activities for kids Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Minds On Music

Move for fun, move to learn!

It’s always great to have some physical activities for kids that you can pull out of your pocket, so to speak, and enjoy together. And in our opinion, one of the best activities is combining music and movement!
Experts tell us that movement is key to learning. That’s why movement is so foundational to our Kindermusik classes. But movement, especially with music, can also be the key to your sanity, especially on a cold, rainy, stuck-in-the-house day. To help you out with a little fresh inspiration, here are a few of our favorite Kindermusik movement activities for kids:
Finger plays and toe wiggles – These are the smallest of all movements, but they can be lots of fun! Think “Eency Weency Spider” or “This Little Piggy.”
Free dance – Just turn on some music and dance to your heart’s content. Hint: Have a playlist of several songs to prolong the enjoyment.
Moving with a prop – Grab a scarf and bounce, twirl, or swish to the music. You can also try it with a stuffed animal too.
Rocking – Rocking can be more calming or more active, depending your mood and the kind of music you choose.
Choreographed movement – Preschoolers and big kids can really get their creative juices flowing if they get to decide what steps go with what parts of the song. Forward-and-back, side-to-side, ’round and around, zig-zagging, and more!

Kindermusik is the world’s leader in music and movement classes for young children. Come sing, sway, dance, and play with us at a free preview class today!

Written by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in beautiful Upstate South Carolina is proudly among the top 1% in the world.

Music Makes Your Day

One of Kindermusik’s core promises is to help make great parenting a little bit easier. Without a doubt, music is one vital tool that parents can use not just for fun and bonding, but as way to make the daily routines go more smoothly with less tears and more joy.

Wake up with music

Singing your child’s favorite song can chase away the morning grumpies and coax that first smile of cooperation. Try this free “Get up and Move” activity from Kindermusik @Home to get your morning off to a great start together.
Play some recorded music as you are getting your child ready for the day – quiet and soothing or happy and energetic – whatever your child responds best to. With your Kindermusik music downloads and ever-expanding library, it’s easy to create playlists of favorite music to suit any mood.

Go places with music

Sing together in the car. No one else will hear, and your child will love having the chance to make music together with you.
Utilize Kindermusik’s radio app or stream your class music so that you can have fun music with you wherever you go.

Take naps with music

There’s nothing more soothing than a playlist or CD of gentle lullaby sleepy-time music. Or even just cuddling and singing a sweet quiet song before tucking your child in for a nap will make naptime that much easier. Making music a part of the naptime routine will send your child off into the land of nod quicker than almost anything else.

Transition with music

Many children have difficulty transitioning from one thing to the next – they want to keep playing when it’s time to leave to pick up big sister from school. Or they’re not quite ready to sit in the high chair for lunch. You name it – there’s probably a way to turn that difficulty into something fun. It’s easy to “piggyback” a song, replacing the words with words you make up.
Or how about that time in the day when everyone is hungry and supper isn’t ready yet? Turn on a favorite recording and make an impromptu band using wooden spoons and plastic bowls (keeping safety and age-appropriateness in mind, of course!).

Splish splash with music

Yes, even tub time is more fun with some lively music playing in the background. Your child may not be singing in the shower just yet, but the two of you can have lots of fun making bathtime a highlight of the day singing and listening to music in between all of the bubbles.

Music is one of the very best activities for kids at home and on the go! And we promise, music can make the moments of your day easier and happier.

Need some musical inspiration and resources? Try a Kindermusik class – free previews available!
– Written by Theresa Case who has an award-winning Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC

Child's Play

We call it play, the work children do all the day long. From rolling a ball to tasting it, from building with blocks to knocking them down, a child’s job is to play.

Activities for Kids at Home

Children learn and grow through play. Toys that mimic everyday objects, like kitchen appliances and gardening tools help a child to act out what he sees the grown-ups doing. Toys that specifically encourage creativity, like blocks, scarves, and Legos equip children as they use their ever-amazing minds to construct and pretend. Other simple things that inspire open-ended play include cardboard boxes, dress-up clothes, and Lincoln logs. Read here for more open-ended play ideas.

The most important play-thing

As parents, we want our children to have the best toys to help with their development. After

all, creating a stimulating home environment is the least we can do. But the most important play-thing that your child can have does not come in a box or from a store. Children need loving parents and caregivers to not only provide them with quality tools for their work, but they need adults to stop, sit, and become co-workers at play. This is one of the best educational activities for 2 year olds, 3 year olds, and beyond. It’s easy to delight a child with a new toy and walk away. But a child needs personal interaction with the adults in her life as she learns and grows.

It’s hard to take a break from what we view as important: work-related issues, financial problems, the upkeep of a home. But investing daily in the lives of our children by sitting down with them, allowing them the freedom to choose what to play, following them and labeling their actions, resisting the urge to organize and perfect their play, is the most important work that you can do as a parent.

Inspiring play through music and movement

In our Kindermusik classes you’ll find lots of inspiration for play, both musical and non-musical. Though our classes are music-based, we’ll give you lots of tips and ideas for playing with your child in class and at home – tips and ideas that come from an understanding of the concept of scaffolding, from learning more about your child’s developmental stage, and from the child-centered way that we approach our classes. There’s nothing like a Kindermusik class to give you a reason for playing with your child – once a week in class and throughout the week at home.

The simple act of investing time in play with your child is one of the very best investments you can make. Take a few minutes to play today!

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

Kindermusik Olympics – Involving Your Kids

Kindermusik Olympics - Involving Kids in the 2012 Olympics

Has Olympic Fever hit your house? We know many of our Kindermusik families are making the games a family affair. We’ve seen pictures of Opening-Ceremony-themed family dinners (fish and chips, homemade signs for Team USA, Olympic Rings and Gold Medal cookies), glow-in-the-dark baths with red, white, and blue glowsticks, and even know a family who is playing a version of Olympic BINGO that will span from the Opening Ceremony to the Closing Ceremony.

The games provide endless possibilities for conversations with your child. While watching the events, here are some age-specific conversation starters:

Babies and Toddlers

Name the colors of the uniforms and flags.
Talk about the shapes you see (the pool is a rectangle, the ball is a circle).
Describe the events you are watching. Use verbs to label the movements, etc.
Use your best Olympic Commentator voice to narrate a gold-medal winning session of getting dressed, drinking a bottle/eating lunch, or even bath time. Be sure the crowd cheers at the completion of the event!

Preschoolers

Ask which event they’d like to try. Pretend to be an Olympic athlete.
Keep a count of medals won. Let your preschooler add tally marks to keep track of gold, silver, and bronze.
Play a rhyming game with Olympic words (what rhymes with red? White? Blue? Badminton?)
Discuss how to be a good sport.

School-Aged Kids

Talk about goals. Imagine together how hard Olympic athletes must have to work to meet their goals.
Find some of the countries competing in the Olympics on a map. Talk about the similarities and differences between the USA and each country.
Design a team flag, poster, or uniform.
As you watch events where the athletes earn points, talk about greater than/less than, do some simple addition and subtraction, talk about fractions and decimals.

Because we know music makes everything more fun…

Check out this Kindermusik Olympics Playlist:
(To hear a sample of each song and to purchase, click on the song title to visit Play.Kindermusik.com)

What a Day
Catch Me
Yankee Doodle
Keep the Ball a-Rolling
The Keel Row
Burpee, Burpee, Jumping Jack & Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Swimming, Swimming
Walk and Stop
Follow My Leader to London Town

We know the [Kindermusik and] InJoy Music community is full of creative parents and great ideas. What is your family doing to celebrate the Olympics? Have you been watching the events? Which are your favorites? Will you have a family version of the Olympics? Share with us in the comments!

Contributed by InJoy Music, proudly offering Kindermusik classes in the Lenexa, KS area.

Simply contact your local educator about scheduling options.

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