family activities Archives - Minds On Music

4 Simple Ideas for Indoor Musical Fun

When the weather keeps you indoors or you just need something to relieve a certain little someone’s boredom, here are a few fun and easy suggestions for keeping your child occupied and making a few memories along the way too! These are just a few simple, tried-and-true things to do with kids – at home and out and about.
Suggestion 1: Try a Kindermusik class!
Of course we couldn’t resist a small plug here! But we happen to think that Kindermusik classes are one of the very best things you can do with – and for! – your child newborn to 7 years. Not only do you get to enjoy a weekly class together, but you also receive Home Materials (now available digitally!) that help you enjoy and extend your Kindermusik experience at home throughout the week. With Kindermusik @Home, you can take your Kindermusik with you wherever you go!
Sign up for a free Preview Class here.
If you’re already enrolled in Kindermusik and need a little extra inspiration, take some time to explore the myriad of downloadable activities and music at play.Kindermusik.com – a great music app for kids AND their parents!
Suggestion 2: Sing a song and play along.
For example, remember the song “Hickory, Dickory, Dock” from your childhood? With a simple song like “Hickory, Dickory” as your inspiration, you can explore the sounds that different materials make when struck together. Try familiar materials such as wooden blocks, pots and pans, and cardboard tubes. Which sounds most closely mimic the ticking of a clock? Kids of all ages will also enjoy accompanying themselves with simple rhythm instruments while they sing.
Suggestion 3: Create some cool art.
Here’s a three-ingredient recipe for Pretty Puffy Snow. You will need 1 cup flour, 1 cup salt, and 1 cup water. Mix all ingredients and place the mixture in a squeeze bottle (try recycling an empty honey bottle or mustard container). Draw a wintery scene on a piece of stiff paper, then squeeze on your puffy “snow” for some really cool 3-D highlights.
By the way, art projects are always more enriching and more inspired when you’re playing a little music in the background… or when you choose this for one of your family activities!
Suggestion 4: Try these learning games for kids. (And get a sneak peek at one of the fabulous ideas available exclusively through Kindermusik @Home!)

Here’s a free music learning game that’s perfect for toddlers, but fun for all ages too: Finding Family

This adorable “get up and move” activity from Kindermusik provides opportunities for toddlers to be active, to engage in looking-and-finding, to follow directional cues (e.g. ‘under’, ‘behind’, ‘up’), and to identify (and open conversation-opportunities about) family members.

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

Make Your Own Snow Globe!

Let it Snow this Holiday Season with this Fun Kindermusik Activity.
Follow these simple, kid-tested steps for making your own sparkling snow globe. You choose the decorations!
Great for the classroom – or, if you’re looking for fun things to do with your kids this holiday season, this can be a memorable family activity.

Where Music and Learning Play!

To make this activity even more fun, we are giving away a FREE Music Download of Winter Wonderland. Login or Register at play.kindermusik.com.

Enjoy the music! We know it’s a great vehicle for learning. We encourage you to listen to the album Winter Wonderland while making this craft and use the tips below for extending the learning.

5 Steps for Making Your Own Snow Globe

Tips for Extending the Learning

This fun activity from Kindermusik@Home is great for developing basic science skills, including investigating materials, observing the seasons, and making scientific predictions. As you progress through the steps outlined, you can extend the learning by trying some of the following:

Investigate the materials needed. What does the glitter look like? How does the oil or syrup feel? Is the glass jar smooth or rough?
Talk about the season of winter. You can discuss cold weather, snow, ice, birds flying south, etc.
Predict what might happen when you turn your snow globe over. What will happen to the glitter? Will it make any sound?

Enjoy the music and this fun Kindermusik activity!

For more information on bringing Kindermusik to children around the world:

5 fun things for kids to do that teach sustainability

(Source: makingmulticulturalmusic.wordpress.com/)

This time of year we all seem to be on the lookout for family activities and fun things for kids to do. After all, with the holiday season upon us who doesn’t need ideas for activities for 2 year olds, 3 year olds, or the whole family? Let’s be honest, though. It probably never hurts to have a few extra ideas for fun things for kids to do—at any time of the year.
So, we pulled together a few ideas from Pinterest that we thought the rest of the Kindermusik community would enjoy. These family activities are not only fun but they also include the added benefit of teaching sustainability for kids. Go ahead and pin this post and consider it like that extra change of clothes for your children you always keep in the car—you might need them today or next week—but you know you will need them!

5 family activities that support the environment for kids

14 world instruments that can be made from recycled materials. Looking for something to do with that roasting pan? Try transforming it into a gong. Instead of taking that old cardboard box or milk container to the recycle bin, let your child use it for a drum or a shaker.
Go on a nature scavenger hunt. Playing outside and noticing the world around us teaches young children about the importance of caring for our planet. Try this nature scavenger hunt with the whole family. The pictures make it easy even for non-readers to join in on the fun.
Make a Ball Maze from recycled materials Paper towel and toiler paper tubs can work for this fun activity for kids. To extend the activity, you can even encourage your children to decorate the tubes with paint or crayons.
Turn artwork into, well, artwork. Put on music from Kindermusik class, give your children white paper and crayons, and encourage them to draw what they hear. Then, use this blogger’s idea to turn their artwork into something new.
Read about the earth. Sometimes a trip to the library can be just the adventure a baby, toddler, or preschooler needs. While there, grab a few of these books about the earth and snuggle up to read together.

Did you like these ideas for fun things for kids to do? Then try: 5 ideas to involve the whole family in being green. It feels good to be prepared with creative family activities and take care of the environment for kids at the same time!

How Kindermusik Passes the Parent Test

In a recent post, we highlighted some of the components of “The Parent Test,” that mostly unwritten list of criteria against which parents evaluate the worth and value of many of the activities, toys, and experiences we choose for our children. We made a pretty bold claim that Kindermusik is one of the best and most reliable answers to ALL of the questions that we identified on The Parent Test. Here’s why we so enthusiastically and confidently make that claim…
Kindermusik has a proven track record.
We are the original music and movement program. Over the last 30+ years, Kindermusik International has been relentless in its pursuit to be on the cutting edge of early childhood education through the vehicle of music and movement, continually incorporating the latest and best research, training licensed educators, and publishing exceptional Home Materials, now available digitally.
Kindermusik parents say so.
“I’ve learned how to be a better parent and teacher to my children. With Kindermusik, there’s a reason for everything we do in class – everything is a building block. The best part is we are told how it all fits together.” – Jill C., Kindermusik mom.
In fact, when surveyed, 99% of parents who responded said that they would recommend the Kindermusik program to other parents.
Kindermusik activities benefit your child in every way.
Your child’s development is completely integrated. However, the areas of growth or development of your child can be divided into these major categories: Language, Cognitive, Emotional, Physical, Social, and Musical. Here are just some of the ways that the Kindermusik experience enhances each of these areas:
Language: Through songs, chants, and stories, Kindermusik encourages early communication, speech, labeling, rhyming, and emergent literacy – all of which contribute to your child’s language development.

Cognitive: Kindermusik inspires your child’s learning, problem-solving, memory, ability to follow directions, think creatively, and sequence.

Emotional: Kindermusik gives your child a safe place to express feelings, build relationships with you and with others, learn appropriate behaviors, be secure, and form healthy emotional attachments.

Physical: From birth on, your growing child needs to be enabled to move and to develop skills like body awareness, balance, coordination, and spatial awareness. The combination of music and movement in our Kindermusik classes are perfect for your child’s physical development.

Social: Because Kindermusik is a group class experience, your child will learn the value of play and friendship as he or she practices the life skills of turn-taking, sharing, and interacting with others. You’ll make some great friends along the way yourself too!

Musical: Music and movement are the core of the Kindermusik experience. Your child’s love and understanding of music is developed right from the very start through singing, playing instruments, and listening as we introduce the fundamental musical concepts of patterns, rhythm, and melody.

Tag: family activities