It’s the end of the semester. You are tired. Sometimes you want to drive right on past class
and just go shopping. Why are we doing
this again? Here’s why:
Your child
is being exposed on a weekly basis to intentional listening to music, listening
to and following instructions, sitting still and moving about on cue, taking
turns, borrowing items and giving items back to the owner, participating as a
team in group dances or singing games and basically getting a wonderful preparation
for the social expectations of school. Kindermusik is social/emotional
education.
Your
child is listening
to animal sounds, jazz music, Classical pieces, string instruments, keyboard
instruments, folk songs, new compositions, multi-cultural music, major, minor
tonalities and more. They will have been exposed to many types of music that
most children never hear. Their brains are being tuned for musicianship -
whether that takes the form of performance or just the ability to understand
and therefore deeply enjoy the performances of others. Kindermusik is music
education.
Your
child is experiencing cognitive development. Since music stimulates the entire brain, every
concept introduced in song has at least double the staying power. They have
experienced counting games, counting fingerplays, songs and activities about
the parts of their bodies. They are learning to connect the written and spoken
word which will in turn enhance reading ability. Older children are actually
reading and writing notes and rhythm which helps build visual tracking skills,
mathematics understanding and reading ability. Kindermusik is math, literacy
and arts education.
Your
child is developing physically.
From the tiniest of our babies who have begun to creep to reach a scarf or are
becoming very quick at snagging a rolling ball to our big kids who are
gracefully acting out choreographed motions, they are experiencing meaningful
movement activities that aid physical development. They are dancing to the beat
or with the rhythm of many different meters and styles of music. Finger plays,
choreography, beat keeping games - these activities will build coordination and
a sense of rhythm that will help them dribble down the court or soccer field,
swim with consistent rhythmic strokes, become graceful and musically sensitive
dancers or gymnasts and connect bat and baseball efficiently and adjust their
tempo to reach the base at just the right moment. Kindermusik is physical
education.
Your
child is learning to communicate.
Kindermusik’s intentionality in develop children’s language skills is
noticeable. Infants are hearing words sung and spoken rhythmically, seeing
signs that will help them communicate, and watching mom and dad’s mouths work
while they are massaged and have their arms and legs exercised. Toddlers are
playing with sounds and words, listening to and imitating sounds they hear and
communicating during storytime and - well, all the time! In the Imagine
That! preschoolers class, the children are very actively talking to the
teacher and shaping the lesson, contributing ideas and telling their own
stories - lots of them! Young Child
kids are now able to differentiate their speaking voice from their singing
voice and are learning to sing not just for their own pleasure, but in a way
that is pleasing for others to hear. The oldest are speaking expressively and
persuasively and are using the combination of the spoken word and music to
become fabulous storytellers. Kindermusik is language development.
Kindermusik
is whole-child development disguised as fun. Your kids are learning in ways
that you know they would not have so consistently experienced in any other
place. Oh, yeah - that’s why we’re doing this! ~Ms.
Heidi
