Dear Kindermusik,
I am writing to you to tell my family’s Kindermusik story and express our utmost gratitude for the Kindermusik scholarship that helped us to stay in the program last semester. It really begins with the birth of my first son, Evan. When I was 7 weeks pregnant with him in 2004, I began to miscarry and carried on this way for 3 weeks. I believed in a miracle. Evan was born nearly 4 weeks early on May 16, 2005. Due to the blood and oxygen loss serving Evan in the womb he was born with his left hand deformed. Seven weeks happens to be the point for critical hand development in utero. It is the point where the hands grow from a paddle shape to 5 single digits. At this point his hand was bound with amnion strands, which are protein strands my body developed to protect the growing baby, while I was in a state of miscarriage, two opposing forces, indeed. His underdeveloped thumb and pinkie were bound in an opposing position which did not allow the joints in those fingers to develop. His second digit developed a third of the way, but his 3rd and 4th digits are nubs.
I am convinced as the mother of a living miracle nothing can stop my child from doing all the things in life he is purposed to do. When he was 7 months old I discovered there was a Sign and Sing class available in the area. Cyndi Bohner was the teacher and she immediately made me feel comfortable with her heartwarming smile, love for the children and enthusiasm for the program. Sign and Sing gave myself and son our first experiences with communicating with each other on a deeper level. It was also a wonderful opportunity for networking with other new mothers.
I was very interested in attending Kindermusik’s Village after such a positive experience with the former and it’s been a Kindermusik love affair ever since. In 2007, I had my second son Aidan and actually started taking him to Evan’s classes when he was newborn, asleep in his basket. If it wasn’t for Cindy Bohner’s open heart and the flexibility of the Kindermusik experience, we never would have been able to continue. We enrolled Aidan soon thereafter.
My boys and I adore Kindermusik. It is so much more than a music class. It is a well rounded approach to learning with a musical foundation that brings joy to parent and child. This encourages excellent bonding as each learns a little more about the other. The classes have increased confidence socially for the children, as well as me. I would never sing out loud around others before the classes. Now after nearly 5 years of Kindermusik, I am not afraid to belt it out!
Cyndi Bohner encourages the curious whims of the little ones, which in turn stimulates that same flexibility in the moms. It is a liberating feeling to be a part of a program where you are not looked upon as a “bad” mother with an “uncontrollable” child if they just do not want to sit, but strikes a delicate balance of impacting the children to learn how to self regulate while developing good listening skills.
Particularly, my son Evan has triumphed and used his hand in ways he normally would not have. This has encouraged incredible development with his fine motor skills. There is no stopping his learning abilities, with hopes of learning the Glockenspiel and even the piano in the future. He also has a speech delay and I believe Kindermusik has been the single best speech therapy he could have ever had. That is why I can’t stop talking about it to everyone I meet with young children.
I just want to reinforce what a treasure you have in Cyndi Bohner. Kindermusik is great ideas on paper until a wonderful teacher like Cyndi comes along and makes it come alive! It is evident she has a vibrant passion for Kindermusik. She has encouraged me as a new mom in ways no one else has. She has never been without a kind word usually telling me what a great mom I am and what a great job I am doing, when I feel just the opposite. On those days where feelings of failure loom, Cyndi is always there each week with a hug and loving support.
All of these things keep us coming back, until the dreaded economy collapse. All extracurricular activities had to be cut to make way for basic necessities. My husband is a self employed furniture designer/developer and I recently went back to school part-time to finish my degree to be more of a help financially. The economy attacked my husband’s small business hard. If it weren’t for the scholarship so graciously presented to our family, we would not have been able to continue, which is a heartbreaking prospect. Thank you Thank you for enabling us to stay in the program and a huge heartfelt Thank you to Cyndi Bohner for seeing us as valuable enough to sacrifice for us to stay. The generosity is humbling.
It has been a wonderful opportunity to be a part of such a great thing during the formative years of my children’s growth. We are literally growing up with Kindermusik and it’s been an excellent journey! Though the economy has stayed the same and whether we will be able to continue in the curriculum is uncertain, one thing remains certain, we will not stop singing the praises of Kindermusik and one of their best instructors, Cyndi Bohner!
Sincerely,
David, Ashley, Evan and Aidan