Enjoying music with families!
Greetings to all my readers!
I just wanted to tell everyone what an awesome time I had teaching Kindermusik on Tuesday! I just love it when families come in and enjoy the songs and enjoy playing with their children! We had so much fun with the song “In the City,” listening to traffic sounds, pretending to walk all around the city, and practicing going and stopping! The grandparents were having so much fun singing along! It was wonderful because, though it was the first Kindermusik class for most, the parents and kids were so excited, got in to the groove of the class, and found ways to participate with their child or children. That’s really what Kindermusik is all about, finding unique ways for children and adults to spend quality time together, building lasting bonds! Children so desire our love and attention and when we can give them that attention and love in a positive experience, the bonds of love grow in the parent-child relationship. Plus, the children learn more and retain more just because mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa did it with them!
Tuesday, was also fun because not only did I teach and facilitate the class, but I was able to dance with a baby and got a big bear hug from another child. That’s why I teach Kindermusik, for those loving moments of pure joy! Since I don’t have children of my own, yet, I love having special moments with children and being an influence in their lives, for learning and for life!
I I
Enjoying music with families!
Greetings to all my readers!
I just wanted to tell everyone what an awesome time I had teaching Kindermusik on Tuesday! I just love it when families come in and enjoy the songs and enjoy playing with their children! We had so much fun with the song “In the City,” listening to traffic sounds, pretending to walk all around the city, and practicing going and stopping! The grandparents were having so much fun singing along! It was wonderful because, though it was the first Kindermusik class for most, the parents and kids were so excited, got in to the groove of the class, and found ways to participate with their child or children. That’s really what Kindermusik is all about, finding unique ways for children and adults to spend quality time together, building lasting bonds! Children so desire our love and attention and when we can give them that attention and love in a positive experience, the bonds of love grow in the parent-child relationship. Plus, the children learn more and retain more just because mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa did it with them!
Tuesday, was also fun because not only did I teach and facilitate the class, but I was able to dance with a baby and got a big bear hug from another child. That’s why I teach Kindermusik, for those loving moments of pure joy! Since I don’t have children of my own, yet, I love having special moments with children and being an influence in their lives, for learning and for life!
I I
Music Moments Blog
Welcome a
gain, or for the first time, to the Music Moments blog. I teach piano, voice, and Kindermusik and here’s where I’ll tell you all about it. I’ll try to write something new at least once a week.
This summer we’ve been busy starting some new Kindermusik classes. One, Sing and Play, is so much fun. We did this Peek-a-boo activity with a blanket. The children were under the blanket and we lifted it up and said peek-a-boo. They loved it and little Kaitlyn laughed hysterically. It put so much joy in my heart to see her laughing! Laughter really is the best medicine!
My older Kindermusik class has been enjoying both Jazz and Appalachian music. Our story has been about Knock-Knock jokes. At first when we read the story, the kids didn’t really get the idea of jokes, but by the end of our four week class they are laughing hysterically. Knock, Knock Who’s There?, Lettuce. Lettuce who. Lettuce in we’re freezing!
Piano students have also been progressing this summer. One student is working a version of Zelda’s lullaby from a video game. Did you know that composing for video games is a music job and indusdtry? Some of my students who have been with me a while are now getting to where they can play more complicated music and enjoy the challenge of it because they have learned enough basics to figure out the challenge. Now if they could all just remember that half notes get TWO BEATS!!!
Check back next week for more of my student stories, progress, and successes!
Kindermusik and Reading Rainbow Meet at Music Mountain!
Kindermusik International and Reading Rainbow, two of the most trusted brands in childhood education, are partnering to bring more ways for children and parents to learn together. Beginning in March, the Reading Rainbow app will include Music Mountain, featuring Kindermusik!
hosted by LeVar Burton, guides children on a reading adventure to themed “islands,” each filled with hundreds of children’s books and video field trips. With the addition of “Music Mountain,” (named with the help of the Kindermusik community!) a limited selection of Kindermusik’s music-themed eBooks and videos will be featured alongside other newly produced and music-themed content from Reading Rainbow.
This collaboration with Reading Rainbow reinforces my own experience in the classroom and what the research clearly states—Music supports a child’s literacy development in many ways, including:
- Phonological awareness
- Vocabulary building
- Listening skills
- Reading accuracy
- Prosody
Extend your Kindermusik experience and encourage your child with fun ways to read, learn, and explore – through the Reading Rainbow app available via iTunes app store and the Kindle Fire app. Try it for free today!
Love and Community in Process
February is a great month to express love to one another, family, friends, children, and even strangers! In our Kindermusik class, we come in as acquaintances and leave as friends. Many of my students make playdates outside of class and they all have a lot of fun. One of the most fun things in class is our circle dance. In January, the children loved “Sally Go Round the Sun”. At the end of the dance everyone falls down and we count to a specific number, like ” 1… 2… 3″ and everyone jumps up to dance again! A circle dances “is a very accessible form of dance for people of all ages and abilities, with the emphasis on participation, not performance” (Michaelsen).
I am always discussing what Kindermusik is, but today I will tell you what it is NOT. Kindermusik is NOT about performance, or getting your child to play an instrument or dance correctly. We believe children and adults need fun ways to explore music and movement that lead them in the right direction where they will eventually make the connections they need to learn and grow. Kindermusik is unique in that it is a process, not a desired product. While moving through this process your child has a lot of fun, makes new friends, and his or her brain gets the exercise it needs to learn anything! Kindermusik, like circle dances, is something anyone can love!
Home is where the Heart Is!
Home is more than just walls, doors, furniture, and a roof! While I love HGTV like you probably do, the fancy fixtures don’t make a home. A home is where love, forgiveness, and joy happen daily, where children feel secure, appreciated, and praised. Many homes are not like that, and not all homes look or function the same, and that’s ok. We are all on a journey together to learn how to love and appreciate others especially in our families.
Children learn about home by seeing other kinds of homes. Some other homes are nests for birds, tree holes for woodpeckers, caves for bears, and tunnels for bunnies. While we will see more of these things in the spring, learning about them now will help your child appreciate them in a month or two! Children love to explore animals and watching the videos of these homes will peek their interest, and I can guarantee you they don’t have granite counter-tops!!
Watching the video with your child will be a special experience. Why? First of all you are doing it together! Its important to take time away from the running of a house just to spend time in your house and help your child feel loved and give him or her the time and attention he or she needs. Second, while you are spending the quality time, you can make the time productive by discussing the pictures of animal homes and asking questions like: “What color is the squirrel?” “Would you like to live in a robin’s nest?” “How big would your nest need to be?”. Using questions such as these helps your child think critically about what she or he is seeing. When you add to his or her learning in this way, you help broaden your child’s thinking. Thinking critically is important for future learning projects like English papers, word problems in mathematics, and solving problems on the job! Wow, what a difference a little time makes: preparing for learning now and in the future, and making home where the heart it is!
A Rhyme Time for my Valentine!
Five Little Valentines
Five Little Valentines were running a race.
The first one was, all trimmed with lace.
The second one had a really funny face.
The third one said, “I love you.”
The fourth one said, “I do, too.”
The fifth one was as sly as a fox,
and he ran the fastest to your Valentine box!
Did you know that rhyming is an important pre-reading skill? Your child’s ears need to hear how words sound the same and how they sound different. Learning to recognize rhyme aurally is actually a precursor to other language skills such as recognizing the beginnings and endings of words!
How can you help your child rhyme?
1. Notice his or her favorite words you say or he or she says. Then make up rhymes that end in those words or use those words.
2. Read stories that rhyme. We all need “The Cat in the Hat!”
3. Enroll in Kindermusik, which has a different rhyming story every month!
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring!
With all the rain we’ve been having, your child should know the different sounds of rain! Sometimes its light and goes “pitter, patter”, then it gets heavier with “drip-drop, drip-drop” and finally “Boom!” 
goes the thunder!
Your preschooler may have a natural inclination to play with and explore sound because she learns through attending to sound! It’s easy to have fun learning through familiar sounds.
Try this @Home with your child:
Do I hear rain? Is that the sound of thunder? Create your own weather sound effects with the help of this friendly video tutorial!
The link above requires a Kindermusik account! Don’t have one, then enroll in a class and you can have access to ALL our fun home activities, PLUS $30 worth of FREE Children’s music, new every month! You can try this one on us, though, click here.
You got the winter blues? Are your children bouncing off the walls? Here’s the cure!!
Got the winter blues? Stuck for the weekend? The new presents have lost that “loving feeling”? Well, peel your children off the walls, and try this fun activity!
Recent (2012) neuroscience research suggests the importance of developing strong visual-spatial skills early,
and also a direct correlation with later reading abilities. This game is fun, but it’s also helping your child hone important visual processing skills while identifying what is wrong with each picture.
Try this @Home with your child:
Who would wear a winter hat to the beach, or rain boots to play hopscotch? That’s silly! Figure out what’s wrong with each child’s outfit in these funny pictures.
The link above requires a Kindermusik account for the class you are enrolled in. Not enrolled? Check out musicmoments.biz and enroll, today!!! You can also click here for a FREE Activity, contact Miss Bonnie for a FREE Class!
Speak to me!
When I was a baby, my mother could NOT speak babbling and cooing words to me, I didn’t like them. If she did I would continue fussing! Instead, I liked long words and stories with sound effects! My mother recently reminded me of this and I said, “I was destined to be a Kindermusik teacher,” seeing as how I teach and say animal sounds all the time!
My mom was developing my language skills by simply speaking to me. As I listened to her voice and the animal sounds she made, I heard how her voice flows and the natural cadence of her language. Those fun stories that my mom made up so I wouldn’t fuss when she was changing me, actually made my brain tune in to language and now I love language, made good grades in school, speak well, and run my own business.
While this is my personal experience, your child can have this experience, too. However, you may need some creative ideas on how to do it! Well, here are a few:
1. Spend time READING with your child! Your toddler will begin to recognize pictures, words, and letters.
2. Extend that reading time by singing a song, making up your own story, asking your toddler to help! Toddlers have SO MANY ideas!
3. Make up stories and simple songs to do while your child is fussing, needs changing, doesn’t want to go to sleep. There is a strong association between music and learning, research says!
4. Get weekly and supportive ideas in a Kindermusik class near you! Find out more about Kindermusik at my website: musicmoments.biz
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