parental involvement in early childhood education Archives - Minds On Music

Music & Movement Benefits: Reading with Babies

“You may have tangible wealth untold: caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be… I had a mother read to me.” – Strickland Gillilan, The Reading Mother
Reading aloud to a child is the most powerful way to prepare her for success in reading. . In her book, Reading Magic, author Mem Fox explains that “…the more language a child experiences through books and conversation with others, the more advantaged socially, educationally, and in every way that child will be for the rest of his or her life.” That’s some pretty powerful motivation for reading aloud – plus you get the cuddles and the memories too!

Tips for reading with babies

Begin introducing books at about 4 months of age.
This is about the age when babies become interested in objects – like books! At first vinyl and cloth books will be best since babies learn by putting things in their mouths. Your little one will be ready for board books at about 6 months of age.
Have realistic expectations.
Even a few minutes in your lap engaged with a book should be considered a success! Don’t worry… As your child grows, so does their attention span. And when it comes to early reading experiences, it’s okay to let your child take the lead. At this age, it still counts as “reading” if they are opening/closing the book, stacking books, or even just looking at a few of the pictures on a page.
Establish a routine.
By around 1 year of age, you can establish a regular reading routine – after breakfast, before nap time, after bath time – whatever is best for your child. By now, your child may even have a favorite book that they like to read over, and over, and over…. and over again. That’s okay – repetition strengthens the brain!

BONUS! For more great ideas for reading with your baby, check out this free activity from Kindermusik @Home: “Reading” with Baby

Increase parent involvement in early childhood education with a Breakfast Club

Looking for an easy and fun way to increase parent involvement in early childhood education? Start a Breakfast Club. In a recent issue of the NAEYC publication, Teaching Young Children, Lynn A. Manfredi shares her success at inviting parents to join the class during breakfast time. In the morning, parents eat with their children, connect with other parents and the teachers, and children start the day surrounded by people who love and care for them.
“In my family child care program, we start the day with a healthy breakfast. When I asked parents if they would like to join us while we eat, Breakfast Club was born,” Manfredi explains in the article, Building a Community through Breakfast. “My relationships with families and their relationships with each other have blossomed. It is family engagement at its best!”

Breakfast Club ideas to use as part of an early childhood program

In our early childhood curriculum, we include materials for families to use together at home that connect the classroom learning with the home environment. Here are a few Kindermusik@Home ideas to try at your Breakfast Club and share with parents!

For Newborn to 1 year

Cuddle & Bounce: First Foods from Around the World
Opinions about what solids babies should eat, in what order, and at what intervals…well, they’re endless and ongoing!
Check out some recipes for “baby’s first foods” from around the world!
Tip for Parent Involvement in early childhood education: Share this activity with parents as they eat breakfast or use the link in an email to invite parents to attend.

For 1 to 2 years

Sing & Play: Let’s Make Toast
As simple as it seems, a piece of toast offers all kinds of opportunities to help young children develop fine-motor skills. Provide toast for families to eat during Breakfast Club as well as child-safe plastic knives.
Tip for Parent Involvement in early childhood education: With the help of a parent, let children use a plastic knife to spread some butter, margarine, or cream cheese on a piece of toast. Use a spoon to scoop some jelly! Child will develop his or her grasp and practice wrist rotation. If children are not quite ready for the spreading action, line up a row of raisins or pieces of cereal and lead children to place them on the toast, one at a time. This gets the thumb and forefinger working together (a.k.a., pincer grasp) and develops hand-eye coordination (a.k.a., visual-motor integration).

For 2 to 3 years

Wiggle & Grow: Fruit, Fruit Where Are You?
Memory is an excellent game that can encourage the development of numerous early childhood skills that go beyond simple visual processing.
Tip for Parent Involvement in early childhood education: At breakfast, extend the benefits of this game by using the images on the cards as oral language enhancers and fun conversation starters about color and preferences (e.g., “Which is your favorite food to eat?”, “What food did we see that was red?”).

For 4 to 5 years

Move & Groove: Let’s Make Fruit Rainbows
Healthy fruits come in a variety of shapes and colors, which makes them perfect (and fun!) for practicing patterns. Identifying, creating, and extending patterns is a critical early math skill that is also a prerequisite to more advanced math.
Tip for Parent Involvement in early childhood education: Provide fruit for parents and children to make patterns. Parents can start a pattern and encourage children to finish it and vice versa.

Looking for more ideas on increasing parent involvement?

Learn how using music in the early childhood classroom connects with parents and supports the cognitive development in children, including early math, science, literacy, and language skills.

Investing in children through parental involvement in early childhood education

We talk a lot about early childhood education around here. We know—as Ed Markey said: “Education is not only a ladder of opportunity, but it is also an investment in our future.” Children, especially those most at-risk students, receive even more benefits from participating in an early childhood curriculum that prepares them for a lifetime of learning!
In a perfect world, early childhood education involves three key ingredients: the child, the teacher, and family involvement in education. Without all three, our investment in early childhood education—and the child—does not yield the biggest returns—measurable and immeasurable.
Of course, a parent is a child’s first and most important teacher. We say that time and time again. When a child attends a preschool, daycare, or other learning environment outside the home, family involvement in education remains a pivotal part of the process. While teachers, administrators, and parents share the common bond of the child, some programs more successfully manage to engage this learning community by promoting respectful and reciprocal caring relationships. What can we learn from those who do it really well?

Getting high marks in family involvement in education

Anne Douglass, PhD., at the University of Massachusetts in Boston wanted to find the

answer. She recently researched ways to increase parental involvement in early childhood education in a daycare or preschool setting. She wanted to answer:

What accounts for the gap between the desire of the early childhood education programs to partner with families and actual practices with families?
What do teachers of early childhood curriculum need to effectively partner with families?
What factors promote or impede the implementation of family support and engagement strategies?

In this small study, Douglass compared the teachers and parents, structures, and processes within four early childhood education programs: two with “high quality” family involvement and two with “low quality.” She found two distinctive characteristics of successful preschools, Head Start programs, and daycares with parent involvement in early childhood education:

Administrators modeled caring professional relationships and shared power within the school, which included leadership opportunities for classroom teachers, training, and staff appreciation.
The preschool utilized specific structures to promote caring and shared power, including teacher supervision that intentionally involved discussing multiple perspectives in solving a problem.

An early childhood curriculum that increases parental involvement in early childhood education

ABC Music & Me uses music and movement to teach young children early literacy and language, social and emotional skills, and other vital skills proven to help set a child up for success. We intentionally created ABC Music & Me to include resources for teachers and parents that increase family involvement in education. As Douglass’s study indicates, teacher training impacts not only a teacher’s ability in the classroom but also the engagement of children’s parents. Our early childhood curriculum includes teacher training choices from half-day trainings to demonstration DVDs. We also include access to materials for families to use together at home that supports both the classroom learning and a parent’s role as a child’s first and best teacher.

For more information about bringing this early childhood curriculum to your preschool, Head Start program, or daycare, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.

5 reasons why family involvement in education matters to ELL students

Parental Involvement Supports Early Literacy Developement

Parent is another word for teacher—regardless of what any thesaurus says! (It’s also another word for nurse, doctor, chef, driver…) So, of course, parent involvement in early childhood matters. Studies continue to highlight the importance of family involvement in education, especially in regards to early language and literacy development. After all, we’ve said it before: a parent is a child’s first and best teacher.
However, unlike professional teachers, most parents do not have formal training in early childhood education or teaching English to children. Thankfully, parents do not need formal education in order to support their children learning English as a second language (or as a first!). They do need 20 minutes a day, English language books, and a comfortable place to read together. Here’s why:

5 reasons why parent involvement in education through reading makes a difference to English Language Learners

Reading together promotes language and literacy development in both languages.
Reading to children increases their vocabulary acquisition.
Parents who read to their children improve their child’s chances of success in school-based literacy programs, including an ESL curriculum.
Children’s reading achievement, vocabulary, and comprehension skills improve when their parents read to them. Plus, parents who are also learning English as a second language gain practice, too!
Children develop a positive awareness of the structure of stories, the language of stories, the nature of reading behavior, and the sounds of the language.

ESL activities for children to do at home

During our ESL curriculum development, we intentionally created content for families to use together at home to support the classroom learning and parental involvement in early childhood education. ABC English & Me includes thematic 30-minute lessons for classroom teachers to use with English language learners between the ages of 2 and 6 years old. Children learn English vocabulary and expression in a musical environment that also connects the classroom learning with the learning at home through Kindermusik@Home. These monthly online home materials include ESL activities for children, a new English language eBook each month, English songs for kids, and more.

Get more information on teaching English to childrenaround the world with Kindermusik and ABC English & Me.

5 ideas to involve the whole family in being green

Sustainability for kids can start with a seed—literally and figuratively. We put together five ways to involve the whole family in protecting the environment for kids. From planting a garden to planting the knowledge about the importance of sustainability, we think you and your family will enjoy “going green!”

5 ideas for family involvement in education that will have you seeing green

Take a hike. Parental involvement in early childhood education looks different in various settings from preschool to home to the grocery store. To a child, every setting—and every moment—can be a teachable one. Going on a hike together can be the ideal place to investigate a local ecosystem, look for signs of the changing season, and gain an overall appreciation of the world outdoors. Plus, by bringing an extra garbage bag and gloves to pick up trash along the way, it’s also an easy way to work in recycling activities for kids.
Go green for the holidays. Make the holidays fun while also supporting a green environment for kids. Use LED lights for decorative lighting. Compost pumpkin remains and recycle Christmas trees instead of throwing them away. Buy from local farmers for your holiday feasts. Decrease your carbon footprint and purchase holiday gifts from local merchants and artisans.
Plant a garden. You don’t need an acre of land to teach your children that food doesn’t grow at the grocery store. All you need is sunlight, water, and dirt. A windowsill is the perfect spot to grow herbs. A back deck or patio can grow beautiful tomatoes. Save the apple seeds from your child’s snack and plant them in a small container. Your child can watch a little apple tree grow!
Read all about it! Combine your child’s love of reading with these 20 children’s books that show the importance of sustainability for kids.
Recycle together. Recycling activities for kids can be fun and support family involvement in education at the same time. Recycling that cereal box? Give your children the “job” of checking all items for “Labels for Education” or “Box Tops.” Many preschools and elementary schools collect them as part of their fundraising efforts.

At Kindermusik, we believe in the power of music to unlock a child’s fullest potential while also supporting family involvement in education. In addition, we believe that protecting the environment for kids and being mindful about the way we conduct business is part of the process.

You can read more about how our passion for supporting sustainability for kids impacts our business decisions.

4 new research-proven benefits of music on children

An elementary school teacher wrote: “The education of a child involves three major components: teacher, student, parents.” We absolutely agree that parent involvement in early childhood education in collaboration with classroom teachers best equips children for a successful learning environment at school and in the home. Music can help build connections between the teacher, student, and parents.
The benefits of music on children and family involvement in education continue to gain the interest of researchers. Two new studies show that making music together in school may improve young children’s behavior and make them like school better, too.

3 benefits of music on children and their social skills

In the first study, four-year-old children were placed in either a “music group” or a “no music group.” The 24 children in the music group played percussion instruments and sang, whereas the other children listened to a story. After participating in the groups, all the children played games that measured cooperation, helping skills, and problem-solving abilities.

Children in the music group were 30 times more likely to help than those in the other group.
Making music was also shown to improve cooperation among all the children in the ‘music group’ who were six times more likely to cooperate than those in the reading group.
Boys in the music group were four times more likely to problem solve.

Researcher Rie Davies said in a press release: “This study…highlights the need for schools and parents to understand the important role music making has in children’s lives in terms of social bonding and helping behaviors. Music making in class, particularly singing, may encourage pupils with learning differences and emotional difficulties to feel less alienated in the school environment.”

One more of the benefits of music on children

In a separate study looking at the benefits of music on children, researchers from Finland found that children participating in extended music classes liked school better. Nearly 1,000 students participated in the study, which included taking a survey in Year 3 and Year 6 that measured the quality of school life.
“Singing in a choir and ensemble performance are popular activities at extended music classes. Other studies have established that people find it very satisfying to synchronize with one another. That increases affiliation within the group and may even make people like each other more than before. Other subjects in the school do not have as intensive training in synchrony and coordination as music lessons, which could explain part of the phenomenon,” explained the principal investigator of the study, Doctoral Student Päivi-Sisko Eerola, in a press release.

Music and family involvement in education

ABC Music & Me is our research-based early childhood curriculum that includes 30-minute classroom lessons with materials and resources that encourages parental involvement in early childhood education. Whether used as a daycare curriculum, early literacy curriculum, or even as an after school curriculum, the benefits of music on children includes early language development, vocabulary acquisition, strengthened fine- and gross-motor skills, and as the research shows cultivates sharing and boosts school satisfaction.

For more information about using ABC Music & Me in your school, preschool, or daycare to boost early literacy and language skills and increase parent involvement in education, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.

5 ways Kindermusik prepares PARENTS for Kindergarten

Of course, Kindermusik helps prepare young children for school success. (You can read just 9 of the ways our music classes for babies, toddlers, big kids, and families lay the groundwork for success in elementary school.) But, Kindermusik also prepares parents for Kindergarten. Here’s how:

5 ways Kindermusik prepares parents for Kindergarten, including parental involvement in early childhood education

You get real-life experience with your child learning independently in a classroom setting. Kindermusik grows with your child. As your child progresses from infant to toddler to preschooler to big kid Kindermusik classes, your little one (and you!) slowly transition from being together in the classroom all of the time to the parents coming in at the end of class.
You learn how to connect the classroom learning to your everyday lives. In class, Educators share the developmental benefits behind the activities so you learn both the "hows" and the "whys." Plus, Kindermusik@Home gives parents activities for kids, including the music and eBooks from class so the learning happens throughout the week. In later years, when your child comes home from Kindergarten with homework, your family already naturally integrates the learning in fun and engaging ways throughout the week.
Parent involvement in early childhood education becomes second-nature. You are your child’s first and best teacher. As your child grows, more teachers will enter your child’s life, but you maintain the top spot. You will understand from personal experience the positive and unique impact of parental involvement in early childhood education.
All of those animal noises and sounds you make in Kindermusik and at home with your child will make you a highly requested Mystery Reader in Kindergarten. It’s true. Dr. Seuss, Piggie & Gerald, and other favorite children’s books just sound better when the one reading the story can make the silly sounds! So, go ahead, practice your elephant trumpet!
The social skills and confidence your child gains in Kindermusik will make the transition to Kindergarten easier for your little one—and for you. We can’t promise you won’t shed a tear or two, but your child will be more comfortable in a classroom setting, exhibit stronger inhibitory control abilities, and more easily make new friends.

Come see for yourself how Kindermusik prepares you and your child for Kindergarten. Try a free class today!

11 summer-friendly literacy activities for parent involvement in education

Ask a child to define “summer slide” and responses may include descriptions of the tunnel slides at the local park, the indoor slide at the restaurant down the street, or maybe the water slide at the pool. Ask an early childhood educator, however, and the response would probably include an explanation of what can happen to the early literacy skills of a child who doesn’t read or engage in early literacy activities over the summer.
As a child’s first and best teacher, parent involvement in early childhood education can stop the “summer slide.” We put together 11 tried-and-true early literacy activities for families to do together over the summer (or anytime!) that supports early literacy development.

11 summer-friendly early literacy activities

1. Read with your child 20 minutes each day. Include a mixture of books that you both choose.
2. Practice letter writing in the sandbox, chalk on the sidewalk, or even a cookie sheet with flour (for those rainy days).
3. Act out your child’s favorite story together.
4. Go on a “Letter Sound” scavenger hunt. Help your child find objects around the house or in your neighborhood that start with every letter of the alphabet.
5. Listen to books on CD or download stories from play.kindermusik.com.
6. Add eBooks to your reading list. eBooks can be especially engaging for reluctant readers.
7. Go fishing. Put magnetic letters in a bowl. Tie a string to a paper clip and let your child “fish” for a letter. After catching a letter, your child identifies the letter and the sound it makes.
8. Connect stories to your child’s life. Reading a book with characters that live in the woods? Go on a hike. Is the setting at a lake? Visit a lake, pond, or even a stream.
9. Look at the clouds and make up stories about what you see.
10. Play “I Spy” with letter sounds. “I spy something that starts with the letter B.” (Then make the sound of the letter.)
11. Download the Reading Rainbow app, the number 1 app in Education. Plus, with hundreds of books and videos, new content added every week, and music-themed content by Kindermusik, we know you can find something for every young reader!

Early childhood curriculum increases family involvement in early childhood education

ABC Music & Me is an early childhood curriculum that uses music and movement to teach young children. We also increase parent involvement in early childhood education by providing families each month with the music from class as well as a Family Activity Guide (available in English and Spanish). The guide includes the story from class and related literacy activities that families can do together at home.
For more information on how ABC Music & Me uses music to teach early language and literacy and increase parent involvement, email us at abcinfo@kindermusik.com.

5 ways to support young English Language Learners

Each year the number of English Language Learners enrolled in preschool continues to climb. In the United States, nearly one third of preschoolers under the age of 5 enrolled in Head Start or Early Head Start programs live in homes where a language other than English is spoken. A new report, Dual Language Learners: Research Informing Policy, published by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute analyzes more than 200 studies to understand how ELL students learn best. The report includes insights, such as the five ways below, that can help early childhood educators, principals, policy makers, and other decision makers effectively reach and teach the growing ELL population.

5 ways to support the early literacy and language development of young ELL students

Using the home language of young children, as well as English, can be pivotal for English Language Learners. The research shows that a young ELL’s home-language skills can decline if early childhood programs focus exclusively on English language and literacy development.
Researchers found no negative social, linguistic, or cognitive consequences for young children who learn two languages simultaneously, but in fact, found the opposite to be true. So, when possible, incorporate both languages into the learning.
Dual language learning happens within a social context at home and in the classroom. Early childhood teachers are uniquely suited to support linguistic, social, cognitive, and cultural growth, especially when the dual language learning happens within the daily routines and rituals of the school day.
Parent involvement in early childhood education is key to connecting the classroom learning to the home environment.
Recognize that young ELL students will take longer to reach proficiency in both languages than their monolingual peers.

“Young children really benefit when they are exposed to two languages, there is a good research base for that conclusion,” said Linda M. Espinosa in an interview about the report. “But children need to also be exposed to English in those early years.”

Use music to involve ELLs in early literacy and language development

ABC Music & Me uses music to teach early literacy and language development to English Language Learners and increase parent involvement in early childhood education. In addition to our “English Language Learners Strategies Guide” that provides unit-by-unit, lesson-by-lesson tips, ABC Music & Me includes materials in English and Spanish to support the common language spoken in the home and the way dual language learners best acquire early literacy and language development. Each child receives a monthly Student Kit with music from class and a Family Magazine (available in English and Spanish) filled with literacy activities.

For more information about ABC Music & Me, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.

Decrease in Father Involvement in Children’s Reading

dads_ebook — Source: Sean McCabe for The Wall Street Journal

It is no secret that parent involvement in early childhood education can be a pivotal factor in a child’s academic success, especially early literacy. In fact, research shows that children’s reading achievement, vocabulary, and comprehension skills improve when their parents read to them.

While the benefits of reading together and modeling the joys of reading may be common knowledge in early literacy circles, a new study published by the UK’s National Literacy Trust shows a widening gap between the reading habits of mothers versus fathers. The National Literacy Trust surveyed 21,000 8- to 16-year-olds from nearly 130 schools in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. One of the revealing trends indicates that fathers’ involvement in reading and literacy is significantly less than mothers and continues to decline.

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