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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.

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Musical Learning Inspiration for your Little One

Kindermusik@Home

We’ve all had them… one of THOSE days when we’re at our wit’s end and fresh out of ideas for something – anything! – to cheer up an unhappy baby or to engage a very busy little toddler.  Or maybe it’s a really good day, and we just want to take advantage of the perfect opportunity for a little extra learning through music.
Kindermusik@HomeIf you are a Kindermusik parent, look no further than your Kindermusik @Home Materials that not only complement our newest curricula, but also give you instant access to music, activities, and e-books – all carefully designed with you and your little one in mind.
And no, we’re not suggesting that you turn over your device or tablet to your small child; but rather, we’re encouraging you that some of the best activities for kids and some of the most delightful music on the planet is right there at your fingertips!
We invite you to take a quick (and free!) peek at just what we’re talking about…

From Cuddle & Bounce, our new Baby Music Class for 0s and 1s

4 Non-Laundry Uses for a Laundry Basket4 (Non-Laundry) Uses for a Laundry Basket – Who knew?!
Crinkly, Furry, Bumpy, Strange – Learning by exploring textures of every day objects

From Sing & Play, our new Toddler Music Class for 1s and 2s

Lets Make a Dog HousePlay Ideas: Fill and Empty – Sure to keep your child occupied for hours!
Let’s Make a Doghouse – So much fun to do and then to enjoy

The secret is out…

These incredible resources that we call Kindermusik @Home Materials are really for the parents, just one of the ways that Kindermusik truly helps make great parenting just a little bit easier and a whole lot more musical.

Want to learn more about Kindermusik classes and Kindermusik @Home?  Try a FREE class on us!

 
Kindermusik International knows and respects that each family gets to decide what’s best for them when it comes to the issue of screen time or the use of technology and young children.  In creating our new digital tools and parenting resources, Kindermusik has read about and researched this topic thoroughly.  We have aligned our stance with that of the highly respected NAEYC and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning, recognizing that children can benefit from a responsible and age-appropriate use of technology in combination with hands-on experiences and in partnership with an actively involved caregiver.  We are proud to bring these high-quality educational materials to your family in hopes we can truly embody the very best of both worlds- a responsible introduction to technology AND lots of hands-on, movement-rich, in-your-lap, down-on-the-floor learning.
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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.

 

 

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3 Advantages of Kindermusik@Home

Kindermusik@Home

Kindermusik@HomeYou might have heard the exciting news – there’s something new at Kindermusik. But not only is there a brand-new curricula with fresh and delightful themes, there is also a whole new kind of home materials to complement those themes and extend the classroom experience in a whole new way.
Introducing… Kindermusik@Home!

Advantage #1: More educational activities for kids to enjoy

The new curricula introduce a new theme every four lessons, and with every new theme comes another set of learning activities and parenting resources, automatically delivered to you.

Advantage #2: With you wherever you (or your device!) are

Kindermusik@Home - Online Learning Games for KidsAs long as you have your phone, your tablet, or your computer, you have your Kindermusik@Home with all of the activities, resources, play ideas, and music at your fingertips.
Whether you’re at home, or on-the-go, you and your kids can enjoy fun and educational activities, any time or day of the week!

Advantage #3: Yours for always and forever

The longer you’re enrolled in Kindermusik, the larger your library of Kindermusik@Home learning games and educational activities for kids becomes. And that library will always be available to you, even if you are no longer enrolled in Kindermusik classes.
There’s no better gift you can give your child than Kindermusik, especially when it includes all of the advantages of Kindermusik@Home!
Shared by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

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FOL Fridays: “Aaaand Stop!”

Musical learning at Kindermusik & at home

Musical learning at Kindermusik & at homeActivities that encourage a child to move or STOP moving in response to a cue help the child develop inhibitory control.

This ability to control one’s own body movements is an important first step toward developing both coordination and self-discipline.

Tips for parents:

One start/stop learning game for kids is to turn on a favorite recording or song and have your child dance until you push “pause”. Then start dancing again when the music starts up again.

Learning Through Sign Language

You can also teach your child this ASL sign for STOP. Sometimes giving children something to do, i.e., making the sign for stop themselves, helps them be able to stop their bodies.

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