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4 Benefits of Music for Toddlers

Mom sings to and sways her baby during one of Kindermusik's baby music classes.

Kindermusik_SoundtrackForAnySeason_web-250x250-250x250Toddlers are well, busy.  They love to go, move, do, and say “No!”  They also desperately crave predictability and routine.  Parents are challenged by near polar opposite behavior – one minute all is well; the next, there’s a meltdown.  A toddler will cling to mom as if he’ll never let go, and the next moment adamantly assert the independence of a teenager.  At the same time, toddlers are becoming very social, interested in other people and moving from parallel play where they play alongside other children to cooperative play where they start to play with the other children.
If all of these changes weren’t enough, brain development is literally exploding.  In fact, the only two times in a child’s life when there is such significant brain activity is when he/she is a toddler and a teenager.  Vocabulary and communication skills are blossoming, as the toddler goes from about 10 words in his vocabulary to upwards of 300 or so words by age 3.  Motor skills are also developing at a rapid rate – suddenly the child who was barely toddling along is now running, jumping, and galloping everywhere.  Whew!  No wonder moms and dads of toddlers are extra busy – and exhausted! – during this particular season of childhood.
With so much happening inside your toddler’s busy little mind and body, Kindermusik is one activity that beautifully supports and enhances this crucial season in your child’s life.
Though we could probably name a hundred, here are four benefits of music for toddlers:
BenefitsOfKindermusik_MusicClassesForToddlers_Infographic1.  A music class like Kindermusik provides an environment that is both stimulating and nurturing for toddlers.
With so much growth and development happening, toddlers need both the challenge of new things to learn and do as well as the comfort of loving adults and activities that nurture the soul.
2.  Early experiences with music and movement give your toddler an early learning advantage.
The connection between music and academic achievement is undeniable, as highlighted in this recent article.  There’s no better time to be enrolled in music classes than the toddler years when brain growth and development is at its peak, especially with the powerful combination that music and movement gives.
3.  Music, specifically singing songs and speaking rhymes and chants, improves language development.
At a time when language development is most crucial, there’s nothing more beneficial to speech, syntax, and pre-literacy than singing simple songs and reciting chants.  It will start with a few words here and there and then eventually grow into a small repertoire of favorite songs and rhymes that your toddler can sing or say all the way through.
4.  Early childhood music classes put a song in a child’s heart to stay.
Toddlers love music, and giving them an early start with music plants the seeds that bloom into a lifelong love for and appreciation of music.  Music is one gift you can give your toddler that will have a lifetime of meaning, memories, impact, and joy.  No other activity has the potential to influence your child like music does.

For parents…

dad and child at KindermusikThe entire Kindermusik experience, from class to home (and back again!), provides a vital support network for parents of busy toddlers.  Not only does Kindermusik foster and strengthen the parent-child relationship, but Kindermusik classes are also a social outlet for parents as well, a place to share both the joys and challenges of parenting a toddler.
And since Kindermusik is all about helping make great parenting a little easier and even more musical, parents benefit tremendously from all of the helpful tips, ideas, and resources (including your Kindermusik Home Materials) that will help you navigate and enjoy the toddler years to their fullest.
Best of all, parents enjoy a unique kind of bonding and together time with your toddler that only music can give.  With Kindermusik, you’ll be able to savor and linger in those precious, fleeting moments of toddlerhood with more cuddles, hugs, dances, lullabies, giggles, and sweet memories.

Experience the benefits of Kindermusik for yourself.  Contact a local Kindermusik educator and visit a free class today!

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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.

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5 Ways Music Prepares Children for School

It’s no secret. We love music. Music can move us in profound ways. No question about it. With more than 35 years of experience creating music classes for toddlers, babies, big kids, and families as well as standards-aligned daycare and preschool curriculum, we know the lasting impact music education can have on a child. We also know, as music educator Cheryl Lavender puts it, “The fact that children can make beautiful music is less significant than the fact that music can make beautiful children.”
As if creating beautiful children wasn’t enough, research shows that music can even help prepare children for school. All of that makes us fall in love with music all over again! Here are just five ways music can help prepare children for school. (By the way, we use all of these ways…and more…in our developmentally appropriate and research-based music education programs in private studios, public schools, and childcare centers!)

5 Ways Music Prepares Children for School

  1. Learning to read musical notation uses a similar set of cognitive skills and pattern recognition also found in reading. In our preschool curriculum, ABC Music & Me, and in our Kindermusik classes, when children sing high or low based on whether an image is above or below a line or when children imitate a recorded sound by playing a C-A pattern on an instrument, children are learning the symbolic representation for sounds. Learning musical notation in this way mirrors how listening to and imitating spoken language evolves into reading.
  2. Music gives children many opportunities to practice active listening skills. Developing strong active listening skills prepares children for classroom learning, including language and literacy development. During the school years, children will spend an estimated 50 to 75 percent of classroom time listening to the teacher, to other students, or to media. When children intently listen for the sounds of a specific instrument in a song, use wood blocks to produce a Staccato sound, or move smoothly with scarves when they hear the music change from Staccato to Legato, children are practicing active listening.
  3. Music and movement helps children learn to tell their bodies what to do, when to stop, when to go, and when to move to another activity. Self-regulation is the ability to control one’s own thoughts, feelings, and actions and can be a key ingredient to successfully transitioning into Kindergarten. So, in our music classes when we play a “Stop & Go” game, participate in circle dances, transition from one activity to another, and even share instruments, children learn and practice self-regulation skills. Those same skills will help children pay attention in school and act and behave appropriately, even among the many distractions found in a typical classroom setting.
  4. Music leads children to experience patterns through movement, listening, and playing instruments. Rhythm patterns are combinations of long and short sounds and silences. In our preschool or toddler curriculum, educators may lead the class to “step, step, step, stop” or “ta, ta, ta, rest” with rhythm sticks. This helps children learn rhythm patterns (quarter note, quarter note, quarter note, rest), a basic musical concept. Plus, whole body involvement with patterning not only lays an early foundation for reading music but also for math and literacy.
  5. Through vocal play, children learn to form vowels and consonants, say words and phrases, and imitate rhythm and vocal inflection. Our music classes and daycare curriculum provide many vocal play opportunities through songs, chants, and carefully-crafted activities, such as mimicking the high sounds of birds or the low sounds of frogs. Vocal play using glissando also encourages the expressive qualities of children’s speaking and singing voice as well as vocal range.

To learn more about enrolling in a Kindermusik class, contact a local educator via our Class Locator.

Schools, preschools, and childcare centers can learn more about using our daycare curriculum, ABC Music & Me, by emailing us at info@abcmusicandme.com