Time to Enroll

It's that time of year we all look forward to right? School starts :)

 It's also a stressful time when we put together our kids schedules and plan our families extra curricular activities. I know there are a lot of options out there for you so let me share just a little of the benefits of the KindermusikProgram.  Music and movement are magical ingredients to learning for both parent and child. A baby’s first communication is through movement. A toddler will respond immediately to lively music with what seems to be humorous movements but to him are quite serious attempts to coordinate movement with rhythmic patterns. The young child seems to be moving constantly  – leaping off couches, rolling down hills, and spinning around and around until she falls down in a giggling flop on the floor.

 

Our brains fully develop through movement activities such as crawling, rolling, turning, walking, skipping, reaching, swinging and much more. The brain has a plan for development that involves specific and intensive motor activities to make full use of our complicated nervous system. The nervous system of each human being must go through a series of developmental stages before the brain can operate at its full potential. All children “program” their motor and perceptual equipment, nerves and brain cells by using their whole body and all their senses. Seeing, hearing, feeling music are all wonderful ways to learn!

 

Movement is fundamental for the development of the central nervous system but movement and rhythm are also essential for the development of the soul. When a parent moves with her infant, a special bonding takes place that is extremely important for social and emotional growth. When a parent sings to her child, not only are language skills being developed, but also a sense of love, comfort and harmony. The special touching, laughing and rhythmic moving that takes place in a music and movement class lays a very strong and much needed foundation for a happy, healthy and joyful life!

 

Below is a list of my upcoming class schedule. I am due to have baby #4 the end of September so that is why the schedule is a little abnormal this time around. Thanks for you patience as we welcome another little one into our family.  Take a look and let me know if you have any questions:

Family Time Make Way for Music (moms and kids up to 5)

Tuesday August 14-Sept 11 (then a break for baby girl to come) Nov 6-Dec 4 10am 45 minute classes

This is one of my favorite curriculums. The kids are introduced to each family of music ie brass, percussion, string, wind etc all through moving and singing and dancing with you! They love it and it's a great introduction to their musical interests. This class is 10 total classes, books, CD's, instruments and games to keep at home and is $120 for the whole family.

Sounds Abound (3-5 yrs old) 

Tuesday August 14-Sept 11 at 11 am 45 minute classes

This is a great class that is on a trial run to go Digital! That's right instead of getting a book and CD you will receive a code to download the music and books and recipes and activities and craft ideas and so much more great information. There is still an option for an instrument (for an additional $5.50). This class is only $30 since you will be my guinea pigs with the digital materials.  :)

Cock-a-doodle-Moo (moms and babies up to age 2ish)

Wednesday August 22nd-Sept 12th (then a break for baby girl to come) Nov 7-Dec 5 10 am for 45 minutes

This was the first class I took with my little guy almost 6 years ago. It is so fun to see these little ones respond and learn to the power of music. We do a lot of simple steady beat exercises mixed with sign language. This class is 8 classes, book, CD's, and instruments for $90.

Young Child (5-6 yrs old)

Wednesday August 15-Sept 12th (then a break for baby girl to come) Nov  7-Dec 12th 4pm for 50 minutes

This is the first of a 4 semester class for your budding musician. Not quite ready to sit still for a 30 minute private instrument lesson this is a great transition period for them to still learn to read music, increase hand eye coordination, learn musical concepts and contrasts and build their music education so when they are 7ish they are ready to learn to play any instrument because they already know music! This class is 12 classes, books, CDs, games, glockenspiel and carrying bag for $195.

Young Child (6-7 yrs old)

Tuesday Aug 14-Sept 11 (then a break for baby girl to come) Nov 6- Dec 11 5 pm for 50 minutes

This is the third semester of the 4 semester program. This curriculum includes learning a string instrument the Dulcimer. We continue to learn our staff notes and more musical concepts and contrasts. We continue to work with the glockenspiel as well. This class is 12 classes, books, CDs, games, dulcimer and carrying bag for $195.

I do have sibling discounts and friend referral discounts. And all these materials can be used again so you can pass them down to siblings as they come along :)  Please let me know by August 7th so I can place our materials orders and have everything here to begin class. Thank you!

Singing and Speaking

Singing ability is related to the ability to control speech fluctuations, and speech activities appear to help develop tuneful singing skills.”  (McDonald, Dorothy and Gene M. Simons.)

The ability to sing and the ability to converse with expressive speech are closely related. Kindermusik classes will nurture your child’s speaking and singing voice by playing with rhythmic speech (poems and rhymes) as well as introducing and modeling simple tonal melodies with a limited range, and when you continue your play with both words and timbre sounds in your home during the week, these skills will be strengthened in your child and retained!

Many toddlers will first attempt to say a word, phrase, rhythms pattern or vocal inflections while alone or at play. These imitations are called “approximation of singing” It is by “playing with sounds” that the children master the muscular feel of producing a singing sound and come to realize that they can produce these kinds of sounds which are different from speech. We model and encourage children to explore the upper or head voice and to employ their voice for singing tasks as much as possible.  Playing with vocal glissandos, singing tasks like “Toys Away”, and pitching songs in the best range for young children helps your child learn to become a successful singer.

Signing for Hearing children

Children are born trying to decipher the mystery of language from the moment they are born.  It takes children 12 to 24 months to begin speaking, yet while they are preparing for this huge leap forward, they already have some of the pieces in place.  Signing with hearing children takes advantage of their motor abilities, which develop months earlier than the equivalent skills required for speech.  Using signing in everyday interactions will help open the door to early communication, facilitated speech, increased intimacy, and long-term learning (adapted from Kindermusik Sign & Sing).

Ideas for parents:

Start by incorporating just a few basic signs in your daily routines – signs such as “please,” “more,” and “all done.”  Be consistent and patient in using the signs.  Your child will likely catch on more quickly than you think!  You can both have fun adding more signs, including “thank you” and of course, “music!”  VisitSigningSavvy.com to find a wonderful video-based sign language resource.  It’s quick and easy to look up – and learn! – a few signs.

Making Music Together

Before you know it, your child will likely want to participate in a team sport, play in a band or orchestra, or sing in a choir. In class we help introduce you and your child to the opportunity to develop and practice the skills that are required to perform in an ensemble, such as:

• strong self-control – stopping on cue
• distinguishing between sounds
• listening for an appropriate entrance on cue
• timing the participation on cue
• matching the steady-beat play with an outside sound source, and
• playing with others on cue

These skills of timing, coordination, and group participation are also essential characteristics for success in sports. Kindermusik is truly so much MORE than just music!

Making music together is what music is all about! When children learn to contribute their part to a beautiful whole, they have benefited from one of the most important advantages of group instruction. Music becomes even more exciting when children begin to develop a growing awareness of themselves within the context of the group.

For example, in Kindermusik classes, when an Our Time age child moves up to Imagine That, he/she will be both the leader and the follower in ensemble and will have the opportunity to learn all of the basic skills necessary for ensemble participation in Young Child when they enter Kindergarten. This is a truly amazing musical journey, made possible in the early years by the quality time, and fun, productive, musical play in which you engage your child in and out of class

Development of a Singer

Because they are experiencing an explosion of language, many preschool children tend to respond first to the words in a song rather than the rhythm or melody. Once they have heard the whole song and understand the song’s “story,” they are most likely to then be able to concentrate on the melodic line. Children are most successful when singing songs that have a limited range, common rhythmic and melodic patterns, simple words, and plenty of repetition. That’s whyKindermusik songs are so catchy!

Joanne Rutowski, an expert on the child’s voice, describes the stages of vocal, or singing, development:

The Pre-Singer
Speaks rather than sings; uses little vocal inflection
The Speaking Range Singer
Talk-sings in a limited speaking range, with little vocal inflection
The Limited Range Singer
Sings in a range that is a bit higher than the speaking range but still limited
The Singer
Sings in a wide range; uses much vocal inflection when speaking

So what can you do to foster your child’s singing development?

• Children love singing when they are singing songs they know. Download the tracks from your Home CD onto your iPod at http://play.kindermusik.com and keep your Home CD in the car so that your child can become familiar with the music from this semester.
• Encourage your child to sing in a light head voice.
• Surround your child with a rich listening environment.
• Sing with your child. Love and enjoyment of singing is contagious!

When children are happily singing, they are stimulating all developmental domains: physical, emotional, language, and cognitive. Particularly significant is the reinforcement singing provides in abilities relating to sequences, patterns, memory, and language.