Movement and Music: Hop, Wiggle, Squirm, and Sing!

Babies movement smiles

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Lisa Sempsey, Kodály Educator

Kids have boundless energy! That statement is no surprise if you’re a parent, caregiver, or teacher to a child. There are times that you may look at the children under your care and think, “they may not need a nap, but I do!” or, “how do they just keep going?” Well, movement: touching, rolling, skipping, jumping, wiggling…it’s just part of how a child explores her world. It’s also how their brain/body develops “must have” connections to grow up in a healthy way. Movement is key! But, traditional sports or dance classes are not the only way to keep children moving. Don’t get me wrong, organized athletics and dance programs have an important impact in the world, but there are also other ways to keep your little ones on the move and having fun![/vc_column_text][blockquote cite=”Ralph Waldo Emerson”]It is a happy talent to know how to play.[/blockquote][vc_column_text]Music and movement have a natural connection. Think about it, when you sing to an infant, you rock them. Squirmy toddler? You’ll probably bounce that little guy on your knee as you recite a traditional rhyme to him. Is your kindergartner having a birthday party? Then, you might organize a round of musical chairs. All of these examples have a music-movement connection. But, they just scratch the surface. There are hundreds of “old” movement games that children still love to play, plus, new ideas on how children can explore movement, and often, music at the same time.

Not sure where to start? There are many websites and online libraries that are treasure troves for kid-friendly and parent/teacher approved, movement rich activities. I used to use them with my own child. (He’s twelve now!) I use them for planning activities at summer camps, and school lessons with many age levels, pre-school through high school. Try out the two online resources below. Take a look. Explore and see how much fun you and your children can have![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Music and Movement Resources

  • GoNoodle.com: What a fun website! Sign up for free, create a monster, click on an activity, and let the fun begin. Whether it’s yoga with Maximo, Zumba for Kids, silly movement with Koo Koo Kachoo, or one of the many other choices. Kids are engaged, challenged, and most likely giggling!
  • Kodaly.hnu.edu: This is an online library for folk songs, inspired by the Kodaly philosophy of music education. While I have many, MANY song sources for my classroom, this is my go-to resource when I’m in a pinch. Click on “search the collection” to look for song material that meets your needs. Looking for a movement activity? Scroll all the way to the bottom to the “game type” drop-down box. Choose a genre and you’ll get many songs with the game or dance directions written out for you. Some songs even have field recordings that you can listen to.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][blockquote cite=”Zoltán Kodály”]Singing connected with movements and action is a much more ancient, and, at the same time, more complex phenomenon than is a simple song.[/blockquote][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Want even more ideas?  Looking to integrate movement into a group setting with children?  There are many books with music and movement ideas together.  Some of my favorites are:

Music and movement are a natural fit at home and in school.  Those wiggly kids will sing, play, move, and laugh their way through great games and dances both old and new!


Lisa Sempsey
Lisa Sempsey

Mrs. Sempsey is an active clinician and workshop presenter in south-central Pennsylvania covering topics including classroom management, choral reading sessions, technology in the music classroom, movement and music curricular connections, Kodaly philosophy, curriculum development, and lesson planning, and Orff-Schulwerk philosophy, curriculum development, and lesson planning.

 

Mrs. Sempsey has taught kindergarten through sixth grade general music, elementary choruses, as well as elementary and middle school strings in Lower Dauphin and Conestoga Valley School Districts, as well as been the Artistic Director and Prelude Choir Director for the Children’s Choir of Lancaster from 2005-2012.  Currently, Mrs. Sempsey teaches kindergarten through sixth grade general music, choruses, and Orff & Drum Ensembles in Columbia Borough School District.   She is also the K-12 Art & Music Curriculum Coordinator.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

New Thoughts for a New Year: Music for Music’s Sake

Music for Music's Sake

Happy New Year! It is my great honor to join the Kindermusik team as the editor of Minds on Music Blog. Music has and continues to be my life’s passion, and I am excited to curate a useful resource on behalf of this wonderful organization. Learn more about me here.

We often read that music has tremendous collateral benefit in other subject areas, such as math and English. This is quite true, with plenty of research to back this up. But music possesses intrinsic worth, providing a host of benefits to our human condition. In fact, last year the US Senate voted to list music as a core subject in the Every Child Achieves Act. This recognition was a huge win for music educators and students alike. We’ll explore some of these intrinsic benefits in depth this year, but before we do, here’s a brief list exploring involvement in music for music’s sake.

Continue reading “New Thoughts for a New Year: Music for Music’s Sake”

12 Song Lyrics Perfect for Kid’s Room (FREE PRINTABLES INCLUDED)

You don’t need to be a singer-songwriter to recognize that lyrics somehow perfectly capture an emotion or a moment in time. So, we put together a few of our favorite song lyrics that, well, perfectly capture parents’ dreams, wishes, hopes, and prayers for their young children. Plus, you can download them and use in your home or classroom or office!

Nursery 8

 

Nursery 4

 

 

Nursery 5

 

Nursery 6

 

Nursery 7

 

Nursery 9

 

Nursery 3

 

Nursery 1

 

Nursery 2

 

Nursery 11

 

Nursery 10

 

Nursery 12

 

Download all 12 musical printables here for a child’s nursery, playroom, or even your kitchen or living room!

Give Kids’ Brains a Break with Music

teach kindermusik

The Electric Slide, The Cha-Cha Slide, and The Macarena can impact kids’ brains in a powerful way…and probably not in the way you may think. Music and movement “brain breaks” can actually improve attentiveness, concentration, and focus. (Yes! Even The Macarena.) Brain breaks can also help kids discover new solutions—or THE solution—to a problem.

So, the next time the kids in your life need a break, try one of these at home or in the classroom!

4 Quick and Easy Music and Movement Brain Breaks

  • 5-4-3-2-1. In this game, children perform 5 different movements in descending order. For example, a teacher or parent says: Clap your hands five times. Hop four times. Spin around three times. Stomp two times. Jump one time. Pause between each number to allow time for every child to process the instruction and do it.
  • Sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.” This gets kids moving and stretching. Plus, movement paired with the word also supports vocabulary development!
  • Play Freeze Dance. Put on a favorite song and tell children to dance or move around until the music stops. When the music stops, they must stop, too. This brain break game also gives children the opportunity to practice inhibitory control.
  • Look at pictures of cute baby animals. This one isn’t a musical brain break, but kids love looking at baby animals. (Who doesn’t?!) A Japanese research study showed that looking at all of those cute baby animals actually increases concentration and attentiveness! To make it musical, listen to music while you gaze at the cuteness.

Want more musical brain break ideas for your family? Visit a local Kindermusik class and we’ll give you enough to last throughout the week!

Contributed by Lisa Camino Rowell a freelance writer in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.

18 Signs You Are A Musical Family

7 Musical Ways

Are you raising a musical family? If you find yourself relating to this list, then chances are the answer is Yes!

  1. Your toddler thinks you’ve been hiding white egg shakers in the refrigerator and can’t understand why he can’t play with them, too.
  2. Your kids yell at YOU to turn the music down.
  3. Your child insists on sleeping with his favorite instrument.Brady asleep with glock
  4. Your child sang her first words.
  5. Your child insists you sing “Wishy-washy-wishy-washy-wishy-washy-WEEEE” during every bath.
  6. Pinecone + stick = guiro. Your child can turn anything into an instrument.
  7. Your child knows what an album is.
  8. You find yourself saying things like: “Put down the ukulele and brush your teeth.” And “How many times do I have to tell you to pick up your glockenspiel?”
  9. You’ve recorded at least one video of your family lip-synching a song from Frozen.
  10. You overhear your child talking with a friend about the musical merits of the original Annie movie. (Okay. That’s really just wishful thinking on your part. Today’s kids seem to prefer the revamped Annie and that’s okay, right? Right?!)
  11. You re-enact the dance moves from Dancing with the Stars or So You Think You Can Dance. Yes, even the lifts.
  12. dad 16You thought about how many kids you wanted based on the size of your dream band.
  13. Your family’s musical tastes range from Taylor Swift to the Beatles to Tchaikovsky to Miles Davis to KidzBop.
  14. Your child insists on answering your questions through song.
  15. You have at one point either tried out for American Idol (or your country’s equivalentor the Voice OR secretly imagined your child auditioning one day.
  16. As soon as you found out you were pregnant, you created a list of “Albums Our Child Should Listen to Before They Turn 18.”
  17. You dressed (or dress) your child in any of the following: vintage concert T-Shirts, “I’m With the Band” onesies, “Treble Maker” bibs, or Future (insert instrument of choice) Player pullovers.
  18. You love making music together as a family, like this one:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6pKdY9O-hA[/youtube]

Do you like to hang out with other musical families? Find a local Kindermusik class and meet other parents who place a high value on raising musical kids!

Contributed by Lisa Camino Rowell, a freelance writer in the Atlanta area. She wakes up every morning to the sounds of her husband singing, dresses her kids in vintage concert shirts, and tripped over more than one glockenspiel.

5 Common Misconceptions about Music

Before human beings spoke…before we defeated time and became immortal by drawing pictures on cave walls…we made music. Somewhere, one of our ancestors took a stick, hit a rock, and music was born. With this in mind, music is our birthright. But for some of us, we think it’s beyond our understanding or something we simply consume like popcorn at the movies. Here are some of the most common misconceptions about music…

1. Making music is for musicians only.

Well that’s just silly. The hardest step is always the first one. Can you bang on a can? Do Tone-Deafyou hum in the car or sing in the shower? Well – guess what? YOU are a musician! Just because you aren’t doing it for a living doesn’t mean you can consider yourself a musician. Think about it: Chorus America states there are about 42.6 million people singing approximately 270,000 choirs in the US. That is a lot of people. You could be one of them! If you can walk you can dance; if you can talk you can sing!

2. Music is a privilege.

No! Music is a necessity of the human condition – like food or breathing. Think about it – in some of our darkest moments – the concentration camps of WWII or slavery in the US – those people, just trying to survive – produced beautiful music! Music is not something for a select few simply because it’s fun (though the fun part is true). Music is a basic need, like food or water – it’s not a privilege. Music expresses that which can’t simply be said or written down – we need it. It crosses socio-economic and cultural divisions and brings people together. Remember this children’s orchestra in Paraguay? They play instruments made from recycled trash! Take a moment and imagine a world without music. No film scores…no songs on the radio…no rock bands…no singing in the shower. That is a boring, colorless world.

3. It’s too early to start learning about music – or too late!

Scientists constantly tell us the benefits of music – and it’s never too early get children involved. Take a look at how these 11 month old twins respond to their Dad’s guitar playing. They’re movin’, man! They are engaged! They are connected to each other and their parents through the music! Are your kids banging on pans? Let them! They are figuring out sounds and making neurological connections in their brains – real “science-y” stuff. But back to the kids – you can see them light up when the music starts. This is a no-brainer. Early is better but it’s never too late. (Here are the twins a year later, still dancing to the music with a more developed sense of steady beat!)

4. I’m tone deaf.

Lies and slander! Okay – there is an extremely small percentage – ridiculously small as to be statistically insignificant – that is biologically tone deaf. For you two people – you can be drummers! The rest of you just think you are tone deaf. We convince ourselves we can’t do it so we don’t. And when you don’t do something regularly, it becomes a bit harder to do it well! Do you drive a car with a standard transmission? Can you tell the difference between your brother and sister when they call on the phone? Guess what? You aren’t tone deaf!

5. Music is only something I can do alone.

Science warning!!! Did you know that when a group of people sing together, their heartbeats sync! Amazing! Making music builds community in amazing ways. Getting together in groups to make music may be beneficial for our health. It certainly helps with socialization for young kids. It gets them out of their shells, interacting with others, building new friendships, all while sharpening the mind! Music for music’s sake is wonderful, but the science is real: a mind engaged by music yields a host of benefits beyond the wonderful joy of the art itself. And group musical instruction does much to help kids connect to others in a fun environment. Kindermusik is the perfect prescription from this music doctor; their music classes can make a world of difference for kids from birth!

Music class drumConsider this story – a group of kindergarteners were asked, “Who here can sing?” They ALL put their hands up. “I can sing!”…”Me, too! I’m really good!” That same group, three years later – asked the same question. About 20% fewer kids said they could sing. The same group three years later? Another 20% decide they can’t sing. By the time that group is in high school? Less than 15% might say they sing well. Why? Well – most of the time, it’s lack of encouragement. Get them involved early and encourage artist exploration! Now is the time!

Contact Kindermusik to learn how you can be part of an amazing experience for your child.

Contributed by Dr. Mark A. Boyle, Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at Seton Hill University. He is sought after nationwide as a guest conductor, soloist, and clinician.Dr. Mark A. Boyle

10 Reasons to Give Babies a Daily Dose of Music

bigstockphoto_Happy_Mom_1646790We like to tell parents that they are their child’s first and best teacher because it’s true! Sure, parents may not always know all the answers—like that initial night home from the hospital (now what?!) or when a baby experiences a growth spurt and wakes up every two hours (why?!).
But, thankfully parenting is not about personally knowing all of the answers all of the time. It doesn’t change the fact that parents ARE the early childhood experts when it comes to their own children.
Of course, everyone needs a little help and affirmation now and again…even the experts. Music can be the go-to resource to help make parenting just a little bit easier and support a parents’ unique role in a young child’s life. In fact, we think music gives parents super powers! Music can provide moments throughout the day (or night) to pause and celebrate the parent-child bond and reinforce a young baby’s development. Here are a few ways babies benefit when parents add music to their parenting toolkit.

10 Reasons for Parents to Give Babies a Daily Dose of Music

1. Rocking, swaying, bouncing, and dancing to music develop babies’ vestibular system. This system is responsible for helping the brain understand gravity, gain balance, and develop spatial awareness.
Parenting tip: Put on some music. Pick up your baby and dance. Dancing together will also release endorphins for a mood boost! Who doesn’t need that?
Mom and baby bonding through music2. Steady beat gives children the ability to walk effortlessly, speak expressively, read fluidly, and even ultimately regulate repeated motions such as riding a bicycle or brushing teeth. While young infants are learning how to control their movements, lap bounces allow them to feel a steady beat with their whole bodies. Older babies benefit from lap bounces as they work to keep their bodies upright while in motion, strengthening the core muscles.
Parenting tip: Try this lap bounce from Kindermusik@Home or make up one of your own. Bounce together when waiting at the doctor’s office or at a restaurant to help pass the time.
3. Playing instruments develops fine motor skills. Grasping instruments between the thumb
 and index finger or with a fisted grasp pattern encourages the development of fine motor skills, which babies will later use to hold a pencil or spoon, use scissors, or maybe even play the piano!
Parenting tip: Provide baby-safe instruments for your child to play with in the car. Put on some favorite music and sing along!
Vocal Play - Teaching Babies with Kindermusik@Home4. Vocal play exposes babies to the sounds of language and teaches them the structure of communication as a parent-child pair take turns “talking.” The ideal time to engage in vocal play is when faces are close together so a baby can mimic facial expressions and watch an adult’s mouth move.
Parenting tip: Try this vocal play activity from Kindermusik@Home during diaper changes or when sitting quietly together.
5. Music develops babies’ growing discriminatory listening skills by hearing the various sounds of instruments and the voices of adults singing and humming. This ability to detect and attend to sounds—and to distinguish between them—sets babies on the path to fine-tuned listening and receptive language.
Parenting tip: Go on a listening walk to hear the musical sounds found in nature. Point out the different sounds you hear together: birds, leaves moving in the breeze, dogs barking, etc.
ways to hold baby poster6. Dancing and moving to music supports cross-lateral movement, spatial awareness, eye-hand coordination, and eye tracking—foundational skills for reading.
Parenting tip: Try holding your baby in different ways while you dance together. Our “Ways to Hold Baby” graphic will get you started!
7. Participating in music activities in a group supports social and emotional development. When we sing, clap, bounce, or dance to a steady beat in a group with babies, these shared experiences of synchronous movement help form social bonds.
Parenting tip: Invite friends and their children over for a musical play date. Not sure where to begin?
Visit a Kindermusik class for free or ask about our new solutions for Parents as Teachers (PAT), home-based programs and socialization groups.

8. Listening to soothing music can help teach young children how to relax. In fact, our heartbeats actually synchronize with the music we hear. Added bonus: Children who know how to relax and self-soothe can be better sleepers.
Parenting tip: Make a playlist of lullabies and add to the nightly routine to signal bedtime. 
Kindermusik@Home Songs and Activities for Babies9. Pairing a word with a movement increases children’s understanding of the concept even before they can speak.
Parenting tip: Try this activity from Kindermusik@Home. Make up your own verses to mirror what you and your baby are doing.
10. The benefits of music enables a child’s brain to more quickly process and retain information, regulate behaviors, make good choices, solve problems, plan, and adjust to changing mental demands.
Parenting tip: Sing, dance, and make music with your child throughout the day!

Learn more about the importance of music in a young child’s life at www.kindermusik.com.

Contributed by Lisa Camino Rowell, a freelance writer living in the Atlanta area.

9 Ways Music Gives Us Something to Smile about on World Smile Day

Happy World Smile Day! Today is the day to smile…and pass it on. Mother Theresa said: “Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” Remember the first time a baby smiled at you? Your heart melted just a little bit didn’t it? Afterwards, you probably did everything you could to coax another smile!
Well, it should come as no surprise that we use music to bring smiles to children, families, teachers, and everyone else we can. So, we wanted to start World Smile Day off with a little music, of course. Take a listen…and try NOT to smile.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to7uIG8KYhg[/youtube]
You smiled didn’t you? It’s hard not to smile when watching young children engaged in music. It’s an undeniable truth: Music gives us so many reasons to smile. Here are just a few.

9 Ways Music Gives Us Something to Smile About

1. Music causes children to move and dance and react in amazing ways. It really is impossible not to smile when seeing young children naturally respond to music. After all, you couldn’t help but smile when watching those babies’ faces light up and their bodies begin to dance when their dad started playing his guitar.
2. Music is a gateway to family fun. When families listen to music and then dance around in the living room, smiles and bursts of laughter blend in with the beat. Or  when families sing together in the car, they transform even the most mundane errands—or the longest road trip—into memories that last a lifetime. In the daily routines of family life, music brings fun.
One Kindermusik parent put it this way:
Kindermusik - Smile“Kindermusik started out as a way for our family to bond and a place for my daughters to express themselves long before they had words to communicate. Now it is a place for us to be silly, meet new families, and make lots of music together. We love Kindermusik!” ~Kindermusik Parent, Emily R
 
3. Music provides many health benefits. Listening to music makes us feel better, boosts the immune system, reduces blood pressure, encourages relaxation, and even releases pain-fighting endorphins.
baby mom smile4. Participating in musical activities supports cognitive development in children, including language and literacy, spatial-temporal reasoning, and mathematical abilities.
5. Playing music with others makes the world a better place by promoting a sense of community and belonging and fostering cooperation and helpful behavior.
6. Playing instruments or singing provides a creative outlet and opportunity to express thoughts and feelings in a unique way.
7. Music connects us to our past and creates new memories in the present. Hearing the music of our parents and grandparents helps us understand them just a little bit better and provides a bridge between the generations. This also happens when we sing the same lullaby to our children that our parents sang to us.
Kenyan children playing egg shakers8. Music is the one language in the world every single person speaks. We see this the world over. Bring in a basket of instruments to children in Ohio, South Africa, Italy, Australia, The Philippines, Mexico—and everywhere in between—and they will shake, scrape, tap, beat, and create beautiful music. No translation needed.
9. When our favorite song comes on, we can’t help but sing all the words, loudly. This phenomenon can happen in the grocery store, in an elevator, at the doctor’s office, in the car, anywhere. And, yes, it can happen even when the “kids’ music” unexpectedly comes on and you find yourself singing along…even when you are by yourself.
See, music gives us all something to smile about on World Smile Day. Now pass the love on!

Find more reasons why music gives us something to smile about at www.kindermusik.com.

Contributed by Lisa Camino Rowell a freelance writer living (and smiling!) in the Atlanta area.

3 Ways to Use Music to Take Children Around the World

Listen - Sing & Say - Collect - Music Around the World for Kids

Listen - Sing & Say - Collect - Music Around the World for KidsWant to take your children around the world? It’s easy with music! No passport required. No suitcases to pack. Just three simple things you can enjoy almost any time, any where, and you’re off of a grand, musical travel adventure!

Listen to music from around the world.

Every culture has its own beautiful repertoire of rich folk songs, soothing lullabies, and happy dances that can be very appealing to young children. With internet radio stations, streaming music apps, and downloadable song tracks, it’s easier than ever to listen your way around the world. Try searching on “world music for children” or “multicultural music for kids.”

Use your voice to enjoy music from around the world.

There are simple songs and chants that even young children can enjoy learning or hearing from you. In fact, our Kindermusik music library is full of these songs, rhymes, and chants from various countries and cultures. The more exposure a very young child has to other languages, both spoken and sung, the more receptive he or she will be to learning and speaking another language.

Collect instruments from around the world.

Whether someone else demonstrates the instrument or the child can explore and play it themselves, there’s nothing better than seeing, hearing, and touching the real thing. Nearly every culture has some kind of a drum, shaker, or flute-like instrument, and most are easily curated. Give your little world travelers a sense of having gone around the world simply by introducing them to some of the instruments from around the world.
Travel the world with Kindermusik
BONUS reading! How Music Helps Children Expand their Cultural Horizons
Learn more about how Kindermusik can take children around the world and give the music learning adventure of a lifetime at www.Kindermusik.com.
 

Contributed by Theresa Case who has an award-winning Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in beautiful upstate South Carolina.

New Music Standards – Focus on Preparing Children for Success

National Core Arts Standards 2014

New National Core Music Standards

The arts have always served as the distinctive vehicle for discovering who we are. Providing methods of thinking as disciplined as science or math, and as disparate as philosophy or literature, the arts are used by and have shaped every culture and individual on earth. The arts continue to infuse our lives on nearly all levels—generating a significant part of the creative and intellectual capital that drives our economy. The arts also impart our lives with meaning every time we experience: the joy of a well-remembered song, the flash of inspiration that comes with immersing ourselves in an artist’s sculpture, participating in a sublime dance, learning from an exciting animation, or being moved by a captivating play. (From: National Core Arts Standards, Custom Handbook).
National Core Arts Standards 2014As of June 2014, new music standards were created by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS), and based on artistic processes; these include music standards prepared by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).

Overview of Standards:

The new National Standards focus on improving each child’s music education experience, supporting educators with enhanced instructional strategies, and emphasizing the benefits of music education. You can visit their site to create your own Custom Handbook, based on discipline, process, and grade level.

Who the Standards are for:

Decision-makers from teachers, to superintendents, to parents, and policy makers, all will be able to utilize these standards as guidelines to improving music education and ultimately future success for our children.

Goals of the Standards are to enhance…

Music Literacy – meaning the ability to communicate through a medium and understand what is communicated. In our multimedia society, we need to prepare children to communicate visually, through sound, video, etc. and have literacy for each media.
Artistic Processes – there are 3-4 core areas these new music standards focus on:

  1. Creating (new music)
  2. Performing (also referred to as Presenting or Producing existing music)
  3. Responding (interpreting the performance/music and developing own opinions)
  4. Connecting (various art forms – this is embedded throughout the standards)

This 5 minute video from the NAfME Deputy Executive Director & COO provides an overview.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlSF56tkueA[/youtube]
 

Kindermusik Programs Align with the New Music Standards

How Kindermusik Supports Music Literacy

Kindermusik_EarlyChildhoodMusicEducation_OnlinePortal_OutsideMyWindowAn important part of our curricula are the Family Engagement materials. Through real instruments, books, CDs, family activity guides – AND – video field trips, songs, math games, logic games, craft ideas and more within our online learning portal (Kindermusik@Home); we support hands-on learning and emerging technology. We provide families with a useful way to be involved in their children’s educations and expose them to various types of media and arts. This helps Kindermusik reach our mission of instilling a lifelong love of music and learning in children around the world.

How Kindermusik Supports Artistic Processes

EarlyChildhood_InstrumentSet_ABCMusic&Me_Wiggle&Grow_KindermusikInternationalCreating music is what we do in each class. We provide enough instruments for each child in the class to participate and make their own music. Through a variety of age-appropriate and kid-safe instruments, like egg shakers, jingle bells, chime balls, sand blocks, rhythm sticks, and many more, we allow children to be creative and come up with their own way of playing the instrument. We guide them with ideas, and allow kids to express themselves through music.
KindermusikClass_RhythmSticks_TeachChildrenImportantSkillsPerforming, presenting or producing music is also integrated into our classes. Although Kindermusik curriculum is based on process not performance, we do encourage children to present their ideas to class. For example, a teacher may ask, “Johnny, how do you want play your rhythm sticks; fast, slow, loud, or soft?” This allows each child to determine their own preferences and encourages them to play music to a group of their peers, boosting self-esteem and confidence.
ListeningGame_IHearASound_Kindermusik@HomeResponding to music is embedded into the Kindermusik curricula, and we encourage children to be effective audience members. For example, in the song “I Hear a Sound” from our Wiggle & Grow curriculum (for ages 2-3) children hear various instruments, and then have time to guess what instrument they just heard. This aligns with the new standards as we give children the opportunity to listen, analyze, and interpret what they hear.  Follow-up questions from the teacher such as, “Kaylee, what instrument did you like best?” allows children to evaluate what they’ve heard and make decisions based on their preferences – expressing themselves through music.
Connecting various art forms is actually a great way to describe a Kindermusik class. We incorporate: music; movement; dance; visuals; literature including children’s books, poems, and rhymes from many cultures around the world; opportunities for ensemble experiences; and so much more.
Kindermusik_SupportsAllLearningDomainsWe too recognize the importance of technology in education and so, we developed the Kindermusik@Home portal. Parents can login and enjoy with their children; fun educational games, activities, eBooks, videos, crafts and more, along with ideas for taking the learning offline. We include parenting resources to help them understand the importance behind these educational activities.
And we keep on top of the growing body of research on the benefits of music for children. The Kindermusik curriculum is more than a music class, it’s designed to promote school-readiness and stimulate development across all learning domains, supporting the future success of each child…and in turn…our world.
Other components, like the Opportunity-to-Learn Standards, are part of these new music standards and are still being developed. One call-out the Executive Director & COO of NAfME mentioned is the standards will likely include guidance that students should receive WEEKLY INSTRUCTION. Again, another way Kindermusik aligns. Our weekly lessons are flexible and provide concepts teachers can use throughout the day.
To learn more about the new music standards, please reference:
nafme.org/standards
NationalArtsStandards.org
 
To learn more about Kindermusik, please visit:
www.kindermusik.com