What is your Reading Routine?

Reading to young children is such a valuable tool, not to mention a delightful activity with all kinds of benefits. Research shows that children who are read to do better in school, and that reading is also a calming, wonderful way for parents to bond with their children. Reading provides the experience of different types of language, rhythms, and sounds, as well as teaching about many topics that might not come up naturally in conversation.

Ideas for parents: Why not establish a “Reading Ritual” with your child? Make the ritual even more special by designating a reading chair, by setting aside a specific time each day to read, and by having a basket of favorite “read-aloud” books from which to choose. Even a few minutes a day spent reading to your child will have a lasting effect on your child’s emotional well-being and potential for academic success.

Not just for kids!!

Becoming a parent turns your world (and your social calendar) upside down and inside out. You move from lengthy conversations over dinner to brief chats scheduled around naptimes. Eventually, you progress to speaking in short sentences interrupted by wardrobe and diaper changes, boo-boo kissing, rocking, sharing interventions, and a few paparazzi moments. (Your child does do the cutest things after all!).



When enrolling in Kindermusik, many parents list "socialization" as one of the reasons. We do help your child develop social and emotional skills, but we also connect you with other parents and caregivers who understand the unique joys and challenges of parenting a child the same age. So, next week in class take advantage of Gathering Time and look around. Your newest BFF just might be sitting next to you or changing a diaper or kissing a boo-boo or experiencing a paparazzi moment, too.

Scaffolding

Scaffolding is an interactive means of learning that occurs between adult and child. In this process the adult gently guides and supports the child’s learning, responding to the child’s level of participation by asking questions, making observations, and issuing new challenges according to the child’s responses. Together, one layer at a time, the adult and child discover new ideas, experience new emotions, learn new language, and strengthen their trusting bond.

Steps to Scaffolding…As a parent, you have probably used the process of scaffolding without even realizing it while helping your child do something that he couldn’t have done on his own. You have used scaffolding when you have helped your child put a puzzle together by asking questions, making suggestions, and giving hints. You may have noticed that the next time your child put that puzzle together, he needed less help. Through scaffolding, skills are mastered.

Early Communication through music

Big idea: Kindermusik makes it easier to communicate with your baby or toddler

Traveling to another country can be exciting. New sights, sounds, customs, food, and time zones that wreck havoc on your sleep! If the locals speak a language you don't understand, your communication abilities quickly downgrade to that of a one-year-old: the use of full-body gestures and speaking louder and louder in YOUR language thinking that will increase comprehension. Yikes! Where is the loo?

At Kindermusik, we know parenting a young child can be a bit like visiting a foreign country. New sights, sounds, customs, food, and your sleep is definitely wrecked! Plus, your little one does not exactly speak your language. Most grown-ups are no longer fluent in baby or toddler. We understand, which is why we intentionally include activities that will increase your child's communication abilities. In class, when we use sign language, sing "Oh well, you walk, and you walk, and you walk and you stop" or when we listen to and imitate different sounds, your child is learning and practicing language. Eventually, this will lead to him speaking your language. (Well, until the teenage years, and then you'll need your passport again!)
Everyday connection: A match made in Kindermusik. Your child loves the sound of your voice. Feed his love and grow his use of language at the same time by singing, listening, moving, and dancing to the music from class. The repetition helps increase language acquisition and retention. Plus, music is a language you both understand.