who did not receive the ABC Music & Me program.
The study incorporated a pre- and post-test treatment- and control-group design. All participating students took the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) Pre-K Assessment** at both the beginning and end of the school year. Students in the treatment group received ABC Music & Me instruction and activities as part of their preschool curriculum during the school year. Students in the control group did not receive any ABC Music & Me instruction or activities.
Students in the control and treatment groups attended the same or comparable schools, and statistical analyses were conducted to ensure that the groups were comparable. Analysis of Covariance was used to compare treatment and control-group performance on the post-test while controlling for any initial differences in ability.
Teacher and parent feedback regarding ABC Music & Me was also collected through biweekly teacher surveys on curriculum usage, an end-of-year teacher survey, a classroom environment survey, and two parent surveys investigating families’ use of the ABC Music & Me Home Materials.

Results

The results of the study show that students who received ABC Music & Me instruction showed significantly larger gains on the PALS test than did students who did not receive ABC Music & Me instruction. In fact, ABC Music & Me students showed 32% more improvement on the PALS test than did control group students. These results indicate that the ABC Music & Me program successfully boosts preschoolers’ language and literacy skills.
Graph: Research Proves PreK Student Literacy GainsResults from teacher surveys indicate that preschool teachers found the ABC Music & Me curriculum to be effective in teaching a variety of skills, and would strongly recommend it to other preschool teachers, and that parents would recommend the program to other parents.

Conclusions

Students who participated in ABC Music & Me showed significantly greater gains in language and literacy skills than students who did not receive ABC Music & Me instruction.
Teachers who used ABC Music & Me found the program to be effective in many areas. Both teachers and parents would strongly recommend the program to others.
*This study was conducted by SEG Measurement, supported by a grant from Kindermusik International. SEG is an independent research firm, providing research services to educational publishers, technology providers, and government agencies, since 1979.
**About PALS: The PALS-(Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) Pre-K Assessment is a scientifically-based phonological awareness and literacy screening that measures preschoolers’ developing knowledge of important literacy fundamentals and offers guidance to teachers for tailoring instruction to children’s specific needs. The assessment reflects skills that are predictive of future reading success and measures name writing ability, upper-case and lower-case alphabet recognition, letter sound and beginning sound production, print and word awareness, rhyme awareness and nursery rhyme awareness.
View a Summary of the Report
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10 Benefits of Becoming a Licensed Kindermusik Educator

Theresa Case licensed Kindermusik educatorWhy teach Kindermusik? There are many benefits of becoming a licensed Kindermusik educator, but here are the top ten favorites.

1.  Convenient online training and the connections you make with other educators-in-training
2.  The community of passionate, caring Kindermusik educators from all around the world who regularly connect and share virtually via the Kindermusik Cafe
3. The Kindermusik curricula which has been carefully researched and created by Kindermusik International, the world’s most trusted name in musical learning
4.  Access to one-of-a-kind digital Teacher Guides where you’ll find an incredible amount of resources, helps, support, and ideas with every lesson plan
5.  Opportunities for ongoing professional development that keep you motivated, inspired, and growing as a teacher
6.  Having a company like Kindermusik International partnering with you
7.  The tools, support, and empowerment to do something you LOVE
8.  The precious children and their families whose lives you will touch
9.  The satisfaction of making a difference in a child’s life, possibly from newborn to 7 years
10.  The smiles, the joy, and the hugs that you’ll get each and every week in class

Learn more about teaching Kindermusik TODAY!

Written by Theresa Case, who has had the privilege of being a licensed Kindermusik educator since 1994 and whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

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Using Kindermusik@Home to Make Parenting a Little Bit Easier

One of the fabulous benefits of your enrollment in Kindermusik is Kindermusik@Home – a whole new way to access and enjoy your Home Materials throughout the week.  But how can Kindermusik@Home make parenting a little bit easier?  Well, you might turn to Kindermusik@Home when you…

  • need a lullaby to calm your baby to sleep
  • are looking for a special way to connect with your child and sneak in a few giggles or cuddles
  • are desperate for a diversion in the long line at the grocery store or the waiting room at the doctor’s office
  • can’t remember the words to your child’s favorite song from class
  • can’t get out on a rainy day and an educational activity for kids like a video field trip or kid-friendly recipe might be just the thing
  • want to help your child get even more out of his or her weekly Kindermusik class
  • have a few minutes to really engage with your child and need some inspiration to make that time meaningful and fun
  • have a child begging you to read his favorite story from Kindermusik class and you’re not anywhere near the bookshelf at home (Gotta love these mobile apps for kids!)
  • want to play a developmentally appropriate, kid-friendly game together
  • are ready to download all of the great music from your Kindermusik class
  • need expert advice and a window of insight into the precious miracle that is your child
  • are looking for an easy way to begin expanding your child’s awareness and understanding of the world around her
  • need some great music and activity ideas to soothe or clam, play together, chase away the blues, or share some giggles
  • need all of this with you wherever you are – at home or on the go

Kindermusik@Home… It’s all in there!

Kindermusik@HomeAnd here’s your sneak peek:
Take a TOUR on your PC, your Mac, or your Tablet or Mobile Device
Try a FREE Kindermusik@Home Activity, “Stroll around Town“
Written by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

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3 ways to turn Garbage Day into recycling activities for kids

Garbage day causes lots of excitement in homes with small children. Preschoolers and toddlers can often be found with faces pressed to windows or jumping up and down in delight as they watch those big trucks noisily shift from house to house. And, oh happy day, if the driver actually blows the horn!
When parents think about activities for kids at home, most probably don’t think of “Trash Day” as one filled with educational activities for kids. However, it can be, especially if parents think about the environment! Try these three ways to learn about sustainability for kids.

3 ways to turn Garbage Day into learning about the environment for kids

1. Go on a virtual field trip—courtesy of NPR— to see what happens to glass bottles after they leave your at-home recycle bin.

 

2. Read “How a New Bottle Becomes a Used Bottle” and ask your child questions about what you read together. Make connections between what you read to the video you watched. Identify glass recyclables in your own home.

3. Play with magnets. In recycling centers, metal objects are separated from glass objects using powerful magnets. Gather various child-friendly objects from around your house and use magnets together to sort the objects into two piles.

Recycling activities for kids can be fun for the whole family. Plus, it helps your child to understand how we all impact the world around us.

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Parenting in the age of smart phones, Ipads, Ebooks, and mobile apps for kids

ipod_KindermusikNearly eight years ago, every employee-owner at Kindermusik International received an iPod with the engraving: “This changes everything. The potential is endless.” Over the years, we’ve experienced many changes in technology, music and early childhood education, parenting, and their connections to each other.

Smart phones, tablet devices, and eReaders—and iPods—did not permeate the everyday routines and rituals of the average family when we handed out those MP3 players. Now, they do in many cases. A new national study by the Center on Media and Human Development at Northwestern University set out to better understand how mobile devices, including mobile apps for kids, influence and change parenting and childhood in families with children newborn to eight years old. The study is based on an extensive survey of a nationally representative sample of more than 2,300 parents of children from birth to eight years old.

6 Key Takeaways from the “Parenting in the Age of Digital Technology” report:

  1. Parents use media and technology as a tool for managing daily life, but books, toys, and other activities are used more often.

  2. Parents still turn to family and friends for parenting advice far more often than to new media sources like websites, blogs, and social networks.

  3. Parents are less likely to turn to media or technology as an educational tool for their children than to other activities. About two-thirds (62 percent) say they are very likely to point their child toward a book when looking for an educational opportunity and 41 percent to a toy or activity, compared to 15 percent who say the same about using the computer, 12 percent for TV, and 10 percent for a mobile device such as a smartphone.

  4. Seventy-one percent of parents who say mobile devices help make parenting easier say it’s because there are lots of fun mobile apps for kids to keep them entertained, while a similar percent (68 percent) say it is because these tools have lots of educational activities for kids.

  5. The media and technology use of parents help shape the media environment for the household, which influences how much time children spend with media.

  6. Children’s use of media is not a top concern among parents with children eight and younger. However, parents do look ahead and worry about what the future holds when it comes to their children’s social skills. In addition, parents see a connection between media use and a lack of physical activity.

You can read the full report here: Parenting in the Age of Digital Technology by the Center on Media and Human Development at Northwestern University

Mobile apps for kids and Kindermusik@Home

“It turns out parents use a range of tools to help them as parents, and these include new mobile screen devices like smartphones and tablets,” explained Alexis Lauricella, one of the study’s co-authors in an interview with the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media. “But even more regularly, parents are relying on more traditional tools like toys and activities to help them out.”

With Kindermusik@Home and our mobile apps for kids, parents receive the best of both worlds: hands-on educational activities for families to do together both on and away from digital devices. After all, we understand that in reality after the birth of a child, every family can say: “This changes everything. The potential is endless.” As a child’s first teacher, we want to help provide parents with the tools and activities–both inside and outside the classroom–to use music as the vehicle for learning and unlocking that potential.

Contact your local educator to learn more about enrolling in Kindermusik classes and receiving access to Kindermusik@Home.

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4 family-friendly songs for English Language Learners

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “Music is the universal language of mankind.” At Kindermusik, we like to say it this way: “Every child speaks music.” As a child’s first and best teacher, parents of young ELL students can use the universal language of music to help teach English to their children.

Why use music with ELL students?

Research shows that music can be an effective vehicle for teaching English to children. Finger plays, traditional nursery rhymes, and songs reinforce phonemic awareness, support vocabulary acquisition, and give English Language Learners practice in speaking or singing in a continuous flow.  So, turn up the music (and the English language learning!) with these four family-friendly favorites.
You can download a version (or two!) of these at play.kindermusik.com.

4 family-friendly songs for English Language Learners

  1. Old MacDonald Had a Farm

  2. Eensy Weensy Spider

  3. The Wheels on the Bus

  4. The Mulberry Bush

ABC English & Me - Teaching English to Children through MusicLooking for more ESL activities for kids or an English Language Learners curriculum? ABC English & Me uses music, movement, activities, and puppets to teach early learners English. Plus, Kindermusik@Home provides families with music, stories, and activities to do together at home to strengthen the learning.

Get more information on teaching English to children around the world with Kindermusik and ABC English & Me.

 
 

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The Top 10 Benefits of Enrolling in Kindermusik

Kindermusik Classes - Enroll Now - For a Child's Brain, Body, Heart & Soul

With so many choices out there for young children, we thought we’d try to help make the decision a little easier by sharing our top 10 benefits of enrolling in Kindermusik.
Kindermusik Classes - Enroll Now - For a ChildBenefit #1: Kindermusik gives your child that unique head start you’ve been looking for – musically, cognitively, and academically.
Benefit#2: Kindermusik inspires a love of music from an early age with songs, instruments, and activities that are just right for each age and every stage.
Benefit #3: Kindermusik enhances every area of your child’s development – we are so much more than just music!
Benefit #4: Kindermusik gives you the time and the tools to enjoy quality time with your child – in class and at home.
Benefit #5: Kindermusik Home Materials let you take the music, fun, and learning with you all week long, wherever you go.
Benefit #6: Kindermusik classes provide a happy social outlet for your child and a valuable support network for you.
Benefit #7: All Kindermusik activities are research-proven and giggle-approved, and all are supported by a developmental and musical focus.
Benefit #8: Kindermusik lays a strong foundation for future success in school and in formal music lessons later on.
Benefit #9: Kindermusik is something you and your child will use every day – at home or on the go!
Benefit #10: Kindermusik offers a comprehensive program with the potential for positively impacting your child from newborn all the way to 7 years of age.

Kindermusik - Where Music and Learning PlayFrom music skills to life skills, it’s all there in Kindermusik. Best of all, your child will

love it, and so will you. Find a class near you and enroll today!
Contributed by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

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Musical Variety is the Spice of Life

Infants are born with the ability to process musical sounds and patterns, and there is an optimum window of time between birth and three years when the ear is ripe for aural language development. The musical stimulation we provide as parents is so important for this language development.
Because music is also important in developing a child’s sense of patterning and memory skills, it follows that providing exposure to a wide variety of music should be one of our educational goals as parents. Kindermusik effectively widens the musical world for your child by providing choice selections from many lands and cultures.

Exposure to cultures through music

Children need a balance between the familiar and the new… and Kindermusik provides just that. One of the ways we can help our children appreciate and begin to understand other cultures and people groups is by exposing them to their music. One of the great joys of music is the connection it provides emotionally across cultural lines.
As your child listens and engages in musical experiences provided by Kindermusik and at home, he acquires a musical repertoire that will last a lifetime. He is developing his musical “taste buds”, to “appreciate the finer things”, and to enjoy new musical “tastes and textures”. The wider the array of musical styles, the richer that repertoire will be. Listen to your Kindermusik recordings and you’ll find multi-cultural music in a variety of musical styles. And the best part? It’s just plain fun to listen to! Now if only Kindermusik could accomplish the same thing with your child’s diet, right?!

Are you looking for some musical variety?

Try a free Kindermusik class today!  It’s a musical experience with songs and activities the whole family will love – in class and at home.

Compiled by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

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FOL Fridays – Creativity: It's In All of Us

child playing dress up

child playing dress upCreativity isn’t a trait that some people have and others don’t.  It’s a way of using your mind and body as you engage in a task that has no prescribed approach.  In the creative process, your ideas, feelings, skills, and knowledge flow together in innovative ways, allowing you to make or learn something new.”
(“Creative Minds at Play” in Scholastic Parent & Child Dec./Jan. 1998 by Charlotte Doyle, Ph.D.)
Ideas for parents: There are many simple ways to effectively encourage your child’s creativity.  Here are just a few…

  • Ask open-ended questions or silly “What if…” kinds of questions.
  • Use the technique of scaffolding – Observe what your child is doing.  Copy it, then suggest or model a slight change to what they’re doing.  (This is a good technique with instrument play.)
  • Recycle paper towel tubes, plastic containers, and boxes and keep them available for open-ended play inspiration.
  • Keep a box of dress-up clothes in the playroom – from cowboy hats to princess shoes to tutus to a fireman’s vest to scarves.
  • Stock up on simple art supplies like large sheets of paper, washable markers, finger paints, and crayons.  Turn on some music and encourage your child to draw what he hears.
  • Turn off your cell phone, sit down, and play with your child.  Pretend play is a great way to relieve stress and bond with your child!

Try this Creative Activity with your Kids

Here’s a sample activity from Kindermusik@Home that allows your children to show their creative side. Watch these silly animals and let your kids imitate their movements – in their own creative way.
Shared by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.