Music & the Senses - Try a Kindermusik Class

Music and the Senses

What better way to start spring than to learn through music and our senses. Are you enrolled for classes in April?

“Experiences and sensations are learning.  Sensations form the base understanding from which concepts and thinking develop.  Therefore, sensory enriched environments are imperative to learning.”(Smart Moves by Carla Hannaford)

Multi-sensory learning is like glue for the brain.  According to Carla Hannaford’s work in Smart Moves, multi-sensory learning partnered with a positive emotional experience leads to learning, reasoning, thought.  That’s a Kindermusik class!

Kindermusik Classes use Music, Movement, and our Senses!

Each week in Kindermusik class we are using your child’s senses – eyes, ears, tongue, the skin, etc. – to build a foundation of knowledge.  It has been said that learning does not occur without movement, because the brain is not taking in information from the environment. As a result, your child is moving and learning and thinking and creating new ideas.

Sensory rich environments are also considered one of three major factors that lead to competency in adulthood.  What are the other two factors?

• Freedom to explore the environment. In our Kindermusik classes, we keep it simple:
  1) Be safe and 2) Be Respectful.
• Available parents that acted as consultants when the child had questions. That’s why Kindermusik includes parents in the learning process every week.  Parents are their child’s first and best teacher!

Compiled by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

Music & the Senses - Try a Kindermusik Class | Minds on Music

Little Treblemakers proudly offers Kindermusik for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and big kids. Schedule your Free Preview Class today!Call/Text: 818-953-4954 Email: Liltreblemakers@aol.com

Behind the music on Kindermusik recordings: Howard Levy

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Kindermusik International

Howard Levy is a featured musician on one of Kindermusik's recordings.

Musician Howard Levy has played with some of the world’s best musicians – from the innovative, future-forward stylings of banjoist Béla Fleck to Dolly Parton, Bobby McFerrin, as well as symphony orchestra musicians around the world with his Concerto for Diatonic Harmonica and Orchestra.

Howard is also a featured musician on two Kindermusik recordings: “Riding the Rails” and “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.”

Composer and arranger Jon Negus worked with Howard on the Away We Go! session. Here’s what Jon had to say about it:

When I was describing to Howard and the violinist (Peter La Bella) that “Riding the Rails” was going to be a duel between harmonica and violin, Peter said “Gee… I wonder who’s going to win that one….!”.

Howard was “off the charts” amazing even back then. A kind and gentle man who always educated while he played.

Musician, composer and arranger David Huff added this about the session:

Jon and I were completely awestruck by this man’s virtuosity. Though Howard got it in one take, Jon asked him to do it again just so we could repeat the experience of watching/hearing him play.

Howard is a world-touring musician, playing piano and harmonica. He’s also a dedicated educator teaching harmonica at the online school Artist Works. In this video, Howard talks about his musical beginnings.

Kindermusik's age-appropriate Hohner harmonicas

Want to play?

Harmonica is a featured instrument in Kindermusik’s Away We Go! music and movement program for toddlers.

Join the worldwide community of educators and musicians around the world — sharing the gift of musical learning with children and their loving caregivers.

If you’re ready to become a Kindermusik educator, our online training program provides a flexible, supportive learning environment.

• Sign-up to become a Kindermusik Educator
• Learn more about Teaching Kindermusik
• Get info on Starting Your Own Kindermusik Program

Read the original post: Behind the music on Kindermusik recordings: Howard Levy | Minds on Music

Relaxation

Children learn many skills from adults, such as tying their shoes or reading a book. They must also learn how to relax, self-calm, channel feelings, and focus. With continued practice, persistence, and a little creativity, children learn not only how to relax, but also how to use this skill effectively every day, even in chaotic environments (Cox and Orlick 1996). Relaxing together with a little soothing, gentle music in the background will go a long way towards helping your child find his own calm amid the busy chaos that can be our lives.

TIP: Establish a Relaxation Ritual in your home, perhaps first-thing in the morning or just before bedtime. Turn on some quiet music and just relax with your child – holding them if they’re small enough or just cuddling up beside each other if they’re too big for your lap. Model being still and not talking, just breathing deeply and quietly enjoying one another’s company. You might also want to sing a simple lullaby to your child at the end. This will likely become a very treasured and much-anticipated time for you and your child(ren).

- Compiled by Theresa Case, M.Ed.

(Click here to read the original postf)

We so agree Mr. Bernstein!

Teaching Baby Sign Language Before Speech

HANDA'S SURPRISE

Pattern Awareness | Minds on Music

Pattern awareness is crucial to learning and memory. Just as in reading stories, singing and rhythmic speech expose participants directly to the patterns of language, including rhythm, speech sounds, syntax, and rhyme.

Tips for parents:

Patterns are all around – outdoors, indoors, in colors, how we arrange items on the counter or table, and even on the clothes we wear. With patterns surrounding us, it’s easy to play “pick up” pattern games with your child. First, point to the pattern. Have your child identify the individual parts. Then work together to point out how it all goes together. If there are objects that can be moved, you can even challenge your child to create some patterns of his own.

You can even try learning about patterns with your Kindermusik instruments!


Read the original post here: Pattern Awareness | Minds on Music

The Power of Hello

At Kindermusik, we believe in the power of hello. So, each week, we begin class by singing: “Hello, hello let’s sing together!” Using your child’s name helps him make an emotional connection with the song and activity right from the start. It also encourages social interaction by inviting him to respond with his own greeting, such as a smile, wave, laugh, or even a little peek-a-boo. As an added bonus, it helps you learn the names of the other grown-ups in class, too! Everyday connection: Say hello to your little friends. Try singing hello to the people, animals, and objects you see around your house. Sing to Nanna…clap to doggie…wave to the bathtub, wave hello. Your child will love it and you will be encouraging social interaction, emotional connections, and even vocabulary development.

Developmental Benefits of Kindermusik

Km developmental benefits from arose133

Experiences Build Brain Architecture

Read More about: Experiences Build Brain Architecture

It's Your Lucky Day! St Patrick's Day Kindermusik Playdate When Sunday March 17, 2013 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM PDT Add to Calendar Where Mia & the Dragonfly 1005 N Cordova Just north of Magnolia across from Porto's Burbank, CA 91505 Driving Directions Greetings!                   You're invited to Little Treblemakers St Patrick's Day Kindermusik Playdate for Babies and Toddlers Birth-2 years at a fun new babies store Mia & the Dragonfly in Burbank! Kindermusik with an Irish Accent; we'll sing, dance, and play instruments, and have plenty of Shenanigans!   Photographer Shannon Lee will be there to capture memorable moments.  And you'll go home with a shaker, songs and bubbles! #IrishBabyTreble    Space is limited, so click the link below to Register Now! Get more information Register Now! I can't make it If you have any questions, or would like to visit to regularly scheduled class please contact me.     Thank you.  I look forward to making music with you soon!     Have a Delightful Music Filled Week,    Patti James Little Treblemakers liltreblemakers@aol.com 818-953-4954 www.LittleTreblemakers.net www.Facebook.com/LittleTreblemakersLA www.MiaandtheDragonfly.com www.Facebook.com/MiaandtheDragonfly www.ShannonLeeImages.com www.Facebook.com/ShannonLeeImage

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We Love Kindermusik – Coloring Page Giveaway

Have you colored your coloring page yet? We're ready to hang it on our walls!! 

Celebrate We Love Kindermusik week in Color!

Download the PDF of our coloring sheet

We Love Kindermusik Coloring Sheet

Posted by Kindermusik.com on February 14, 2013 by Jamie Sterling

Children learn through repetition

Originally posted by Kindermusik on April 29, 2011 by Theresa Case

Again, again!!  Children learn through repetition.  Each time a child is exposed to a new object or experience, new neural connections are made in his brain.  Through repetition, these connections are strengthened and learning occurs.  Every Kindermusik curriculum is designed to repeat certain activities – in part because of this important connection between repetition and learning, but also because repetition of activities helps to create the Kindermusik class community.  Ritual and repetition at home are important components of a predictable and nurturing home life as well. 

TIP:  So go ahead, sing that song or read that book again.  For the hundredth time.  Take satisfaction in knowing that you’re doing your child’s brain a world of good!

- Compiled by Theresa Case, M.Ed., whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, South Carolina, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

Read the original post here

Dare to Share why YOU Love Kindermusik - Enter the Contest!

Dare to Share Why YOU Love Kindermusik

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Kindermusik International

There’s no doubt about it – today’s technology has made many aspects of our lives much easier, especially our ability to share experiences.  From Instagram to Facebook to Skype, you can share nearly anything online.

This month Kindermusik educators all around the world will celebrate“We Love Kindermusik Week” from February 10 – 16.

To help facilitate the sharing of what we all love about Kindermusik, Kindermusik International just announced a “We Love Kindermusik” contest where you and your Kindermusik educator could win some pretty fantastic prizes!

All Kindermusik kids and their parents have to do to enter is share why they love their Kindermusik educator and experience! The contest is open February 3-16, 2013 (midnight EST). Winner will be selected at random.

The lucky winning Kindermusik kid and their parent will receive:

• iPad with retina display, Wi-Fi and 32GB {perfect to use with Kindermusik@Home}
• 1 Year of Kindermusik@Home access
• $500 to charity of choice

When you win, your Kindermusik Educator also wins!

• iPad {with retina display, Wi-Fi and 32GB – perfect to use in class!}
• $500 of Kindermusik@Home credits {to assign to parents & kids at their studio}.

Enter the We Love Kindermusik Contest

All you have to do to enter is…
Step 1: Click Here.
Step 2: Tell us why you love Kindermusik.

Fine print: We will randomly select one valid entry as the winner, and that entrant’s educator will win the educator Grand Prize. If the entrant has an inactive educator, or for any other reason is not associated with an educator, we will do a random drawing for the educator prize using the currently active list of licensed educators.

Check out the original post: Dare to Share why YOU Love Kindermusik - Enter the Contest! | Minds on Music

Kindermusik and Your Child: Listen… Listen..

Originally Posted by Jamie Sterling in Kindermusik

Shhh! What do you hear? Turn on your listening ears and you will hear many things in a Kindermusik class on any given day: the sound of a dog barking, the rain dripping on a tin roof, or the quiet, low “thump-thump” of your very own heart beat. But why is listening so important for a child?

The infant listens and learns to recognize the sweet sound of his mother’s voice early on. The toddler listens and learns to imitate and speak his language. The preschooler listens, and learns to follow instructions. As they listen, and listen, they learn, and grow, and their world expands.

Active listening differs from simple hearing in that we must choose it as an intentional act. We are surrounded by a cacophony of noise in our world, and we must choose whether or not to listen and process the sounds we hear. Active listening opportunities like those provided in Kindermusik allow children the opportunity to learn to listen intentionally. So turn on your listening ears! You might be surprised what you will hear!

Compiled by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

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See the original post: Kindermusik and Your Child: Listen… Listen.. | Minds on Music

Babies are born to boogie, study shows

(Courtesy MSNBC.com) 

Babies love a beat, according to a new study that found dancing comes naturally to infants.

The research showed babies respond to the rhythm and tempo of music, and find it more engaging than speech.

The findings, based on a study of 120 infants between 5 months and 2 years old, suggest that humans may be born with a predisposition to move rhythmically in response to music.

"Our research suggests that it is the beat rather than other features of the music, such as the melody, that produces the response in infants," said researcher Marcel Zentner, a psychologist at the University of York in England. "We also found that the better the children were able to synchronize their movements with the music, the more they smiled."

To test babies' dancing disposition, the researchers played recordings of classical music, rhythmic beats and speech to infants, and videotaped the results. They also recruited professional ballet dancers to analyze how well the babies matched their movements to the music.

During the experiments, the babies were sitting on a parent's lap, though the adults had headphones to make sure they couldn't hear the music and were instructed not to move.

The researchers found the babies moved their arms, hands, legs, feet, torsos and heads in response to the music, much more than to speech.

Though the ability appears to be innate in humans, the researchers aren't sure why it evolved.

"It remains to be understood why humans have developed this particular predisposition," Zentner said. "One possibility is that it was a target of natural selection for music or that it has evolved for some other function that just happens to be relevant for music processing."

Zentner and his colleague Tuomas Eerola, from the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Music Research at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland, detailed their findings in the March 15 issue of the journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

© 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Read the original post and watch video at: Babies are born to boogie, study shows

Announcing Little Treblemakers 4:30 pm MULTI-AGE CLASS begins TODAY!

Greetings!  I'm excited to announce that our 4:30 pm TUESDAY MULTI-AGE CLASS begins next week January 15th In BURBANK/TOLUCA LAKE!  We'll have all the fun you expect in a KINDERMUSIK class: Instruments, Singing, Dancing, Playing in a unique multi-layered environment.  REGISTER NOW or RSVP to come in for a Free preview or Make Up class.      I'd love to have you join us!  Have questions about the schedule or want to know what happens in a Little Treblemaker's Kindermusik class?  Please Email, call/ text 818.953.4954  I look forward to making music with you soon!      Have a Delightful  Music Filled Year! Patti James BA, MA Little Treblemakers   Licensed Kindermusik Educator

What is Audiation & Why is it an essential element in Learning Music?

Audiation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


In the English language, imagination implies a visual mode. Since there was no word similar to imagination for the auditory mode, music education researcher Edwin Gordon coined the wordaudiation in 1975. Audiation is to sound in the same way that imagination is to images. For example, audiation may involve mentally hearing and comprehending music, even when no physical sound is present. It is a cognitive process by which the brain gives meaning to musical sounds. In essence, audiation of music is analogous to thinking in a language. The term audiation should not be confused with audition, the mere perception of sound. Audiation is also more than just a musical form of auditory imagery. Developed audiation includes the necessary understanding of music to enable the conscious prediction of patterns in unfamiliar music and sound.

According to Gordon:

Although music is not a language, the process is the same for audiating and giving meaning to music as for thinking and giving meaning to speech. When you are listening to speech, you are giving meaning to what was just said by recalling and making connections with what you have heard on earlier occasions. At the same time, you are anticipating or predicting what you will be hearing next, based on your experience and understanding. Similarly, when you are listening to music, you are giving meaning to what you just heard by recalling what you have heard on earlier occasions. At the same time, you are anticipating or predicting what you are hearing next, based on your musical achievement. In other words, when you are audiating as you are listening to music, you are summarizing and generalizing from the specific music patterns you have just heard as a way to anticipate or predict what will follow. Every action becomes an interaction. What you are audiating depends on what you have already audiated. As audiation develops, the broader and deeper it becomes and thus the more it is able to reflect on itself. Members of an audience who are not audiating usually do not know when a piece of unfamiliar, or even familiar, music is nearing its end. They may applaud at any time, or not at all, unless they receive clues from others in the audience who are audiating. Through the process of audiation, we sing and move in our minds, without ever having to sing and move physically.[1] (Gordon, 1997, pp. 5-6)

....Read More From Wikipedia: Click Here

Tips for parents (As Posted on Kindermusik's Blog): This is a fun game to play with in the car, in the kitchen, or while cuddling on a lazy Saturday morning when the children pile in bed with you. Start singing a favorite song, and then stop before you sing the last note of a phrase or the end of the song. Wait and see if your child sings it for you. If he does, he is successfully “thinking music,” or hearing it in his head. 

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New research, reported this week in Science Daily suggests that babies who are able to recognize pitch could also detect language rules, even better than adults. Scientists found that “when it comes to extracting complex rules from spoken language, a three-month-old outperforms adult learners”.

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