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“Mommy – don’t forget! Today is Kindermusik!” Every Friday morning, my 4-year-old daughter hops out of bed, excitedly reminding me of our Kindermusik date for the day. As I wait outside of her Imagine That! class, (a preschool age music class), waiting for family sharing time, I listen to the music and giggles coming from the classroom and think about why Fridays have become so treasured in our family. My daughter goes to preschool Monday-Thursday, so she’s already having time to interact with other children her age throughout the week. Yet Fridays continue to be a special part of her weekly schedule. So what does Kindermusik’s music and movement program do for my daughter that makes her look forward to each class so much? I think the answer may be in this KINDERMUSIK acrostic: Kinesthetic - My daughter LOVES to move and dance, especially to music. She’s constantly in motion. Kindermusik supports her need to move and learn kinesthetically through developmentally appropriate music and movement activities. Individualized - Each child’s unique ideas and contributions are valued. Kindermusik activities easily adapt to meet each child’s learning style, whether kinesthetic, visual, auditory, or a combination of these. Nurturing – Kindermusik nurtures each child’s individual development in a warm, supportive musical environment. Kindermusik activities create a learning scaffold that supports learning. Process, not product, is the goal. Dramatic play – In my daughter’s Kindermusik class, children are given opportunities each week to act out stories related to the class theme and expand these stories with their own creative ideas. What a wonderful, fun way to support a child’s “work”! Exploration – Each Kindermusik class, no matter what age level, encourages and supports exploration of instruments, objects (such as balls and scarves), and musical concepts like stop and go, loud and soft, and fast and slow. Relationships – I’m constantly amazed at the many different types of relationships that are fostered through Kindermusik: caregiver/child, teacher/child, teacher/family, family/family, and child/child – just to name a few. Kindermusik gives my daughter the opportunity to develop different relationships with peers and teachers outside of her normal classroom environment. Plus it gives me a chance to connect with other moms. Musical – Of course, this is what comes to mind when I hear the name “Kindermusik.” Kindermusik supports exploration and development of all sorts of musical concepts, instrument play, singing and vocal play, movement to music, and musical language (including reading simple notation and musical symbols). Each child’s innate musical ability is developed through developmentally appropriate musical activities. Unique – Kindermusik uniquely integrates developmentally appropriate activities in a multi-sensory, explorative manner. Often 3-4 developmental domains (such as cognitive, motor, language, and social/emotional) are supported in a blend of musical activities that stimulate and engage the senses. Sensory – Many different sensory systems (such as tactile, visual, auditory, and vestibular) are frequently activated simultaneously in Kindermusik. This leads to greater neural connectivity, which in turn advances learning. How cool! Inventive – Kindermusik supports the inner inventor in each child…how many different ways can you play the bells? How about the drums? How many different ways can you move to the music? Kids – That’s what it’s all about, after all. There would be no Kindermusik without kids. Deborah Layman, MM, NMT, MT-BC |
| Today is Kindermusik! |
Written by Deborah Layman
Thursday, 03 June 2010 00:00