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For your crawler or lap baby, put on a piece of music you love. Hold your baby in your arms, and dance in curves, circles, zig zags, straight lines, and any direction you can think of. Be sure to change the direction you are holding your little one (frontwards, backwards, sideways or even upside down!) This helps your baby have a different visual perspective on the world.

For your walker, pull the car out of your garage. Take some sidewalk chalk and draw all sorts of different kinds of lines on the floor. Play follow the leader and have fun walking, running, jumping and tiptoeing on the lines. Be sure to change leaders, and let your child lead when he or she has the hang of the game. You’ll be surprised at how quickly your child will catch on.

Have your kid grab a ball and try these:

• Kick the ball — it requires him to shift weight to one foot for support
• Throw the ball — it calls for balance, coordination, and the use of two hands
• Jump up and reach for a ball — it promotes stretching, strengthening, and conditioning
• Sit on top of a big rubber ball and bouncing gently — not only does it elicit giggles, it strengthens core muscles and promotes balance

Need a ball? The Gertie ball is available in our online store, found here.

Isn’t it amazing how fast these children in Kindergarten and First Grade are learning, gaining new skills and loving all they can do on their own? It’s easy (and frequently, a relief) to let them do just that – proceed on their own – especially with a younger sibling at hand.

I frequently wore the cloak of guilt that surrounds the issue of quality time v. quantity time. I remember stretching the definition of “quality” to include inviting my son to sit at the kitchen table and play a song on his glockenspiel (a simple barred instrument with the musical notes of a scale) while I cooked dinner, emptied the dish-washer, cleaned out the moldy containers in the refrigerator and made tomorrow’s lunches.

The best gift you can give anyone is presence – unencumbered attention and participation, connecting with what they are saying, doing, learning, enjoying. When a young child senses that something is important to you, important enough for you to invest your authentic and full attention, it gains in value, energy, and enjoyment.

“Let’s play our recorders!” (Because I purchased one, too, and love that he is teaching me what he is learning.)

“Play one note of a song and let me guess which one it is.” (Turn any new skill into a game that’s both fun and challenging. Keep requesting the addition of another note until you can you guess the song – or until he’s played the whole song!)

“Time for Bernie’s (our golden retriever) concert.” (Schedule a regular time everyday to practice a new skill. The rewards of mastery alongside the life lesson of the importance of practice will pay off in all aspects of life – in sports, in spelling, in music, in everything!)

As I hang around toddlers — perhaps to continue my grandmothering internship — I'm amazed at what I'm learning. Jumping, for example, is filled with a therapeutic joy! Songs, movement, and rhymes are always a hit, no matter the mood or time of day. And, not coincidentally, these activities create the foundation upon which music skills are built.

Incorporate these into your day to encourage a happy, musical toddlerhood:

• Rhymes — rhyming words support the development of languages, both spoken and musical. (Kindermusik will expand your repertoire. It sure did mine!)
• Movement — moving large muscles promotes both learning and the development of steady beat. Toddlers especially love movements that challenge, such as jumping and galloping. Add a stopping part and you’ll be rewarded with spontaneous giggles and great partice of self-control.
• Sing, sing, sing! — no training necessary…only the joyful enthusiasm that your toddler will model. From "The Wheels on the Bus" to "Yellow Submarine" to some silly nonsense song you make up, singing creates sweet moments, fosters creativity, and establishes a great sense of pitch.
• Play, play, play! — anything is a potential drum or shaker. Explore the house for sound makers and accompany your singing, dancing, and favorite iPod hits. (Sound discrimination supports language development and auditory skills.)
-Carol Penney, Kindermusik educator and employee-owner

When my boys were babies, I was learning the Kindermusik curricula as a new educator. I was constantly singing, and quickly realized that soothing melodies could help with colicky nights and young ADD meltdowns. Singing and dancing could transform times of lethargy (i.e., the TV trance) into silly or joyful moments of movement, energy, and expression. Nursery rhymes and bouncing games could develop a strong sense of rhythm and beat (which helps in learning, sports, and music competencies).

In hindsight, I may have even underutilized these powerful tools that support development in all areas: social, emotional, physical, and cognitive. I can imagine that the busyness of today’s mom and dad allows precious little time to be together and sing, rock, bounce, dance, or listen.

In my next opportunity to parent — in that “grand” way — I will take full advantage of music’s power for learning, delight, and bonding. Nurturing a true music lover begins at birth (and probably even before).

Try following this prescription (begin practicing during pregnancy):

• Sing EVERY night at bedtime. (You don’t have to be a singer…the child hears the heart behind the voice.)
• Enjoy dancing with abandon every day to favorite recording. (You don’t have to be a dancer…all movement supports growth and development.)
• Accompany every diaper change with a nursery rhyme.
• Play calming music at naptime(s) or meltdowns.
• Incorporate a time to bounce to a beat. (Just bouncing steadily and stopping will evoke spontaneous giggles.)
• Rock, rock, rock.
-Carol Penney, Kindermusik educator and employee-owner

I can barely remember a time that “mothering” (to my boys of 26 and 30) hasn’t been a prominent presence and driver in my life — celebrating, worrying, guiding, overcoming obstacles, desiring involvement, cherishing the hug/call/email/text, and so on.

More and more often, I experience “ahhhhh” moments as I realize my hand is off the tiller. They are launched — living beautiful, independent lives, and I am humbled to have played a part. I often think about what I learned as a mom, afforded by the hindsight of age, experience, and 30 years of Kindermusik involvement. I also visualize who I will one day become as a grandmother.

The consistent thread through it all: music! It’s the panacea for many of the challenges that wreak havoc as children grow up. It calms babies. It brings joy to toddlers. It builds confidence in preschoolers. It develops far-reaching and long-lasting skills that grow musicians, creative problem solvers, and confident lovers of learning.

My single best advice for young parents? Let music permeate your home (and car)! Music makes parenting more joyful. Music helps children unfold into wonderful, responsible, caring adults. And you don’t have to be a musician to bring music in your child’s life — just participate and enjoy singing, dancing, and listening together!
-Carol Penney, Kindermusik educator and employee-owner

…providing musical experiences in the early years gives your child benefits that last a lifetime? How does it affect your child. Well, growth may be observed in any or all of the following areas as a result of early and consistent exposure to music:

perseverance, confidence, responsibility, identity and self-esteem, discipline, love of music, art, culture, identification of talents, using time wisely, teamwork, following directions, intellectual and social development, precision and motor control, overcoming fears in public speaking and shyness, commitment to excellence, creativity, and self-expression.

This may sound a bit "out there" to some, but many think Dunstan is really on to something. In fact, she was even featured on Orpah to share her theories and findings.

Want to test her findings for yourself? After working with more than 1,000 infants around the world, Dunstan says there are five words that all babies 0–3 months old say, regardless of race and culture:

Neh = ”I’m hungry”
Owh = ”I’m sleepy”
Heh = ”I need to be changed”
Eair = ”I'm gassy”
Eh = ”I need to burp”

Sign language can come in handy and is easily learned by preschooler. Use signing to:
– create an environment for understanding without words
– help children avoid frustration when words don’t come easily
– foster language refinement – they can use signs to clarify
– provide ways to communicate with non-hearing people
– help them focus attention more directly since signing requires eye-contact (children are often overloaded with sound)
– foster self-esteem by giving children more control in expressing themselves
– channel kinetic energy positively
– have an option for stopping poor behavior in a calm, quiet way

Here are some resources to check out on signing:

ASL – American Sign Language Resources
An article on sign language and autisum
Sign & Sing – Kindermusik's signing class for children ages 6 months to 3 years