teach Kindermusik Archives - Minds On Music

Become a Children’s Music Teacher with Kindermusik

Whether you're a children's music teacher, parent, or a different type of practitioner, Kindermusik's Training Program can help you tap the power of music to boost major early childhood development milestones.

Have you always wanted to become a children’s music teacher but don’t know where to start?

Are you already a children’s music teacher but don’t have time to research new ideas for the classroom?

Are you a different kind of childhood practitioner (like a preschool teacher, social worker, or music therapist) who is searching for helpful and enjoyable ways to boost development?

Music education training can fulfill all of these needs, but it’s a daunting task.

That’s why we created our new on-demand Kindermusik Training Program.

It’s a way for busy educators, child advocates, and entrepreneurs to incorporate the power of music on their own terms, at their own pace, and tailored to their own needs.

From a cowboy community to the Kindermusik community

Music can both bring an existing community together and create a new community. Director, Musician, and Kindermusik Educator Amy Munsell understands the power of music to make connections between people of all ages and all backgrounds.
When she opened her studio in Casper, Wyoming, late last year, many people in her area questioned the need for music classes for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and families. Now after growing from 20 families to over 200 (and still growing!), people no longer question it. Well, local pediatricians do. They contact her to find out what she teaches in Kindermusik class, because they can tell the developmental difference during well-child checkups!
“My studio, VIBES, is about putting good and positive vibes out into our community, allowing students to excel in music and the arts, and to expose students and families to new opportunities in the world,” explains Amy.
With a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education, a seasoned saxophone performer, and more than 10 years of music teaching experience, Amy researched various early childhood music programs before deciding to teach Kindermusik. “With my background, I looked for specific things in a curricula. I love how Kindermusik supports the educator as the guide and the parent a the most important teacher in a child’s life. Also, Kindermusik starts with newborns through 7, such as critical time in early childhood development,” Amy explains. “Plus, I immediately loved the sense of community Kindermusik portrays—from the training to the curriculum development to the classroom.”

Building community in the everyday moments with music

Of course, music makes those big life occasions all the more memorable. What is a wedding without music to walk down the aisle or a graduation without a little “Pomp and Circumstance”? But, music also celebrates those everyday (and just as important!) moments.
“I was working so hard as a performer to share one big moment with an audience, but in teaching Kindermusik, I get to share so many little moments every day in the classroom,” confesses Amy. “And with babies and toddlers—especially—this is such an important time in their lives. Every moment is important.”
Each week in Kindermusik, Amy gets really silly in class. “We have a little party every time,” explains Amy. “The parents, children, and I get to have so much fun through music and we secretly teach kids all at the same time. The magic of what I get to do and the moments that we share together is magical!” concludes Amy.

From the cowboy community to the Kindermusik community

Casper, Wyoming, may be known as “cowboy country” but thanks to Amy Munsell—with the support of her husband, Lukas—it’s also now Kindermusik country. We know that the sense of community she and her Kindermusik families create is making a profound difference in the lives of children in Casper.

Are you interested in joining the Kindermusik community as a licensed Kindermusik educator or by enrolling your family in a class? Learn more!

Contributed by Lisa Camino Rowell, a freelance writer and believer in the power of Kindermusik to create community.

10 Ways Music Gives Teachers Super Powers

For over 30 years now, we here at Kindermusik International have been empowering music teachers all around the world with a special kind of super power – the power of music.

10 Ways Music Gives Teachers Secret Super Powers

Secret Super Power #1: Engaging a child’s mind, as well as his heart. Many studies over the past two decades have suggested that there is a strong connection between music, learning, and academic success.
Secret Super Power #2: Stimulating development in every area of the brain. Music powerfully affects brain development including vision, balance, hearing, speech, behavior, sensation, skill, movement, and emotion.
Secret Super Power #3: Capitalizing on the close connections between music, movement, and learning. It is movement, often in response to music, that “…integrates and anchors new information into our neural networks,” according to Dr. Carla Hannaford.
Secret Super Power #4: Making classroom routines and transitions easier. Using a simple song or rhythmic chant to transition from one activity to the next is often more effective – and more fun! – than verbal instructions.
Secret Super Power #5: Accessing a powerful tool that makes learning stick. Ever met an adult who learned the state capitals of the United States by singing a song? They can probably still sing all of those capitals!
Secret Super Power #6: Changing the energy level in the room at the touch of a button. (The “play” button on your device, that is!) Whether it’s a need for calm or a need for more focus, music can make the difference.
Secret Super Power #7: Music creates a positive atmosphere that enhances learning potential. A classroom without music is like a teacher without a smile! Music is one of the joys of life, and it can also result in more joyous and motivated learning.
Secret Super Power #8: Facilitating multi-sensory learning. Children who learn through more than one sense tend to have the kinds of cognitive connections and associations that allow for more ways for information to be remembered, retained, and recalled.
Secret Super Power #9: Enhancing self-confidence and friendship through shared musical experiences. Music has a way of bringing people together, and no where can this be more true than in a classroom.
Secret Super Power #10: Touching places in the heart that nothing else can. Humans are innately musical beings, and we respond instinctively to the power of music.

For more ideas about integrating music into the classroom (and improving your super powers!), we recommend this article from the Johns Hopkins School of Education. You can also learn more HERE about becoming a licensed Kindermusik educator.

And to all of the teachers who make such a difference in the hearts, minds, and lives of children every day… Happy National Teacher Day! (Celebrated in the United States on May 7 and in Columbia/Mexico on May 15)

Why Kindermusik Parents Make Great Kindermusik Teachers

As a Kindermusik program owner, some of the very best teachers I’ve ever hired were Kindermusik parents first. So I am a firm believer that Kindermusik parents make great Kindermusik teachers!

Kindermusik parents who become Kindermusik teachers…

have seen first-hand what teaching children in Kindermusik means for the educator, for the parents, and for the children.
have hearts big enough to love other people’s children almost as much as they love their own.
bring a unique perspective to their teaching because they understand how a Kindermusik parent thinks and feels.
relate well to other parents because they all have something in common – they have kids in Kindermusik!
have a leg up because they’ve had the opportunity to learn by actively observing and participating in many Kindermusik classes.
are familiar with how a Kindermusik program runs and have a vested interest in the program they have enrolled their child in.
have the passion and appreciation of both parent and educator for the value of musical learning and the power of Kindermusik.
understand what it means to benefit from the Kindermusik experience in class and from the Kindermusik Home Materials all week in between at home.
know and love Kindermusik because they’ve seen it through their own child’s eyes.

Are you a Kindermusik parent who’s Interested in becoming a Kindermusik educator? Talk to your local Kindermusik educator today and take a look at some helpful information on KI’s website. You’ll be glad you did!

Shared by Theresa Case who has an award-winning Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, and is always happy when one of her Kindermusik parents expresses interest in teaching Kindermusik for her!

10 Benefits of Becoming a Licensed Kindermusik Educator

Why teach Kindermusik? There are many benefits of becoming a licensed Kindermusik educator, but here are the top ten favorites.

1. Convenient online training and the connections you make with other educators-in-training
2. The community of passionate, caring Kindermusik educators from all around the world who regularly connect and share virtually via the Kindermusik Cafe
3. The Kindermusik curricula which has been carefully researched and created by Kindermusik International, the world’s most trusted name in musical learning
4. Access to one-of-a-kind digital Teacher Guides where you’ll find an incredible amount of resources, helps, support, and ideas with every lesson plan
5. Opportunities for ongoing professional development that keep you motivated, inspired, and growing as a teacher
6. Having a company like Kindermusik International partnering with you
7. The tools, support, and empowerment to do something you LOVE
8. The precious children and their families whose lives you will touch
9. The satisfaction of making a difference in a child’s life, possibly from newborn to 7 years
10. The smiles, the joy, and the hugs that you’ll get each and every week in class

Learn more about teaching Kindermusik TODAY!

Written by Theresa Case, who has had the privilege of being a licensed Kindermusik educator since 1994 and whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

My Kindermusik Day

Kindermusik educator Theresa Case in Baby Music Class

Yesterday was one of my Kindermusik days — my day to teach, to be in the classroom with 10 delightful toddlers and their special adults. Besides being an invigorating ton of fun, every one of my Kindermusik days reminds me of why I’m so lucky to do what I do!
As a program owner, I am privileged to work alongside the other wonderful Kindermusik educators on my staff. I spend time in the office, administrating and overseeing the business that enables me to reach so many more families with the power of Kindermusik. The time I spend teaching inspires and motivates me when it’s time to put on the other hats I wear as a Kindermusik program owner and director of Piano Central Studios.

Smiles, Love, Learning, Joy & Music

My own boys have long since graduated from Kindermusik into taking music lessons, but I still remember the joy of experiencing Kindermusik as a parent, now precious memories of spending time together and watching their love for music blossom. Thankfully, I still get to be in the Kindermusik classroom as a licensed Kindermusik educator, witnessing firsthand how the magic of Kindermusik brings out the smiles, the love, the learning, the joy, and the music in the parents and children in my classes.
What a precious gift my Kindermusik days are to me!
– Shared by Theresa Case, director of Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC

Learn more about becoming a licensed Kindermusik educator or program owner like Theresa.