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Calling all believers and skeptics: Kindermusik

“The response to the demonstrations has been wonderful. I have parents who are familiar with Kindermusik from having lived elsewhere or from family members teaching elsewhere and they love the program, " music teacher and newly licensed Kindermusik Educator Linda Pelech

Any musician or music teacher, at some point, gets the “call.” Honestly, why would anybody choose a profession that requires both hours of consistent, disciplined musical practice, and, the ambiguous hours spent soul-searching, composing and creating.

Few musicians choose music: music chooses them.

That’s why new and ongoing research about the scientific benefits of music training is so essential. Skeptics need cold hard facts, and musicians need warm fuzzies. Because not everyone is comfortable simply knowing that a life with music is a good thing. Some people need convincing. The rest of us – the ones making music – need believers.

That said, we delight every time we read about a music teacher, such as Linda Pelech, who decides to teach Kindermusik. That means one more person is out there doing the work they love, making music an essential part of not only her life — but for the life of every child and parent who enters the classroom.

So for the believers, you might like to know there’s one more out there, just like you, running scales and soul searching.

And for the skeptics, we’d like you to know there’s so much more to this “music thing.”

Take a look.

  • “Musical training as children makes better listeners later in life,” said Nina Kraus, the Hugh Knowles Professor of Neurobiology, Physiology and Communication Sciences at Northwestern. Source: A Little Music Training Goes a Long Way
  • “Music and reading are related via common neural and cognitive mechanisms and suggests a mechanism for the improvements in literacy seen with musical training,” according to the team lead researcher, Dr Nina Kraus, at Northwestern University. Researchers from the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University tested children on their ability to read and to recognize words. This was compared to the extent of their auditory working memory (remembering a sequence of numbers and then being able to quote them in reverse), and musical aptitude (both melody and rhythm).

Calling all believers and skeptics: Kindermusik has something for everyone. A structured curriculum, online training, and ongoing support to help you along the way. Ask today about becoming a Kindermusik Educator.

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10 Predictions About the Future of Digital Learning

We think it’s going to look a lot like this: what you see here in this Google Tablet video. A parent and child using a tablet like a book – to inspire imagination, not take it hostage. Like any good super hero cape or a musical instrument, with imagination and practice technology can become a conduit of learning.

Which makes this one of the most exciting times in the history of education publishing. So as we hang up our 2013 paper calendars and look forward, we have some ideas about about how a few things might unfold in this new era of digital learning. We’d love to hear what some of these ideas might inspire for you, too.

Happy New Year.

1. Someday, musicians will be physicians. Inspired by by the story of cello-prodigy turned street musician Nathaniel Ayers, classical musician Robert Gupta started a non-profit organization, Street Symphony, to bring healing and a sense of community to people suffering with mental illnesses in the streets and jails of Los Angeles. In this TEDTalks video, he talks about the non-profit organization, the various parallels between medicine and music.

2. Parents will still read print books to their children. Even as studies show improved test scores with tablets over textbooks, studies also show that children and adults can better retain information they read in books. It has something to do with “The Importance of Physical Locations and Human Memory.” Online, readers tend to scroll through information and lose a sense of “where” they read something. Whereas print readers tend to “know” information from a book better because they can remember where they read it on the page. If you’re looking for a few good print book ideas, we’d like to recommend these great books. Continue reading “10 Predictions About the Future of Digital Learning”

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A few of the helpers …

Parents and Kindermusik Educators share ways they found to be “people who are helping” in the aftermath of the Newtown Elementary School tragedy.

The parent: “We can’t undo this. But we can dig in and help.”
Emily Lampish

The parent, photographer and blogger turned her frustration towards finding ways to help. And she wraps up a few ways in this blog post, “broken.” Suggestions include donation links to the Newton Memorial Fund and the Connecticut United Way, tips to help children grieve, and a link to send a message of love and support to grieving families.

broken

The expert: “Using a caring and matter-of-fact face and voice, adults can help kids by making true statements that contain a positive message. ”
Irene van der Zande

In this article, Irene gives parents and educators phrases that both acknowledge the truth the work being done to keep children safe. For example, “I am sad that this happened, and we are all going to work on ways to be safe everywhere.” If a child asks a tough question, and you don’t know the answer, say “I don’t know.” The fine line is learning to help young people to express their feelings without making them take care of your feelings.

Helping Children Regain Emotional Safety

The advocate: School Shootings: The Conversation You Need to Have With Your Kids
parents.com

A list of simple questions that starts with “What have you heard?” “What are your friends saying?” and finally, “How can we help these families?”

Parents.com

The parent who needs help, right now: “I am Adam Lanza’s Mother”
Liza Long

The writer, musician, Steinway lover, and single mother of four journals the chilling challenges of raising a lovable, intelligent, and sometimes violent child.

“I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am Jason Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.”

Thinking the Unthinkable

The Kindermusik Educator: “Music is a balm”
Helen Peterson

Kindermusik Educator Helen Peterson sent an email to her families with a few tips to help parents and their children. “Remember to take care of yourselves by being in conversation with other adults, and help those you know who may be struggling.”

mindsonmusic.kindermusik.com

And finally, a note to our Kindermusik Educators around the world who are opening their classrooms to families seeking comfort: There are more resources and information you can share with your families – or use to help yourself – posted to the Teacher’s Lounge.

Sign in to the Teacher’s Lounge

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New York Times list of Best Illustrated Children’s Books

The New York Times offers an illustrated slideshow of the Best Illustrated Books. We, of course, liked this one in particular.

INFINITY AND ME
By Kate Hosford.
Illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska.
Carolrhoda Books. $16.95. (Ages 5 to 10)

Are you ready to use music to help children develop early literacy skills? Learn more about a variety of music-based programs available to all Educators. Our online training programs provide you with a virtual classroom filled with peers from around the world. Ask about changing the world, one child at a time. Ask about becoming a Kindermusik Educator.

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Kindermusik International leads the way in Digital Publishing for educators, families, and children

Kindermusik Digital Learning Platform for Kids
Kindermusik Digital Learning Platform for Kids
Homepage with Monthly Units

Yes, we’re tooting our own horns a bit because we don’t think a bumper sticker, like “My textbooks fit in my earbuds,” would ever really take off. So every once in a while, we need to celebrate in other ways.

Kindermusik International is leading the way in Digital Publishing. In the last 5 years we’ve been working to convert over 25 years worth of research and curricula, into one easily downloadable system. And the process is running more smoothly than ever before.

No more clunky, spiral bound notebooks. No more children walking home from school, weighed down by an increasingly heavy load of books. And no more paper waste. Kindermusik International’s online textbooks and interactive learning lessons are available on a variety of mobile devices.

Learn more about online Kindermusik Educator training. Click here to receive FREE information on becoming a Kindermusik Educator.

Lesson prep is as easy as updating as syncing your iPod. And Digital Teachers Guides are available online so you can download the lessons and print them out, or, bring your iPad right into the classroom.

And even if you’re not ready to go completely digital, we’ve got you covered, too. You can easily download the class music and activities and burn them to CDs.

Not convinced? Consider this.
Will iPads Replace Textbooks? Seeking Alpha, November 1, 2012
If test scores keep going up, they will. Educators can’t ignore a student’s preference for an interactive tablet over a used textbook, and it seems grades are improving, too. “Houghton Mifflin recently performed a pilot study using an iPad text for Algebra 1 courses, and found that 20 increase in the number of students who scored ‘Proficient’ or ‘Advanced’ in subject comprehension when using tablets rather than paper textbook counterparts.”

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Kindermusik in the Military Community

For military families, consistent, accessible shared musical play classes are often missing, but they’re such a vital part of early whole-child development, bonding, and social-emotional health. Kindermusik is proud to have experienced educators supporting these families on and around military bases and communities world-wide.

And we’d like to expand that. 

Why is music important for military families?

Sometimes it’s hard to stay connected, find community, and build positive learning memories when the stress of deployment, frequent moves, and grief are prevalent.

Research shows that shared music making can play a significant role in instilling calm, strengthening parent/child bonding, supporting fine and gross motor development, and promoting overall social-emotional health (that includes grownups)! 

Pairing music with movement really takes multi-sensory learning to the next level.

Recently, scientists found synchronized dancing (including things like hopping to the beat or circle dances) supports critical developmental skills like cooperation, turn-taking, and empathy. 

And when it comes to school readiness, a study showed that preschoolers who received just 30 minutes a week of Kindermusik demonstrated 32% greater gains in language and literacy skills.

So, what if there were more early music education professionals who understood firsthand the challenges of military-connected families and could facilitate these positive experiences?

That’s where the Kindermusik Military Spouse Scholarship comes in…

The Kindermusik Military Spouse Scholarship

We know that many military spouses are passionate about early education, specifically music education, and would like to purse that professional path further.

The problem? A flexible training model. 

Kindermusik’s a cappella studio curricula educator courses are on-demand so you can complete high-level pedagogy and teacher training at your own pace. And it’s by age level (spanning from birth through developmental age 7), so that it’s easier to digest and add to depending on your professional goals.

Once you complete a course, you have the option to apply for Accreditation, a mastery level teaching module and exam which, upon passing, allows you to teach Kindermusik’s studio classes anywhere in the world, in person or online. 

We are proud to announce that the Kindermusik Scholarship Program has created the Kindermusik Military Spouse Scholarship to provide:

If you are interested in pursuing or enhancing a profession in early music education, or know someone who would be an amazing Kindermusik Educator, we encourage you to find out more and apply! 

Find the joy of music wherever you are.

There are Accredited Kindermusik Educators all around the globe offering music and movement classes in person and virtually. Search for one that works with your location or schedule! 

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Kindermusik “Teacher Feature” :: Bryann Burgess

A very BIG congratulations to Bryann Burgess of Columbia, SC who is officially a licensed Kindermusik Educator. And, quite the inspirational educator at that!

Watch this newscast feature of Bryann

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Celebrating our Vietnamese Kindermusik Teachers!

On November 20th 2011, Vietnam will celebrate throughout the country at many of its kindergartens, schools, colleges and universities for National Teacher’s Day.
Education and self-betterment are very much valued in Vietnamese culture and those who teach are treated with utmost respect throughout the community. Students choose to show their teacher appreciation and respect in a variety of ways – many of which relate to the national culture, lifestyle and heritage.
We’d like to celebrate our Vietnamese Kindermusik educators today!