Give your child the gift of Kindermusik

We have a perfect (and easy) solution for babies, toddlers and pre-school children on your Christmas shopping list…… Kindermusik Gift Certificates!!!

The gift of a Kindermusik Music Class will be far more memorable than the latest toy or gadget. It is a gift that lasts for a whole term and the memories last a lifetime! Certificates can be written for any amount and never expire. They can be used towards a class deposit or the full amount.

Ready for Christmas?

Why do we get so hot and bothered in the run up to Christmas? Endless rushing around to prepare everything just so for ONE day? mmmm, well that’s usually me too out there madly dashing around like a headless chicken. But not this year. So, currently its November 22nd and I’ve bought precisely zero presents so far, have stocked no extra nibbles and goodies in the cupboard or freezer, haven’t got the Christmas day outfits for the whole family hanging up in the wardrobes (sparkles ‘an all). Not this year. Okay, I’ll admit that I have bought Christmas cards and had calendars printed for the various smattering of grandparents and aunties, ‘cos they really can’t be left until the last minute.

This year I’ve decided that the preparation for Christmas is not a solo affair, so I’ve enlisted the help of Mister Grumpy (the hubby) and my three teenage girls (haven’t told them yet). There’ll be ONE day to get the Christmas presents bought, next Sunday morning everyone will sit and write the cards (oh yes they will), so let’s see if we can make it a group contribution. Not convinced it’s going to be quite as smooth as my usual Christmas preparation but I’ll give it a go.

And with all the spare time that I save (ha) I’ll be able to start focusing on our exciting new spring 2012 term.

Friday morning babies enjoying scarf play at Kindermusik With Suzanne

Music has the ability to communicate in a way that goes far beyond our imagination. It can transfer a musical language containing all kinds of emotional and educational messages which can be understood unconciously by all babies worldwide, regardless of race or ethnic background. By presenting your baby the right mix of styles, melody, harmony and rhythm, the brain is stimulated into creating more connections, providing your baby a head start in life in various ways.

Are certain types of music better for my baby to listen to than others?

Yes. It is very important to choose the right music to play for your baby. Choosing the wrong music can have negative effects. Contrary to what most people believe, you should not play classical music for babies, as it was originally intended for grownups. Most recordings are too fast and too intense to be absorbed by a baby in a good way. However, by changing the orchestration and tempo, classical music can be successfully adapted for babies, offering wonderful benefits. As a parent, you need to avoid recordings that give no consideration to how babies will respond to the music. Kindermusik ensures that all music is adapted to suit baby’s sensitive young ears.

99% of Kindermusik parents would recommend the Kindermusik programme to other parents.

Sometimes its just nice to hear it from someone else isn’t it? So when I saw these comments left on the family friendly site it made me wonder,shouldn’t we all be singing from the rooftops when we are pleased with a service provided? Okay, so a little bit of own trumpet blowing here, but I’m talking about in general so we share with our friends when we find a brilliant hairdresser, restaurant, cobblers or car showroom? After a really positive experience at puppy training classes I was only too pleased to tell everybody I bumped in to when they admired my gorgeous puppy all about the brilliant puppy classes that I went to, even wrote the number down a few times. Is it rude to admire a friends beautifully manicured hands and ask where, how much and can I have the number? No, not in my book although I daresay others will disagree.

So many of our new families joining us this term have found us via friends, so clearly there are others out there like me who just love to share a positive experience. And with that in mind I’d like to say a HUGE thank you to all of our sharing families who just keep recommending us, I’m delighted that you are able to share.
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The benefits of music on early years development

“Music and Emotional Development

Music is associated with our earliest memories, and experiences throughout our lives. It definitely has an emotional impact. Think of a song or piece of music that stirs up strong emotions every time you hear it. Almost no one is unaffected by its power on our moods.

Music has the ability to comfort and soothe children. Children will often sing to themselves as a way to self-soothe. You can use music to help calm your baby, or get your toddler to relax for naptime. If your preschooler is sleepy in the morning or sad, you can sing a song or play music that is cheery and makes them want to jump around and get moving.

Music and Physical Development

You can’t dance without music, right? Well, you can, but music makes it much more fun. Music and movement naturally go together. Children most naturally respond to music by moving and being active with it. Music helps children learn about rhythm, timing, orientation, and coordination. You can use music to get children marching.

Music and Cognitive Development

Toddlers and preschoolers love rhymes and songs. Not only do they enjoy them, but they help children learn about numbers, letters, and sounds. As children’s brains are developing at their fastest when they are very young, with 80 percent of brain development occurring by age 3, and 90 percent by age 5, music helps with making connections in the brain.

Although there is some controversy on exactly how much music affects children’s learning abilities, it is known that music is linked to improved math, language development, memory and reading skills. When children are creative and make up their own rhymes and songs, they are also building their knowledge of words and sounds. They are building the connections in the brain. It doesn’t matter what kind of music they hear or create, all music matters.”

Throw in the expertise of Kindermusik; a programme that has been educating children and their families since the 1960′s and you’ve got a lifetime of memories. Only a couple of years ago one of our Kindermusik families walked down the aisle on their wedding day to a piece of music very special to them, a Kindermusik song!

‘Tell me why the stars do shine
tell me why the ivy twines
tell me why the sky’s so blue
and I will tell you just why I love you’

ahhh. Now that’s a memory to treasure!

Suzanne
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When Charlie first joined us, a couple of terms ago, he was as most little boys are full of energy (certainly not shy) and we have experienced his blossoming through our movement to music. He had all the go go go, but hadn’t quite mastered the stop stop and stop. He was also quite selective about which segments of the class he joined in with, in fact he still is, but his parents are aware of the fact that this is how he chooses to learn. Whilst some children are very hands on learners, diving straight into absolutely everything immediately, some children prefer to take a step back and observe – an observational learning style. After discussing this with Charlie’s parents they supported this learning style, and it works really well. I love their approach; sometimes we are all up marching, swirling or twirling then we see Charlie, Mummy and Daddy sitting at the side watching patiently, chatting about what’s going on, ‘look how Isla marches, do you think she likes to march fast or slow?’ and ‘would you like to practice bouncing/marching at home?’.

So whether your child likes to march, jump, leap, twirl and whirl or just sit, discuss and take enormous pleasure in watching others its just fine with us. After all, there’s no right or wrong way to ‘do’ Kindermusik (aslong as there’s a smile on everyone’s face at the end of the class), remember that we bring our children up to be individuals so let’s allow them to be individuals.

But what if your child doesn’t join in with the class? Isn’t that a complete waste of time, energy, money? Try some of the activities at home, if your child re-creates the song/dance/bounce/activity at home then it looks like they’ve been absorbing that whole class (just like a sponge!) after all. Not all children join in with every activity in their class, and I’m quite happy for it to be that way. Do you know, I think I might just sneak off to the side and watch everyone one of these days……I’m sure I’ll learn a whole lot more!

Best-selling author Mem Fox says “The importance of getting rhymes and songs into children’s heads can’t be over estimated”. “Rhymers will be readers: It’s that simple. Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know 8 nursery rhymes by heart by the time they are 4 years old, they are usually amongst the best readers by the time they are 8”.
(Mem Fox, Reading Magic. Mariner Books 2001)
Hey, impressive stuff!
Kindermusik classes use a HUGE varied range of music, which includes traditional nursery rhymes aswell as music from far flung places such as Japan, India, New Zealand, Mexico to name but a brief few. In this term’s Peekaboo I Love You programme (0-18 months) we’ve got Hickory Dickory Dock, Jack & Jill, Eensy Weensy Spider and Wheels on the Bus for the traditionalists (that’s also half of your nursery rhyme quota for becoming a better reader), and the totally fabulous Skinnamarinki, Love Somebody and I See You that will be familiar to so many Kindermusik families. So that takes us up until Christmas (sorry, I know its far too soon to be mentioning the Ch word),with dancing, bouncing, singing, relaxing and a fair bit of chat too.
Of course nothing stops you both from taking a spin around the kitchen to Rihanna, clapping along to the steady beat with Take That or exercising the vocal chords along with Adele. After all music is music and its there for the enjoyment of. That’s just what we do at Kindermusik. Enjoy.

But did you know that by blowing raspberries you are assisting development of your baby’s lips, cheeks and mouth, co-ordinated with breathing, these are all helpful in forming the basis for saying words?

Okay, so when Grandad teaches little one to blow raspberries just as a mouthful of something you’ve slaved over, pureed, mushed up and trying patiently to feed without ending up totally covered in, goes in then comes back out all over the walls, highchair then perhaps that’s not the right time for vocal development.

However when the food is away exchanges of coo-ings, babblings, smiles, gestures, eye contacts and tonal babbling are all part of vocal play. Let the communication games between you and your baby begin with touching, observing, gazing, listening and imitating; baby’s responses to verbalizations are a rudimentary form of speech, language development and conversation. Remember during these ‘conversations’ to allow baby time to respond.

Even before words though touch communicates information and feelings to baby; holding, cuddling, nursing, stroking and rocking bring a sense of security. Touch also increases baby’s alertness and responsiveness during vocal play. Research shows that just the act of being touched increases nerve net development in the brain which in turn influences motor and mental functions. It has also been found that adults who vocalize and smile frequently also have babies who vocalize and smile frequently.

During a Kindermusik Village lesson there are endless opportunities for intentional touch and vocal play, allowing you and your child time to initiate, observe and respond. Oh, and did we mention there’s plenty of time to smile, laugh and cuddle too?

The correct answer to this question is when you both feel ready to, so in fact there is no RIGHT time to join us. But whenever you do will be absolutely fine.

Babies who join a Kindermusik Village class (0-18 months) are in a ‘receptive’ mode of development, in preparation for movement towards a more expressive stage of development. Kindermusik Village lessons acknowledge this by providing a wide array of sounds, images, tactile and movement activities for baby to experience. Parents and carers are encouraged to enhance every activity by imagining yet another way to position baby to view his/her world, another sound or movement to try, and are invited to observe, notice and even document baby’s preferences, antics and responses in a specially prepared home journal that is included with each term’s new theme.

Babies in a Kindermusik Village class are of multi-age; changing more rapidly than at any other time in their development. Therefore each activity presents features and choices for lap babies, crawling babies and walking babies with each participating at their own level. Diversity is expected and welcomed. There is never the need to ask ‘am I doing it right?’ just as there is never a right or wrong time to introduce your baby to classes.

Some babies are happy to be part of a Kindermusik class at just weeks old (our youngest group member happened to be just 10 days old!), whilst others need to wait until around 10-12 weeks when they are becoming more aware of their surroundings aswell as being able to stay awake for a full 45 minutes.

So, whether you and your child join us at 10 days or 3 years it isn’t a problem. As long as you are both happy then its absolutely the right thing to do.