Minds On Music – The Kindermusik Blog - Page 97 of 105 - For three generations, Kindermusik has helped millions of children around the world build a strong foundation for a lifetime of learning.

Sing your baby talk

Even before your baby is born, she responds to the sound of your voice. Researchers have observed that a baby in the womb can respond to the sound of a mother’s voice as early as 5 months into pregnancy.

After your baby is born, you’ll naturally talk to him or her in a cooing, sing-song-y language formally called infant-directed talk (IDT) or child-directed speech (CDS). Some also refer to it as “motherese” or “parentese.” But we know it more commonly as baby talk.

Research shows that these are the first sounds that your baby will try to imitate with cooing and babbling. Studies have also shown that children can recognize and even imitate certain musical notes. So, mix up your language-building parentese with singing, talking, and rhyhming. This will help expose your baby to a variety of sounds to aid her singing and language development.

Kindermusik Tips:
• Your Baby: In the first year, your baby will be especially interested in listening to the sound of you singing. So, choose songs that you love, hold her close, and sing and dance together.
• Your Toddler: Simple songs that go back and forth between two notes are easiest for toddlers to repeat. Songs with this interval include, “Rain, Rain, Go Away” and “Star Light, Star Bright.”
• Your Preschooler: Expand your preschooler’s musical vocabulary by adding more notes with songs like, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” “Baa Baa, Black Sheep,” and “The Alphabet Song.”

Want to discover even more great techniques to use with your baby? Try a free Kindermusik Village class today. Village is for caretakers and babies from newborn to 18 months. Visit our Kindermusik Class Locator to find a class.

Music helps stroke victims communicate

We all know music can be a powerful thing. But the beauty of music is that we learn new things about it every day. Research has really just begun to scratch the surface of how powerful music can be.

A great example of this is an article we recently came across in the Wall Street Journal. The article’s headline is “Music Helps Stroke Victims Communicate, Study Finds.” It’s pretty astounding stuff.

The article describes a small research study that “produced often dramatic results in 12 patients whose speech was impaired after a stroke to the left hemisphere of the brain.” This was accomplished using a method called melodic intonation therapy, which teaches the patients “to speak in a more ‘sing-songy’ way than a person with normal speech.” The audience at the American Association for the Advancement of Science greeted the results “with enthusiastic applause.” Further studies are currently being planned.

This could really change lives. And it’s just another example of the power of music. At Kindermusik, we firmly believe that music can change lives, including very young ones. The research proves this as well. You can learn more about our baby, toddler, and big kid music and movement classes.

There are certain to be even more fantastic discoveries about music in the coming years. We can’t wait!

What goes up, must come down

Did you know that children learn concepts best in opposites? It’s why in your Kindermusik class, you’ll learn fast/slow, smooth/bumpy, high/low, among many other pairs. It’s why in school, addition and subtraction are taught back to back. It’s why when you begin to drive, your teacher makes sure you know where both the brake and the gas pedals are!

Learning opposites enhances vocabulary and word association, encourages sensory and motor development, develops discrimination and classification skills, and provides plenty of opportunity for fun games. The farther apart the opposite (black and white, hard and soft), the easier it is for children to master the concept. When you add an interactive approach, this learning becomes highly enjoyable.

Here’s a few “opposite” activities:

When doing these, be sure to label the opposite words. (It’s pretty easy to forget to do that, as we adults already know the vocabulary!)

· Try tasting some opposite things like sweet sugar and sour lemon.
· Sort round cans and square boxes when putting away the groceries.
· Music is full of opposites. Put on your favorite piece of Kindermusik (or music with pitch or tempo variation), and move high and low, or fast and slow.
Sing a song silly! (High and then low, or fast and then slow.)
· Move. Go and stop. Take big steps, and little steps. Go under, go over.
· Open and shut the doors. Or cupboards. Cause seriously, if they don’t learn both opening and shutting in a pair now, your fridge is going to constantly be left open when they are a bit older!
· Identify back or front. Left or right. Short and tall. Boy or girl. Young or old. Dirty or clean. Empty or full.
· Feel the objects around you. Hard or soft? Rough or smooth? Hot or cold?
· Read some opposite books, and talk about what you see. Here’s some favorites: “Dinosaur Roar,” by Paul and Henrietta Stickland. “Big Dog, Little Dog,” by P.D. Eastman. “The Foot Book,” by Dr. Seuss.

Even babies learn opposites. Talk to your baby as you go throughout the day, and emphasize the opposite words with your vocal inflection. “I’m going to pick you up.” “We are going down the stairs.”Really, the possibilities are endless. Just have fun with it!
-posted by Miss Analiisa, whose two oldest children are oil and water.

Special thanks to Analiisa Reichlin for allowing us to share such this post from the Studio 3 Music Blog. Analiisa is Director of Studio 3 Music in Seattle, Washington, the world’s largest Kindermusik program.

Do you TUNE IN?

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.

Freeze Dance!

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!

Spring means baseball . . . musical baseball!

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!

Being part of the Kindermusik family

Kindermusik has over 5000 super-talented, super-dedicated Kindermusik educators around the globe. But at Kindermusik International, or (to use a term we never use) “Corporate Headquarters,” we’re a small, tight-knit group of employee-owners – KI is 100% employee owned. KI is a second family to many of the folks who work here. So when someone leaves, it’s always a very sad event.

Last year one of our favorites, Lisa Rowell, left the ranks and moved to Atlanta with her husband and two girls. Lisa, Ellery, and Emmy are pictured to the right, enjoying the oh-so-common Atlanta snow (it sure has been a strange winter in many places). While at KI, Lisa worked in marketing and, as anyone who knows her would agree, was one of the most funny, smart, silly, and engaging people you could hope to share an office space or conference call with.

We all hated to see Lisa go.

So we were delighted when we recently learned Lisa was still part of the Kindermusik family, although in a slightly different way. Below is a note she sent to our CEO, Michael Dougherty. With Lisa’s permission, we’d like to share it here. It was so nice for us to hear from Lisa, and the note also touches on so many of the fantastic aspects of Kindermusik – the sense of community, the time spent focused on family (both in the classroom and at home), the head start on learning, and of course the unbridled fun!

Thanks, Lisa, for keeping in touch and for being part of the Kindermusik family.

March 2, 2010

Michael,

Thank you.

Those two words are not written as a former Employee-Owner, although they certainly could be. During my seven-year tenure, I experienced a remarkable culture composed of talented, driven, and focused individuals, who made the decision to bring music into the lives of thousands of families.

Instead, these words are written as a Kindermusik parent. It has taken me 13 months to write this letter, because frankly, it took me that long to be “just a parent” in the classroom. I am no longer privy to strategy and budgets and marketing campaigns. The daily challenges and opportunities of being an Employee-Owner finally feel more distant than present. Now when I enter the classroom, I no longer think of it as market research or worry that my daughters won’t act “Kindermusik enough” for the other parents. Instead, I enter the classroom as just Emerson’s and Ellery’s mom.

In the fall, we took a Kindermusik hiatus, partly so we could settle into our new community and partly because the closest Kindermusik educator just had a baby. However, like other parents in the Kindermusik bulls eye, Clay and I want the best for our girls so we enrolled in Jane Hendrix’s program in Dunwoody (Our Time and Imagine That!). It was like coming home.

Our Imagine That! class includes other Atlanta transplants, who like us, sought out the familiarity of Kindermusik. We meet at 12:30 on Wednesdays for lunch in the classroom before the class begins at 1pm. These parents and children bring with them the experiences of other Kindermusik educators. Educators from California, Texas, and even Australian are represented. This is the type of Imagine That! class that we dreamed about: parents, children, and educator forming connections with each other that extends well beyond the classroom.

The joy my daughters’ experience in the classroom and at home is unique to Kindermusik. Our daily lives are filled with hayrides, bumpy rides on red wagons, Johnny and Katie finger plays, family jams, imaginary trips to toy stores, multiple readings of Shiny Dinah or Noodles from Scratch, and even puppet shows courtesy of Wags, Hopper, and Rascal. There are moments when my extremely verbal four-year-old becomes so excited to be in Jane’s class that she loses her ability to speak clearly.

As an infant, “My Bonnie” from You Are My Sunshine calmed Ellery unlike any other song. This became the final song I sing to them at night. Initially a solo act, my voice is joined now by both my girls. To the outside listener, our voices sound more “Tarzan, Frankenstein, and Tonto” than “Emmy, Ellery, and Lisa” but to me it is pure beauty. This is a moment that only the heart will ultimately catalog.

Kindermusik helped create these moments in our family. Thank you, Michael. I know these words will not reach every person who contributed to the wonder of Kindermusik. Through the years, the names and faces change, but the mission remains the same: To put a song in the heart of every child.

Thank you, Kindermusik, for putting an entire symphony in the hearts of my girls.
Warmly,
Lisa Rowell

Can you hear me now?

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.

Thar she blows!

Babies and toddlers enjoy blowing. As they practice blowing, they strengthen mouth muscles and develop awareness of their breathing, which will help their language development.

With preschoolers and early elementary, blowing develops their diaphragms and builds muscle control necessary for singing and wind instrument playing.

Blowing also helps children become aware of the fact that they can use breath to make a variety of sounds, move things, blow out candles, or create a cooling breeze.

Blowing for all ages
· Blow kisses – even babies can do this!
· Blow through a straw into your milk, juice or water.
· Blow bubbles.
· Play a slide whistle or a harmonica (like the one in this semester’s Our Time).
· Put a dab of watercolor or thinned tempura paint on a piece of paper. Blow on it with a straw and make beautiful designs.

For older children
· Put a fluffy craft feather partially into the end of a drinking straw. Blow on the other end and see how far you can make the feather fly!
· Place a ping pong ball on the table. With players on each side of the table, try to blow it off your opponent’s side with a drinking straw.
· Whistle.
· Play a duck call or kazoo.
-posted by Miss Analiisa, who wants you to breathe in through your nose, and blow out through your mouth three times right now. Don’t you feel calmer?

Special thanks to Analiisa Reichlin for allowing us to share such an informative post from the Studio 3 Music Blog. Analiisa is Director of Studio 3 Music in Seattle, Washington, the world’s largest Kindermusik program.

Stories that make us all smile

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.