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“I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs, and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.” ~ George Eliot

Kindermusik educator (and board certified music therapist), Whitney Ostercamp, sends the below greetings from the American Therapy Music Association’s (AMTA) annual conference:
Hello from the American Music Therapy Association’s annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia! I’ve been here less than 24 hours, and the weekend is already off to an exciting start. Upon my arrival, the first order of business was to check in at the registration booth. The event staff handed me my name tag and a welcome bag. I peeked inside the bag expecting to discover local coupons, but to my delightful surprise, look what greeted me:

What a wonderful opportunity for music therapists to learn about Kindermusik! Offering Kindermusik classes in addition to music therapy services can help grow a private practice and increase income potential. During the opening session of the conference, as “Kindermusik International” was recognized as one of the conference sponsors, I heard a few joyful whistles from the attendees. It’s wonderful that the two worlds of Kindermusik and music therapy function so harmoniously together. I’ll be updating a few more times from the conference as I attend sessions and pick up bits of information that are practical to the Kindermusik Educator.

To all the music therapists out there, Kindermusik is currently offering a discount on the training to become a Kindermusik Educator. Only $150 + s/h & sales tax; regular $396 value! Visit http://www.kindermusik.com/teach/music-therapy/ for more information.
Musically Yours,
Whitney Ostercamp, MA, MT-BC
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWOtcF5pNA4&feature=channel_video_title&w=480&h=360]

Earlier this year Kindermusik International gave out five $1,000 grants as part of the Good Beginnings Grant Program. The grants could be used by the recipients in any way they saw fit as long as the purpose was to help children. Over the past 8-10 months, we’ve had the honor and pleasure of keeping in touch with the grant recipients to find out how things are progressing at their different organizations.
One such update came into our inboxes the other day and we wanted to share some of highlights from it. The grant recipient was Kim Stadler and her organization is A.R.T.S., Arts Refreshing the Soul. A.R.T.S. employs various creative art programs to promote emotional and spiritual healing for women and children who are recovering from domestic abuse, drug addiction, poverty, and homelessness. One of the programs Kim uses is our ABC Music & Me curriculum. While we didn’t require that any of the Good Beginnings grant money be spent with Kindermusik, we were excited and honored when Kim told us she would be using her grant to purchase ABC Music & Me for A.R.T.S.

Kim came to establish A.R.T.S. several years after her children were born. She’d left an assistant principal position to stay home with her kids and as they grew she saw how important art was to their development—they got music exposure in a local Kindermusik program and art exposure at preschool. Having previously been a music teacher, Kim knew the important role art can play in a child’s development, but seeing this first-hand with her own kids brought her understanding to a new level.
She was later exposed to a music program on the south side of Chicago which used music as a tool for helping the underserved in that community. She was instantly hooked and couldn’t get the kids out of her mind. She said, “I couldn’t pretend not to see how much they loved it, needed it, and wanted it, and yet it just wasn’t available to most kids in their situations.” With that, her traditional education career was over and she began the process of setting up a non-profit. The goal was to build a comprehensive arts program for the underserved children in her area.
Those of us at Kindermusik International were overjoyed when we learned that the first money Kim received for starting her non-profit was from the Good Beginnings grant. Last week she checked in and here are a few excerpts from her wonderful email: Continue reading “It's Not the Grant that Makes a Difference, It's the Recipient”

Don Campbell has been a long-standing friend of Kindermusik International and has a widespread fan base among Kindermusik educators. After The Mozart Effect was published in 1997, Don shared his passion and discoveries with Kindermusik educators at the 1999 Kindermusik Convention in Minneapolis. To say his message resonated with our educators is an understatement!
His new book, co-authored with Alex Doman, Healing at the Speed of Sound, boldly underlines what forms the basis of Kindermusik’s passion for incorporating music and movement more fully into the lives of children and their families. Music is powerful. The abundance of research that now supports the hypotheses of the 90’s lends credence to the long-lasting and far-reaching benefits of music – for children AND adults. This book helps you understand how sound affects health and healing, reduces stress, and stimulates cognitive process and memory. Add the fun, joy, and social benefits of a Kindermusik class and you know it’s true… A good beginning with Kindermusik never ends. Continue reading “Good Read: Healing at the Speed of Sound”

The below article is from Miss Allison, of Studio3Music, the largest Kindermusik studio in the greater Seattle area. You can visit Studio3’s Web site here.
The big question of what I would be when I grew up was not such a big question. I’d known since before I went to school that I wanted to be a teacher. Occasionally I get an AFFIRMED stamp on that decision, and on those days my heart just sings. Last week, on Tuesday morning, October 4th at about 10:55, I had one of those moments.
I have this little guy in that Our Time music class. His name is Ben, and he’s been in class with me since before he was born. I actually think he was in class before his mother even knew she was pregnant. After he arrived on the outside of mom, he came as a tag along in a car-seat with his older brother, and when he could sit up, he came to Village (you don’t have to wait that long… come before they sit up!) and now he is coming to his second year of Our Time. So he’s less than three years old and has been in class longer than that.
Ben and I have a connection that I can’t quite explain… so when his mom came to me last fall and said Ben had been diagnosed somewhere on the Autism spectrum I was literally shocked. Not this child, who is so lively and connected, who smiles at me and hugs me and makes eye contact and snuggles into my shoulder so tight that you couldn’t slide a piece of paper between us. Nope. I couldn’t see it… ‘cause Ben and I are connected.
But I started watching him with other folks and I did notice that he only makes eye contact with his mom and me in class. He doesn’t touch anyone but the two of us, and he doesn’t really interact with the other children, and the other moms are treated like shadows on the wall. He is very interested in the activities, but on his terms. So after the shock wore off, I began to understand. It didn’t change anything, ‘cause Ben and I are, well… we’re connected. Continue reading “Ben. Autism. Kindermusik. Dancing. Miss Allison. They’re all connected.”

“Music is the hardest kind of art. It doesn’t hang up on a wall and wait to be stared at and enjoyed by passersby. It’s communication. It’s hours and hours being put into a work of art that may only last, in reality, for a few moments…but if done well, and truly appreciated, it lasts in our hearts forever. That’s art. Speaking with your heart to the hearts of others.”
– Dan Romano