7 Reasons to Give the Gift of Experiences—Like Early Childhood Music Classes!

We love music around here. Surprised? We didn’t think so. During the holiday season, you can often find us listening to favorite songs we first heard as children. (Muppets Christmas, anyone?)

Just listening to certain songs revives memories of twinkling lights, candlelight, laughter, the smell of yummy goodness baking in the oven, and the comfort of family. Each year we look forward to creating more musical memories with our friends and families. It’s no wonder that Oscar Wilde penned: “Memory is the diary we all carry about with us.”

Our childhood memories and experiences help shape who we become as adults. This holiday season why not give the gift of experiences to your child. Every child on your shopping list will love the gift of time and an individualized gift of doing something you love WITH someone you love!

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7 Reasons to Give the Gift Experiences to Children

  1. The memories will last a lifetime—long after a child loses interest in the latest toy or gadget.
  2. An “experience” gift can be custom-tailored to a child. Does your little one love new books? Take a trip to the library and read 20 books in one afternoon or all the picture books by the same author. Does your child sing throughout the day? Host a family karoke night and spend the evening singing and dancing together. Is your little guy or girl fascinated with the great outdoors? Camp out in the living room!
  3. You don’t need to find a spot for one more toy. (You know what we are talking about!)
  4. Your child learns the value of spending time together.
  5. No batteries or assembly required (i.e. no late nights spent putting together toys or lamenting proper sticker placement on tiny plastic cars.) Woo-hoo!
  6. It’s fun for you, too.
  7. Investing time with our kids pays off by creating heart-to-heart connections with them. As your children grow, they will begin to shift focus to peer-to-peer relationships but by teaching them the value of spending time as a family, children will RETURN the gift to you during the teen and adult years….and pass the gift on to their own children.

Of course, we would LOVE for you to give the gift of music. It’s what we do after all. However, here are 18 other ideas for “experience” gifts.

Graphic_GiveTheGiftOfMusic_holiday-icon_Pinterest_600x600Find a local Kindermusik educator to give the gift of music AND support a local small business owner.

3 benefits of music on early math skills

Music and Movement at Kindermusik

Music and Movement at KindermusikIn early childhood education, the benefits of music include boosts to skills as varied as vocabulary development, gross-motor skills, empathy, phonemic awareness, active listening, and even early math development. Music and movement activities for three year olds (or toddlers or four,- five-, and older!) look like fun and games, but behind all the laughter and smiles is learning.
Consider these examples of the many benefits of music on children.

3 benefits of music on early math development

  1. Spatial awareness. Children who participate in music classes show stronger spatial temporal reasoning skills than those without music instruction.
  2. Counting by rote. Young children learn to count by rote—a memorizing process using routine and repetition. Learning to count by rote helps children develop foundational skills for math, including number vocabulary, memory, patterning, and sequence. Through music and movement activities, children encounter many opportunities to practice counting in a fun, engaging way. In an early childhood education classroom, musical learning examples include counting to three and jumping up during a circle dance or reciting the numbers as children receive (or put away) instruments, or tapping on a drum the beats.
  3. Pattern recognition. The beats, rhythms, and melodies of music lead children to experience patterns through movement, listening, and playing instruments. Listening to music and then matching the steady beat through clapping or instrument play helps children recognize and translate a simple pattern.

Early childhood curriculum uses music to teach early math and language and literacy skills

ABC Music & Me - Early Literacy and Language CurriculumThe National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) advocates for math learning in contexts that simultaneously supports other types of thinking and problem solving, such as music. Research continues to show the benefits of music on mathematics achievement.
Our early childhood curriculum, ABC Music & Me, uses music and movement to teach children early math skills, such as counting by rote, spatial awareness, and pattern recognition. Whether used as a preschool or daycare curriculum or even an after school curriculum, ABC Music & Me can also boost literacy and language skills, self-control, sharing, turn-taking, and other school readiness skills.

For more information about using ABC Music & Me as a preschool or daycare curriculum, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.