Early language development: It’s all in the rhythm and beat!

baby playing drum

baby playing drumMusical learning and early language development go together like a newborn and a swaddle or a toddler and the words, “I do.” Young children rely almost exclusively on what they hear in order to acquire language. Scientists now know that our brain processes music similarly to how we process language.
In early language and literacy development, young children need to understand that words—like music—are made up of discrete sounds. In early language development, this is called phonemic awareness. Later children use that knowledge of sounds to build words and read. Research shows that children with strong phonemic awareness are more successful learning to read than others.

Ability to move to a steady beat linked to language skills

Under the leadership of Dr. Nina Kraus, a new research study published in The Journal of Neuroscience found that teenagers with more musical training experienced enhanced neural responses to speech sounds when compared to others.
“We know that moving to a steady beat is a fundamental skill not only for music performance but one that has been linked to language skills,” said Nina Kraus, of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University in Illinois in an article for the BBC, “Moving to the rhythm can help language skills.”
In the study, participants were asked to tap their fingers along to a beat while their accuracy was measured. Their brainwaves were also measured to observe how the brain responded to the sound.
“It turns out that kids who are poor readers have a lot of difficulty doing this motor task and following the beat. In both speech and music, rhythm provides a temporal map with signposts to the most likely locations of meaningful input,” Dr. Kraus told BBC News.

Musical learning and language development in Kindermusik

Kindermusik provides many opportunities for children to discriminate similarities and differences in sound. So, while children gain musical skills participating in our early childhood curriculum, they also make gains in phonological awareness and early language and literacy development. For example, when parents lift their children high “up, up in the sky” or “twirl around like a leaf” while singing the songs in class, children learn the word and understand the concept. Or when we recite nursery rhymes together or tap out the beat to a song, children hear the music of language. Children’s brains make a connection based on what they experience (being lifted high or twirling around) and hear (“up” or “twirl”). Later, children will discover those words correspond to marks on a page which eventually leads to letter recognition and reading.

Kindermusik is the world’s leader in early childhood curriculum development and musical learning. Find a class near you and experience the many benefits of music on a young child’s development.

 
 
 

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.

 
 

9 reasons why teachers love our early literacy curriculum

Early Literacy Curriculum with Research-Proven Results

Music and early literacy development go together like peanut butter and jelly, cheese and crackers, or to quote the final song from Grease, “Rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong.” When used as part of an early childhood curriculum, music can increase phonemic and phonological awareness, boost vocabulary acquisition and print awareness, and more.

Early Literacy Curriculum with Research-Proven Results

Our early literacy curriculum, ABC Music & Me, uses music and movement to teach young children early language and literacy. A new independent research study proves using this early childhood curriculum just 30 minutes a week delivers a 32 percent literacy gain. SEG Measurement, an independent research firm, conducted the comprehensive study of the effectiveness of ABC Music & Me during the 2012-2013 school year using

both quantitative and qualitative methods. The study shows that children participating in ABC Music & Me experienced significantly greater gains in language and literacy skills as compared to students in classes not participating in this early literacy curriculum.

Teacher perceptions on the effectiveness of early childhood curriculum on student skills

Early childhood educators love teaching ABC Music & Me. In fact, both teachers and parents would strongly recommend the early literacy curriculum to others. As part of the study, teachers identified nine specific areas they perceived to be especially effective on their students’ abilities:

  1. Listening
  2. Vocabulary development
  3. Phonemic and phonological awareness
  4. Pattern recognition
  5. Coordination
  6. Cooperation
  7. Engagement in classroom activities
  8. Attitudes toward learning
  9. Following directions

One participating preschool teacher noted: “The most effective aspects of ABC Music & Me are that the children all participate and have fun doing the different activities each week. The lesson plan is easy to follow. The assessment forms from Fall to Spring show growth in many areas….Overall, I feel that ABC Music & Me has now become a daily part of my lesson plan. I look forward to using the program next year!”

To learn more about bringing our early literacy curriculum—and a 32 percent literacy gain—into your classroom, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.

6 websites and mobile apps for kids that support early literacy development

iStock_000002617208XSmall mom-boy readingTalking to babies, toddlers, and preschoolers throughout the day, reading together, and playing learning games for kids all help support early literacy and language development. When babies react to their mothers’ voices, they are responding to the familiar cadence of the language. While sitting in a parent’s lap listening to a story before bedtime, toddlers begin to see and recognize letters and sounds and the proper way to read a book. As preschoolers practice writing letters—and

even their names—they foster phonetic awareness. Throughout this process, children look to their parents as their first and best teacher!

As creators of early childhood curricula, including an early literacy curriculum, ABC Music & Me, we know just how important family involvement in education can be to a young child’s early literacy skills and language development. So, we pulled together six of our favorite websites and mobile apps for kids that support early literacy development and a parent’s role as a child’s first and best teacher. Enjoy!

6 websites and mobile apps for kids that support early literacy development

  1. Reading Rainbow: We love Reading Rainbow! LeVar Burton started RRKidz when the beloved show was canceled so he could continue to bring reading and education to kids using the newest and best technology. This mobile app for kids offers a trusted library of books and video field trips to visit fascinating people and places. New books and videos are added every week expanding the collection. Kindermusik will be partnering with Reading Rainbow to bring a “Musical Island” to the app!
  2. WeGiveBooks: We Give Books supports parent involvement in education and early literacy skills by providing online books for families to read together. Using any device with Internet access, parents can read books to children at home or on the go. The available children’s books include selections of fiction and non-fiction for children through 10 years old.
  3. PBSKids Island: Together, you and your child can visit PBSKids Island and play learning games for kids that feature PBS favorites, such as Sesame Street, Martha Speaks, and Super WHY! While not an early literacy curriculum, these educational activities for kids support early literacy development through letter recognition, rhyming, and even spelling challenges.
  4. Backyard Phonics Adventure: This mobile app for kids uses letters and pictures to teach letter recognition and beginning phonics. Children match a beginning sound to a letter or a beginning sound to another picture with the same beginning sound.
  5. Starfall.com: Many preschools and elementary schools use Starfall.com as a supplement to an early childhood or early literacy curriculum. This free website includes learning games for kids that teach letter recognition and the corresponding sounds, phonics, and more.
  6. Kindermusik@Home: Available as part of enrollment in Kindermusik, Kindermusik@Home supports a parent’s role as a child’s first and best teacher while also providing fun learning games for kids. Accessible Kindermusik@Homefrom any smart phone, iPad, tablet, or laptop, Kindermusik@Home provides educational activities for kids that support early literacy development, such as eBooks, active listening games, virtual field trips, plus an abundance of ideas and developmental insights behind using music and movement to support a child’s early literacy development. The activities connect what happens in the classroom to the everyday routines and rituals of families.

To learn more about enrolling in a Kindermusik class and receiving access to Kindermusik@Home, contact a local educator via our Class Locator.

Schools, preschools, and childcare centers can also benefit from Kindermusik@Home. To learn more about bringing our early literacy curriculum into your classroom while also increasing parental involvement, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.

 

 

11 summer-friendly literacy activities for parent involvement in education


Ask a child to define “summer slide” and responses may include descriptions of the tunnel slides at the local park, the indoor slide at the restaurant down the street, or maybe the water slide at the pool. Ask an early childhood educator, however, and the response would probably include an explanation of what can happen to the early literacy skills of a child who doesn’t read or engage in early literacy activities over the summer.
As a child’s first and best teacher, parent involvement in early childhood education can stop the “summer slide.” We put together 11 tried-and-true early literacy activities for families to do together over the summer (or anytime!) that supports early literacy development.

11 summer-friendly early literacy activities

1. Read with your child 20 minutes each day. Include a mixture of books that you both choose.
2. Practice letter writing in the sandbox, chalk on the sidewalk, or even a cookie sheet with flour (for those rainy days).
3. Act out your child’s favorite story together.
4. Go on a “Letter Sound” scavenger hunt. Help your child find objects around the house or in your neighborhood that start with every letter of the alphabet.
5. Listen to books on CD or download stories from play.kindermusik.com.
11 Summer-friendly early literacy activities6. Add eBooks to your reading list. eBooks can be especially engaging for reluctant readers.
7. Go fishing. Put magnetic letters in a bowl. Tie a string to a paper clip and let your child “fish” for a letter. After catching a letter, your child identifies the letter and the sound it makes.
8. Connect stories to your child’s life. Reading a book with characters that live in the woods? Go on a hike. Is the setting at a lake? Visit a lake, pond, or even a stream.
9. Look at the clouds and make up stories about what you see.
10. Play “I Spy” with letter sounds. “I spy something that starts with the letter B.” (Then make the sound of the letter.)
11. Download the Reading Rainbow app, the number 1 app in Education. Plus, with hundreds of books and videos, new content added every week, and music-themed content by Kindermusik, we know you can find something for every young reader!

Early childhood curriculum increases family involvement in early childhood education

ABC Music & Me is an early childhood curriculum that uses music and movement to teach young children. We also increase parent involvement in early childhood education by providing families each month with the music from class as well as a Family Activity Guide (available in English and Spanish). The guide includes the story from class and related literacy activities that families can do together at home.
For more information on how ABC Music & Me uses music to teach early language and literacy and increase parent involvement, email us at abcinfo@kindermusik.com.

Too Small to Fail, indeed

Too Small To Fail - Early Childhood Initiative

Every day in our music classes for toddlers, babies, big kids, and families, we see (or hear about!) how early childhood education positively impacts a child’s future. We know our early childhood curriculum makes a difference.

Too Small To Fail - Early Childhood Initiative
Source: TheNextGeneration.org

However, we also know that too many children start school without an early learning foundation that leads to school and life success.
A new early childhood initiative, Too Small to Fail, focuses on improving the lives of young children. This joint initiative of the Clinton Foundation and Next Generation caught our attention because of their commitment to improving the lives of young children in ways that aligns with our philosophy (and the latest early childhood research!) including:

  1. Parents are a child’s first and best teacher.

  2. During the first five years of a child’s life, early childhood education can make a significant difference in the development of the brain.

  3. Early childhood curriculum that teaches a young child to love learning continues to positively impact the way a child perceives school, including math and science.

See for yourself:



We look forward to watching this new early childhood initiative develop and discovering how we might be a part. You can join in the Too Small to Fail conversation on Facebook – or comment below – to share your ideas or stories of your own experiences with the power and importance of early childhood education.