FOL Fridays Archives - Minds On Music

FOL Fridays: Body Management

Discovering and exploring movement provides young children with profound learning experiences. They are delighted to practice and show off their emerging skills, and they will seek out opportunities to practice these skills frequently. It is during this time that the foundation is laid for body-management activities needed in childhood games, recreational activities, and eventually sports (Carson 2001).
Ideas for parents: One fun way to explore movement ideas together is to play a simple “Copy Me” game. The first person moves and the partner copies. Take turnings being the one moving and the one copying. This game is likely to become quite hilarious with preschoolers and big kids who will have fun coming up with the silliest ideas ever! Add a little music, and you’ve got the inspiration for some happy, fun music and movement activities that will keep you entertained and physically active!

FOL Fridays – Stop… and GO!

One aspect of self-control is inhibitory control, or the ability to stop oneself and wait. Toddlers love stop-and-go games because they allow them to practice control over their physical bodies and to revel in their mastery of this control. Inhibitory control is important in social interactions where taking turns is involved, and as such is an important skill for success in school.
In fact, studies suggest that “children who learn that they have the capacity and opportunity to exert control over their actions early in life may be more likely to learn to accept responsibility for their actions as they mature.”
(Fostering Children’s Social Competence: The Teacher’s Role by Lilian G. Katz and Diane E. McClellan)
Tips for parents: Teach your child the ASL for “stop” as seen HERE. Giving your child something to do (i.e., making the sign for “stop”) helps them be able to stop more immediately, plus it’s a fun thing for kids to learn. It is also a good non-verbal communication tool for you to have handy when there’s a need for your child to stop. You can also play a simple stop-and-go game by singing and moving, stopping at the end of the song with the ASL “stop” sign, and going again with as many more verses as you can stand!

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

FOL Fridays – Explore and Discover

The preschool-aged child always seems to be curious, ready to find out more or explore and discover. And they have a big imagination to go along with it! These are some of the great delights of enjoying all kinds of activities with 3 year olds and 4 year olds, but especially the kinds of playful, creative, learning-oriented music activities we do in our Kindermusik classes for this age group.
For example, asking your child to broaden his or her understanding and experience of moving a ball in a way other than bouncing or throwing it opens up new play possibilities. Through repeated exploration experiences, the child can develop the concept that every object has unlimited possibilities for exploration. Becoming aware that an object can be used in many ways allows the child to problem solve – trying new things, making errors and learning from the total process. The child can then transfer this explorer attitude to other activities. This is true ownership of learning and becomes a lifetime tool.
Tips for parents (and fun for kids!): Kindermusik teachers love GERTIE balls for all kinds of ball play, even for toddlers. Gertie balls are easy to grasp and are safer for indoor play than regular balls.
Shared by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

FOL Fridays: Modeling

Children learn best by doing. Through modeling, a child has many opportunities to imitate steady beat and experiment with steady-beat playing. Practicing these emerging music skills within the context of meaningful and playful activities gives a child a rich and unparalleled learning experience.
Ideas for parents: Music is such a tremendous vehicle for learning of all kinds, but to enhance and inspire your child’s developing music skills, make it a goal to surround your child with music at home – during play, as he settles for nap, at bath time, and before bed. Whether you’re singing to him or you just keep the iPod or radio playing, your child will benefit tremendously and will likely be inspired to pick up and play along. Listening and responding to music exposes your child to the many wonderful benefits of music and a musical environment.

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

FOL Fridays – The Music Inside

Children need opportunities to hear music sung, and they need invitations to hear music internally, with no external sound source. Being able to hear music “in your head” (audiation) like this is an important part of musical literacy, just as learning to think sentences and thoughts without speaking is an important feat in language development and part of early literacy development. Omitting parts of familiar songs is one way to help children begin to “fill in the blanks” and hear music internally.

Fun at home or in the car: Sing a song like “Twinkle, Twinkle.” Leave out a word and then pause… you very well may hear your child fill it in! Or hum a favorite tune

and see what happens when you don’t sing the last note. (Can you hear it in your head?!)

By singing a song and allowing your child to fill in the blanks, you are developing her sense of inner hearing as related to pitch and melody. Singing a song in your mind is akin to thinking a story or making a plan without speaking out loud. Remembering the sequence adds an additional level of complexity. It is a necessary life skill.

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

FOL Fridays: Pairing Language with Movement

Pairing language with movement sets the stage for cognitive and kinesthetic learning. The right hemisphere of the brain is our emotional side where much of our creativity is channeled. The left hemisphere organizes logical skills, such as language. When children are engaged in movements determined by the lyrics, the brain automatically cross-references both hemispheres, mapping creativity and logic (Fishbourne, G. 1998)
Tips for parents: Family involvement in education can be as simple as turning on a favorite recording with lyrics or singing a favorite tune. Listen for a bit and then discuss the different ways you could move based on the words of the song. As you dance together with your child, you can also label some of those movements, further strengthening the impact of the “moving to learn” experience. Plus, parent involvement in early childhood education through singing and dancing strengthens your role as your child’s first and best teacher.

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

FOL Fridays: The Benefit of a Routine

Regular schedules provide a framework that orders a young child’s world. While predictability can be tedious for adults, children thrive on sameness and repetition. “Knowing what to expect from relationships and activities helps children become more confident,” says Dr. Peter Gorski, assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School (Asher).

Tips for parents: The days never seem

to go exactly as planned with young children, but it’s helpful for both of you to have a general schedule for the day. Naps and moods will improve tremendously, and you’re likely to have fewer outbursts to deal with. Of course, one predictable weekly activity that we highly recommend is… Kindermusik!

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