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
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