Minds On Music – The Kindermusik Blog

• Bilingualism increases mental agility on bilingualparenting.com

• Bilingual learners are far better at processing sounds on BBC News Health

• The Foreign-Language Effect: Thinking and writing in several different languages reduces bias in Psychological Science, and a fascinating summary of the study on tumblr.

• Five myths about raising bilingual kids on Southern California Public Radio

• If you consider music a second language, and even if you don’t, this was a great story about a parent who soothes a crying toddler on train with a simple song on mashable.com

Instruments are used to create. They embody the creative potential and spirit of the musician—something that will bring joy in the moment and in the future. The word “instrument” comes from the French verb, instruere, which means to “equip” or “construct.” Instruments require action.

But what about an instrument’s past? Instruments have been characters in wars, journeys, and voices in daily routines for centuries. Today, we learned that rainsticks probably originated with the Diaguita Indians of the Acatama Desert and Andes mountains of northern Chile. Why is this a topic for KI Green? In the days before modern agriculture, pesticides, and mass irrigation, nature’s voice rang a little louder. The sound of rain, potentially anticipated for months, could mean bounty or demolition—feast, flood, or famine. What would it feel like to suddenly hear the crack of thunder, followed by a crescendo of pitter patters, break through weeks of dry silence? The Diaguita, an agrarian society known for their cultivation of maize, pumpkins, and beans, lived in one of the driest places on earth. Desperation sparked creativity. They created rainsticks out of dried cactus stalks, used palm needles and beans or seeds, and created the rainstick to coax the sky to rain. Just another interesting reminder of the interconnectedness between man,

music, and nature!

“KI Green,” the official sustainability blog for Kindermusik International, is excited to bring Sustainability to Minds on Music with an initiating post the great debate: Organic vs. Non-Organic shopping! We’re happy to get a leafy green start to feeding our families the right fall produce. From now on, you’ll be able to check Minds on Music for family-based sustainability solutions that keep sustainability active as a Kindermusik core value.

Why Buy Organic Food for Kids?

But let’s play devil’s advocate just for a minute. Buying organic doesn’t always make a difference, right? The average “dollar difference” per item isn’t worth the “so-so” benefits of USDA organic produce. Right?

In this study from the Natural Resource Defense Counsel, scientists found that children age 5 and under ingest an average of 8 pesticides per day. Young children, whose internal organs are developing rapidly, are most susceptible to the harmful effects of pesticides.

Let’s take a look at your shopping cart today, October 9. Almost everything you have is spring produce, which is out of season. Your asparagus was grown using nearly 22 different types of pesticides. Your grapefruit required about 10. Your mango, 13. Peas: 5, pineapple: 6, corn: 3, avocado: 2. It may be time to do the “reverse shopping cart…” the dance move you learned wherein non-organic produce is put BACK on the shelves, and fast!

Tips for Buying Organic Produce

When you consider the harmful effects of any one of these pesticides, especially for kids, the right choice is always the organic choice. Understandably, though, time and money can be an issue. Here are the NRDC’s helpful tips to make buying organic easier:

• The best foods to buy organic are apples, bell peppers, carrots, celery, and strawberries.
• If you buy produce in season, it is less likely have pesticides. Seasonal asparagus, avocado, sweet peas, grapefruit, onions, and cabbage, are far less likely to have pesticides when grown in season.
• The five cleanest fruits and vegetables are onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapple, and mango.
• If you need an out of season item, buy it frozen.

What’s in season now? Brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, onions, leeks, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, greens (spinach, arugula, lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, collards), turnips, winter squash, and apples!

For more information, check out the NRDC’s helpful list of resources.

Visit our Sustainability category often as we continue to add valuable and actionable tips!

Kindermusik , the leading name in music education for young children, was mentioned in a BabyCenter article about “How to Raise a Child who Loves Music!.”

Here are the top 9 things you can do to raise your child with a lifelong appreciation for music:

1. Sing songs to and with your child.
2. Strike up the band.
3. Play an assortment of music.
4. Play “Finish that Tune”
5. Attend concerts.
6. Check out musically minded books.
7. Enroll in children’s music programs, like Kindermusik.
8. Dance to the music.
9. Perform.

If you do the above, your child will not only have a lifelong love for music, but early music exposure also provides many benefits. It helps develop young learners cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally. So, try to incorporate music and movement into your child’s every day!

Find a Kindermusik class near you and try a free class to give your child a good beginning!