Friday, April 24, 2009

Kindermusik Integrates Multi-Sensory Learning into the Classroom



Multi-sensory activities, or experiences that integrate several senses simultaneously, are responsible for lasting impressions.  Because each sense activates specific neurons in the brain, these activities generally provide more learning opportunities than single-sensory activities.

Kindermusik follows this philosophy by integrating all types of sensory learning into the music classroom.  Your toddler needs more than exposure to music, she needs participation in music.  She needs the interactions she gets in class and at home when you move and sing with her.  She thrives on emotionally engaging activities and activities which integrate sight, sound, touch, and movement.  Through these joyful musical experiences your toddler is learning to love music for all of her life.

Foundation of Learning Focus:  Multi-sensory Learning

“Realize that learning is integrated.  It’s rare that a child learns just one thing from an activity.  Physical coordination, or ‘motor’ skills, are engaged along with language, thinking skills, and social interactions.  You can never be sure exactly what a child will learn from a given activity – what she already knows and can do, how others reinforce the child’s actions or ideas, and even the child’s mood.” --- Simple Steps, by Karen Miller, p. 11.

Kindermusik grows with your child for seven years.
Villlage (0 to 18 months) – With babies we use all the senses to stimulate the brain.  For example, during an egg shaker play-along activity, we shake the shakers so that the babies can see the eggs moving, they hear the eggs shaken to the beat, and they feel the beat as we tap the eggs on their feet, tummy, or back.  This kind of multi-sensory experience acts like glue for the brain.  We stimulate Baby’s senses in a variety of ways:  smelling flowers or spices from the kitchen, feeling difrerent rough and smooth textures,  and listening to their first instrument sounds.

Our Time (1.5 to 3 years) - The greeting song, “Our Time Hello,” offers opportunities for auditory, physical, social, and emotional involvement.  The song changes through the semester as new variables are added.  At the beginning of the semester, children simply enjoyed the music, the interaction with others, and the satisfaction of being recognized personally.  By Lesson 6, a variety of motions have been included in the hello ritual. Your child has used different motions to say hello, has said hello in different tempos (speeds) and dynamics (loud and quiet), and has even clapped a steady beat.

Imagine That (3-5 years) -  integrates the senses, learning domains, developmental needs, and interest of the children.  This integrated approach provides a powerful and meaningful learning approach every week because it suits 3-5 year old children perfectly.  Their own development is integrated within and across domains and nothing happens in isolation.  A walking song engages the sense of hearing as they listen to the music, the sense of sight as they work to keep space between themselves and their neighbor, and their sense of touch as they move their feet to the beat.  Plus, there’s the added element of social interaction with other children (independent of parents).

Young Child (5-7 years) - This “music fundamentals” curriculum uses all the senses to teach the written language of music and mastering their first pre-keyboard, string, and wind instruments.  When teaching children about the musical staff, the children build their own staff out of ropes and plates, then actually become the notes by standing on the staff in the appropriate line or space.  When learning how to playing the dulcimer, we teach them to play the written notes on the page and to discover the melodies of some of their favorite songs by “ear training.”  When learning how to master the half note, which gets 2 beats, we put this rhythm into the body by moving to the Half-note using an African-American spiritual favorite.  All the concepts go into the body first, before being taken to the page, and then to the instrument.

To learn more, contact Kathy Morrison at Kathy's Music to schedule a free preview!

www.KathysMusic.com / (412) 344-0535 / email: KathysMusic@verizon.com

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Kindermusik supports your child's steady beat development!



Kindermusik with Kathy's Music in Pittsburgh, PA
Foundation of Learning Principle of the Week: Steady Beat Development

One of the first musical skills to develop is the ability to keep a steady beat. Of course the ability to keep a steady beat is essential for future musical experiences, but it is also important in everyday life. Think of all we do that requires regularly paced repeated motion (a sense of steady beat!) – walking, running, riding a bicycle, cutting with scissors, bouncing a ball, playing sports, and more. Music relies on steady beat more than nearly any other activity, making it a perfect skill-builder.

Kindermusik supports your child’s steady beat development for 7 years!
Our goals in Kindermusik expand as your child grows. Be amazed at how your child’s ability to keep a steady beat will grow and expand throughout the 7-year Kindermusik program:

Village (0 to 18 months): “It began as a heartbeat and sprouted a rhyme…” (Do-Si-Do, by Susan Frye) The first seeds of steady beat development are sown as parents dance, bounce, and play instruments with and for Baby. Aided and even manipulated by the parent, these early experiences in Village begin the process of helping the child associate internal feelings with external sounds.

Our Time (1.5 to 3 yrs): Toddlers still need their parents to engage and model for them, but the children are beginning to do more on their own. As they take the opportunities we give them in class and at home, the children become increasingly able to respond on their own, compelled to imitate or match the beat as they try to synchronize their internal beat with external sound.

Imagine That (3 to 5 yrs): Here begins the next step, as the preschooler becomes more able to adapt his own sense of rhythm or beat to external sounds. Just as the children’s social and emotional development moves from being all about “me” to including others in their world, so their steady beat capacity grows to allow them to participate in a world outside their own beat.

Young Child (5 to 7 yrs): Whether moving, singing, or playing an instrument, most children are now capable of consistently matching their own responses to an external beat. But since small muscles are still developing and the beat is best experienced through the large muscles, Kindermusik uses a deliberate process with every activity that allows the children to experience the beat first in their bodies before adding the next layer of difficulty of playing an instrument as part of an ensemble. Skills are more finely tuned, and the YC graduate is more than ready to take the next step in his or her musical education.

Contact us today for a free Preview Class to learn more about how Kindermusik promotes the development of your child!

(412) 344-0535

Friday, April 10, 2009

Kindermusik promotes Class & Family Rituals

Rituals and routines are the basis for every Kindermusik class.  They are important because children need the predictability of routines and the connection created from rituals to feel secure and learn.  Children transition into our classes after a few weeks because of these rituals and routines.  Many of these transfer to the home, too.  I can't tell you how many parents sing "Toys away.  Toys away. Time to put our toys away." in order to signal to their child that it's time to stop playing and put their toys away.  If you've been in Kindermusik for even a few classes, you know exactly what I'm talking about!

This semester our Village class for babies is celebrating the rituals and routines of Baby's day in our unit called, "The Rhythm of My Day."  However, rituals and routines are important in class and at home for children of all ages.

Special thanks to one of my parents for sharing a book about this subject called, "The Book of New Family Traditions" by Meg Cox.


In the introduction to the book Ms. Cox shares with us why rituals, in particular, are important for celebrating our families.  She goes on to share Ten Good Things Rituals Do For Children (found on page 10):
Impart a Sense of Identity
Provide Comfort and Security
Help to Navigate Change
Teach Values
Pass on Ethnic or Religious Heritage
Teach Practical Skills
Solve Problems
Keep Alive a Sense of Departed Family Members
Help Heal from Loss or Trauma
Generate Wonderful Memories

After reading this list, I can just hear Kindermusik teachers around the world saying "Here, Here!"

I encourage you to check out this book, especially for this time of year.  You'll find ideas for celebrating Passover, Easter, and Spring as well as ideas for creating rituals for everything from a specific family celebration to daily rituals to rites of passage.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Kindermusik Summer Camps in Mt. Lebanon, McMurray, Squirrel Hill, and Washington


Kathy's Music is YOUR summer destination for Musical Learning. Take your vacation with us and we'll show you how to make the music last all summer long!

Plus, we have discounts and special offers to stretch your budget.

See our website to learn more about your choices:
Kindermusik classes created just for Summer
ABC Music & Me classes, created by Kindermusik
Kindermusik Playdates, new 1-class offerings with book and CD included
Musical Drop-off Camps - Princess camp, Pirate Camp, On The Road (family road-trip), Tell Me A Tale (folks tales from around the world), Around The Farm, and
Jazzy Kitchen Cooking Camp II - with all new recipes!

Enroll online in Minutes.

Contact us by phone (412-344-0535)  or email (kathysmusic@verizon.net) for details about our Squirrel Hill classes at the Jewish Community Center.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Kindermusik puts children on the path to reading!

Did you know?

Two year olds typically begin their 3rd year of life with a vocabulary of about 200 words.  this number is quintupled by age 3, when they can use about 1000 words.
- Ages and Stages by K. Miller.

Kindermusik put your children on the path to reading because of the way we incorporate language and movement in your child's day.  Introducing movement words that are possibly unfamiliar to young children is especially important at this time when they are experiencing a language growth spurt.  Each week in class we label, label, label - both what we're doing and how we're doing it so that the children will begin to match the word with the action.  We also "play" with the sounds of language known as phonemes in a way that is fun and engaging.



This week in Our Time class we featured a new book during storytime, "Sam Sheep Can't Sleep."  I love this book because of the animal characters that are so adorable along with the repeated use of specific phonemes.  The repetition of these sounds in the story leads to digesting the sounds.  (Plus there is a hidden little duck on each page!)

To learn more about this book and other related titles, please visit http://www.thebookbone.com and search on the title.

To learn more about how your Kindermusik puts your child on the path to reading, visit Kindermusik.com

What can you do at home?  Read, read, read.   Children love repetition.  Go back and read "Animal Serenade" and "The Little Piggy Played The Fiddle" from your Kindermusik Our Time Home Materials this spring.

Play with the "sounds" of words --- especially imitating animal sounds.  It's engaging and fun with lots of giggles built in.  Try making the sounds of the donkey, pig, sheep, and other favorites.

Sing "The Morning Song" from your Kindermusik Home CD and include extra verses for all of your favorite animals.

Kindermusik is an investment in your child with benefits for life! 

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Physical Imitation and Self-Control are Keys to Success!

In our Imagine That! classes for preschoolers, this week we are focused on the concept of "physical imitation".  

"Children are great imitators, acutely aware of and then modeling adult movements in their walking, talking, hand gestures, and other physical activities.  This modeling of the body allows them to sense the world around them from within to understand it."  By watching themselves in mirrors and mirroring others' movements, children gain an understanding of their own bodies and capabilities." - Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head, by Carla Hannaford, Ph.D., p. 44.

When children promote from our preschool, "Imagine That!", class into our music fundamentals class, known as Kindermusik for the Young Child, they will begin their steps into musical instrumental lessons using physical imitation. As we teach them to play the glockenspiel, the 2-string dulcimer, and the recorder, physical imitation is a vital part of the learning process. In addition, we have found that children who complete our Imagine That! curricula consistently gain a stronger sense of self-control than those children entering our "Young Child" program without the "Imagine That!" experience.  Practice is much easier for children who have learned self-control through the play environment.

The video here is a clip from my Wed 12:45 PM class.  We are doing a "Mirror" dance, where I am moving and the children imitate me as if they are my "mirror."  Notice how long this activity goes and most of the children stay focused the whole time.  One Mom commented after class, that she hadn't seen her son focused like that on one thing in a long time.  The practice of imitation can be fun and social!  Enjoy.