Children are ready to learn long before schools are ready to teach

Posted July 27th 2010 at 10:16 am by Kindermusik International

Music is a magic little key to your child’s heart and mind. It’s a dynamic sensory experience that evokes a powerful response in children. Early exposure to music is a vehicle for profound learning.

We’ve found that music and movement that involves interaction, demonstration, and exploration is the perfect way to introduce a child to the learning environment.  That’s why Kindermusik provides a unique opportunity to begin your child’s preparation for school – and, for that matter, for life.

Our program is carefully structured and developmentally appropriate. That means the music and activities reflect the age of your child. The Kindermusik classroom is set up in a manner that is most similar to what your child will experience in preschool and/or kindergarten.

This can give your child a great head start.

That said, don’t confuse Kindermusik with the potentially stressful environment you might find in a “toddler prep school”. Our program is not design to push children. In fact, quite the opposite. Instead you’ll find that our curricula nurtures and mirrors your child’s development with a fun, engaging, and stimulating environment. We encourage all children to learn and participate at their own pace. You’ll hear our Kindermusik educators say this all the time.

We know that these days parents have dozens of activities to choose for their children. Our goal is to stand out above the rest as the best option for you and your child. We feel that our research-based, research-proven program will not only prepare your child for school and the future, but you’ll get to have a lot of fun along the way!

Want to preview a Kindermusik class for free? Fill out this online form and an educator near you will contact you with more information. We hope to see you in Kindermusik soon!

One Hundred Thousand Five Hundred

100,500
by Andrea King

It's a big number, and it caught my eye in a recent issue of Real Simple (I love that magazine, thanks Heather!). So what does it mean? The average person consumes (reads or hears) 100,500 words per day... let's do the math. For the 16-or-so hours a day we are awake, we are exposed to (and sometimes assaulted by) an average of 6,281 words per hour. And guess what, that number has tripled in the last 20 years (thanks to the internet, and maybe even this blog).

So what does it all mean? More than ever our children are growing up in a world demanding strong language and literacy skills. Whether it's reading & writing, or speaking & listening, strong communication skills are a must. That's why I love teaching Kindermusik classes! Everyday in class, I see children of all ages (babies too!) using music as their stepping stone to expressing themselves.

Sing-a-long to our favorite hello song? That's 20 words right there that share the idea of welcoming and building community. Actively listening to a recording of live sounds in our environment? That encourages a whole slew of descriptive words and sounds that encourage children to think critically about their world. Chanting that nursery rhyme while playing rhythm sticks to the steady beat? Those rhyming skills build a young child's understanding of the sounds in language and the steady beat cues them into the rhythm of language.

Music is language & expression! It's never too early to build on your child's communication strengths in the Kindermusik classroom!

Listening to What we Hear

At 20-weeks a fetus can hear sound from inside the mother's womb. From that time until well into their young childhood their ears & brain are fine-tuning themselves to make sense of their world. Interesting stuff!

Check out this article about a study that show infants can distinguish emotions heard in the voice by 7 months old:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125123354