Hello, Parents!
How exciting, we are starting our first week of Kindermusik very soon! You will recieve a weekly newsletter with information about each lesson and how you can build on what we do in the studio and enhance your child(ren)’s learning throughout the week.
Each week, we will be focusing on a musical concept and exploring it in different ways throughout the class. Lesson one’s focus is Tempo. As children develop, they learn all of the ways that their bodies can move and one important aspect of this movement is speed. Watch your baby crawl quickly around the room as they learn to move themselves, toddlers eventually begin to run and new levels of physical ability are reached as limits are stretched in a fast-paced world. Children are rarely given opportunities to explore slow movement, but we will allow them to do just that in class next week. Try to find time in your busy schedule to encourage your child(ren) to explore slow movement this week. Use the home CDs or sing your own slow songs, modeling the movement you want to encourage.
In this class and every class you attend, we will pair language and movement which sets the stage for cognitive and kinesthetic learning. When we engage children in movements determined by the lyrics, the brain cross-references both hemispheres, mapping creativity and logic. Think of all of the many childhood songs that do this and explore some of them, along with songs from your home CDs, with your child this week.
Steady beat and focused listening will be a large part of this lesson as well. A young child’s ability to keep a steady beat and listen attentively is a strong indicator of late academic success and affects intellectual, emotional and social areas of life and learning. These abilities both positively impact linguistic development, ability to read and organize though patterns. Try to point out sounds in every day life that your child can listen to attentively. For example, the ticking clock, the car engine, the washer and dryer. Pick up the closest object and turn listening into a game by softly hitting the floor or a body part to the sound of whatever it is you’re listening to.
Movement development encourages the primary need of young children to express themselves through movement. Locomotor skills and non-locomotor skills, stability and balance skills flourish when children are provided with sufficient pratice opportunities. When your child is exhibiting a case of “the sillies” this week, try to take advantage of it and encourage them to move around in new and different ways. Build off of their creativity and provide fun music from your own collection or using your Kindermusik Home CDs.
And, lastly, in every Kindermusik class there will be an opportunity to rock your child. This is meant for children of all ages because the benefits of rocking are many and provide stimulation for the developing vestibular system, which generates a sense of balance and distance. Depending on the size, ability and willingness of your child, it can look different for each one, but will be beneficial nonetheless. Before bed or naptime, see if you can use rocking to calm your child before entering sleep. Use music or just your voice to soothe them and set the mood for relaxation.
I’m really looking forward to sharing the magic of Kindermusik with all of you this week and I hope you’ll take every opportunity to continue your child’s musical learning experience at home throughout the week, as well.