A little Brain Power!!

We know music has many benefits, especially for the way kids learn and how a child’s brain develops. So we get excited about supportive research like this study recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience:

Even A Few Years Of Music Training Benefits The Brain.

A team of researchers at Northwestern University, including the well-known Nina Kraus, share findings on the benefits of early childhood music education.

“…Childhood music instructionhas strong linguistic benefits and improves performance on everyday listening tasks. Since we live in an inherently noisy world, the better we are at focusing on sound and perceiving different sounds, the better. This can be particularly important for children with learning disorders or those for whom English is a second language.”

Through this study and other research, here are some known benefits of music training:

Improves hearing

Bolsters brain function

Strengthens reading skills

Increases math abilities

Improves social development

Helps people become better team players

Supports self-esteem

Our mission at Kindermusik, to instill a lifelong love of music and a foundation for learning in children, completely aligns with this research. We are especially thrilled about the quote from Nina Kraus, supporting the concept that even little exposure to music as can go a long way…

“Based on what we already know about the ways that music helps shape the brain, the study suggests that short-term music lessons may enhance lifelong listening and learning,” said Kraus.

Pattern Awareness

Pattern awareness is crucial to learning and memory. Just as in reading stories, singing and rhythmic speech expose participants directly to the patterns of language, including rhythm, speech sounds, syntax, and rhyme.

Tips for parents:

Patterns are all around – outdoors, indoors, in colors, how we arrange items on the counter or table, and even on the clothes we wear. With patterns surrounding us, it’s easy to play “pick up” pattern games with your child. First, point to the pattern. Have your child identify the individual parts. Then work together to point out how it all goes together. If there are objects that can be moved, you can even challenge your child to create some patterns of his own.

Social-Emotional Development

• Making friends.
• Sharing.
• Learning how to express frustration appropriately.
• Figuring out conflicts peacefully.
• Helping someone who has been hurt.
• Waiting patiently.
• Following rules.
• Enjoying the company of others.
• Internal motivation to succeed

All of these qualities (and more!) describe what we all wish to see as parents is the healthy social development of our children. Like any skill, young children develop these abilities in small steps over time, and they learn them from you, their first social connection and teacher. On the whole, young children who spend time singing, playing, and moving with other children are better prepared to be confident and self-aware, build positive relationships with peers, and get the best out of the learning environments and opportunities that life will bring them…just one of the many reasons that Kindermusik is so much more than music!

The Kindermusik classroom is the perfect place for your child to practice and develop social skills. Our activities help children learn to work with, understand, and enjoy others, while teaching parents to model activities that include social interaction and the joy of learning. At every level from Birth – 7, Kindermusik curricula are written to support the development of your child’s social & emotional skills with age-appropriate, challenging activities.

In fact, studies show that music and movement experiences in a group setting impact all seven areas of social-emotional development* identified by researchers.  Those seven areas are:

• Confidence
• Curiosity
• Intentionality
• Self-control
• Relatedness
• Capacity to communicate
• Cooperativeness

Reading Aloud

Reading to a child on a regular basis benefits him in several key ways. Reading increases his knowledge of the world, his vocabulary, his familiarity with the written language, and his interest in becoming literate. In fact, the larger the variety of fluent readers a child hears, the better.

Ideas for parents: Even if other special adults in your child’s life do not live nearby, it’s still possible for your child to hear them reading aloud. Hallmark has recordable books. Skype offers free video calls. And MailVU makes it possible to record and send a video email. The possibilities are endless!

Bonding for Baby 12-18 months

Hammocking: A Fun Activity to Encourage the Parent-Child Bond

I don’t know what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but we have been blessed with beautiful spring weather this week. That means it’s time to get up and move outside! Just this week, we celebrated “No Child Left Inside” Day, so here is a great activity for two adults and baby to do outside! Outstretch a sturdy blanket on the grass or the floor (if your weather isn’t that great and you need to make this a rainy day activity for your toddler instead). Lay your child in the center of the blanket. Hold onto one end of the blanket, and with another adult holding on to the other end of the blanket, slowly lift it off the floor and gently rock it back and forth to a favorite kid’s song such as All the Pretty Little Horses. Rocking your child back and forth stimulates the vestibular system—the part of the body that controls the sense of balance, developing your child while having fun!

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.