Sing and Playing in an Ensemble... Imagine That!

Wow! We have come a long way in our first few weeks of Imagine That! classes this semester. It's such fun making music together in ensemble form, learning to wait and listen for clues and to practice inhibitory control. Some quotes from class: “I can make a glissando on my Kindermusik Slide Whistle. I can play it from low to high or from high to low. Listen. Now watch me match the glissando sound with my body. Like this... up and down!” “I did it all by myself!” "I have a great idea, Mrs. Cyndi" In class children: • move to demonstrate musical vocabulary: sliding down a sliding board is a glissando. • compare and discriminate singing voices and speaking voices. • begin to label and express musical change through language and movement. Whole Child Viewpoint: “I can never experiment too much. Kindermusik allows me to try out so many possibilities without making me perform or be tested." See you soon, With a song in my heart, Mrs. Cyndi

Benefits of "Our Time" classes

What a great semester we have going on right now. Two full Our Time classes. There are so many benefits in the Kindermusik classroom: social skills, growing self-esteem, spacial awareness, steady beat development, and repetition - which leads to the confidence they need to be all they can be. It's worth the effort to keep them in the regular music classes. “I Love Miknernusik!” “I want to JUMP hello!” “Please play my Kindermusik CD while we drive to Grandma’s house.” In class children: • move in response to songs that illustrate musical change. • request songs and CDs to be sung or played. • recognize the Kindermusik studio and teacher. Whole Child Viewpoint: “Developing a sense of myself as separate from Mommy is my job just now. Kindermusik supports my need to be independent while providing security.” See you soon, with a song in my heart. Mrs. Cyndi

Christmas Miracles

It's a tough thing for me, but I am really re-thinking the gift-giving at this Christmas season. With the financial situation in our household, it's going to be a whole lot different than Christmases past. But then, haven't we got enough stuff. I'm still trying to get the boys to put the PS2 games back in the cases and in the rack where there go. Somehow the "Games away, Games away" Kindermusik song isn't working at age 14... Go figure. There is no appreciation for what we have, so why should we get more? So what if we don't have as many gifts under the tree as last year. And who said that Hollister clothes should be the only clothes that youth wear these days? They are just shirts. Who pays $28 for a shirt? Just for the name. I refuse to follow. I will make my own path. And maybe, just maybe, this is the Christmas Miracle we've been looking for. What if we GIVE this season, and don't worry about getting at all. I think there is a unknown blessing to be had in the giving (sacrifically giving, not just the flippant coin in the Salvation Army canister). We'll see. Maybe it will be a flop at our house this year and we'll have sad faces Christmas morning. Or perhaps we will have a joy missed by several others and a Christmas memory that won't fade, scratch or be outgrown. Maybe we'll experience a Christmas Miracle.

Music and Language Skills

What interests me most about this research is that they noted greater progress from those who studied music earlier. It's also interesting to note that the people involved in the study were not musicians, just people who had studied music.

I Love You Rituals

I Love You Rituals is a book by Dr. Becky Bailey. I has some creative ways to help you connect with your child as well as promote better attention and higher level thinking. You can also click on the link above to get free tips about Conscious Discipline from her website.

Candy Recall

With Halloween fast approaching, I wanted to be sure everyone knew about this recent candy recall. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a warning for the Sherwood brand Pirate's Gold Milk Chocolate coins. They are being recalled due to the fact that they contain Melamine, the ingredient in milk product that has caused many infant deaths in china. These candies are sold at Costco, as well as many bulk and dollar stores. Please make sure to check your children's Halloween candy and please pass this information along to other parents!

Keys to Success

In the past, I have talked about the three keys to helping your child become a successful student and adult.

1. A sensory rich environment to explore
2. The freedom to explore it
3. An available parent to explore it with

Today, while doing some research, I found an interesting article about this exact subject. Part of the article was a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2002, and it states that "toddlers who physically explore their environment, engage socially with other children, and verbally interact with adults are likely to have better scholastic and reading abilities as teenagers compared to less engaging toddlers." That seems too easy. Could it possibly be that simple to actively and creatively play with your children and thereby make them better learners? The answer is YES! I see it everyday in my Kindermusik classroom and at home with my own two children. We, as parents, need to be reminded that sometimes the simple things in life, like a little play time with the kids, are not really frivolous at all. They are truly the most important things in life.