looking into some class fun

What a fun place to learn and play! A great look inside a kindermusik class.

Spotlight on Learning: Early Literacy

Spotlight on Learning: Our Time Away We Go

Big idea: Early Literacy

At Kindermusik, we love the quote by Emilie Buchwald: "children are made readers on the laps of their parents." Reading picture books together with adults helps children internalize some skills that are crucial in the development of true literacy.

 

Reading together:

• Fosters reading enjoyment
• Provides predictability through repetition
• Introduces new vocabulary
• Expands understanding of story structures
• Promotes critical thinking
• Encourages language play and creative expression

Each week in class when we read Shiny Dinah or another favorite story, your child receives all these key early literacy benefits. Plus, children develop music literacy through the rhythm and movement elements of Kindermusik stories.

Everyday connection: Act on it! Read your child's favorite book together and then pretend to be the characters in the book. Is it Shiny Dinah? Be the train or a passenger. Where are you going today and what will you see and hear along the way?

Spotlight on Learning

Big idea: Vestibular System

A hammock gently swaying in a warm ocean breeze or the quiet creaking of a porch swing in the dappled afternoon sunlight can bring thoughts of a little life balance in an increasingly complex world. As a parent of a child under 2, however, the nursery glider moving back and forth at 10:16pm, 2:01am, and 5:34am might be the closest you can get to that beach or front porch. It can work in a pinch though!

All that nursery rocking reinforces balance of a different kind in your child. The rocking, swaying, and movement stimulate your child's vestibular system, the part of the brain that controls balance. In Kindermusik class, we rock to lullabies, bounce on knees, and even make hammocks out of blankets to help lap babies and crawlers begin to develop their sense of balance and to reinforce balance and stability in young walkers.

Everyday connection: Rock on! Try out some of the rocking moves from class at home. If your child feels nervous about hammocking in class, try it at home where she feels most comfortable. Think of different ways you can hold your child as you rock or bounce together.

Spotlight on Parenting: Village and Our Time

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.

Why Kindermusik?

“When a child learns by experience that music forges direct links between self and world, self-expression becomes more fluent; the music helps interpret ‘who I am’.”-”Growing up Complete”, the report of the National Commission on Music Education

Spotlight on Learning: Pretend Play

Spotlight on Learning: Our Time Away We Go

Big Idea: Pretend Play

Did you ever have the Jennifer Anniston, Halle Berry, or "insert name of famous person"haircut? Pink hair anyone? While a haircut doesn't magically transport you into another person's life, it can be fun to imitate someone else's look.

Imitation starts young. For your child, imitation is the first stage of pretend play and begins as an infant when she mimics your facial expressions. As imitation evolves, it becomes more imaginative. A child uses pretend play to re-examine life experiences by adding or changing what actually happened. In Kindermusik, we encourage imitation and imagination by working on the railroad, galloping on horses, or even floating down the river. Along the way, your child develops vocabulary and social skills, learns the difference between reality and fantasy, and even experiences emotional support from you as you pretend along with him. So, "Let's Go Riding Together!"

Everyday connection: Make it a laundry day!  An empty laundry basket can transport you anywhere. Is it a car? A train? A pirate ship? A princess carriage? Hop in and let your child lead the way.

Spotlight on Parenting

Spotlight on Parenting: Village & Our Time (Cock-a-Doodle-Moo!/Away We Go)

Big Idea: Socialization

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.

Everyday connection: Come all you playmates! Connect with other parents from class on Facebook and invite them to join you and your child for a play date.  Through this unstructured playtime, your child will expand his intellectual, emotional, and social skills and you will get some social play of your own.