Everyday connection: Make it a laundry day!

An empty laundry basket can transport you anywhere. Is it a car? A train? A pirate ship? A princess carriage? Hop in and let your child lead the way

Music makes traveling with children easier…really!

Childbirth and parenting classes should include a section called “Packing for the littlest traveler.” Parents who travel with a young child often look like a mobile baby super store. Pack-n-play, stroller, nursing pillow, sippy cups, bottles, binkies, blankie (and backup blankie), case of diapers, case of wipes, baby food, toys, car seat, two or three outfits for each day, oh, and yes, the child! Are we there yet?!

At Kindermusik, we know a thing or two about traveling with the under 7 crowd. After all, we play Virtual Travel Agent each week in class. This semester in Village we booked excursions to go bird watching in Australia and Africa, learned infant massage in South Africa, sang songs in France, and even went dancing in Virginia and Charleston. In Our Time, we visited Clapping and Stomping Land, watched frogs in Sweden, hopped on Lukey’s Boat, and took a donkey ride in the West Indies. No packing required!

(Next semester in Village, we are headed to the farm! Reserve your spot now for the hayride! Ready for Our Time? Then buckle up for traveling by planes, trains, and automobiles.)

Everyday connection: Kindermusik for the Kindertraveler. Few children enjoy being strapped in their car seats for long periods of time. Music makes it easier. Create a playlist of your child’s favorite Kindermusik songs for the trip or download these parent-child favorites: http://mindsonmusic.kindermusik.com/bringing-music-home/kindermusiks-favorite-road-trip-playlist/.

But as a parent, I know you still want you child to enjoy class to its fullest. I am often asked by parents and caregivers, “What can I do to help my child get the most out of class?”

The answer is simple:  Use Your At Home Materials!

These materials are a large part of your investment.  They are thoroughly researched and carefully designed to enrich and enhance your family life and your home environment. Kindermusik is designed to be a daily learning process and believes YOU are your child’s most important teacher.

Think of class time as the starting point for the rest of your week. Each day, find a way to incorporate something from class into your routine. Read your literature book along to music at bedtime and during “quality time” breaks with your child.  Sing along with your child while listening to the CD, and allow your child to listen alone, quietly, again and again.  Encourage your child to imitate sounds with voice and impromptu “instruments.” Gather dolls and other family members and have a mini Kindermusik class, repeating favorite activities.

Your FAMILY ACTIVITY GUIDE contains suggestions as well.  I highly recommend you take advantage of them in their digital format.  Here is how you can find this:

“The time you spend with your child now is absolutely critical for development throughout his or her life. This is your window of opportunity to shape your child’s future development. The Kindermusik At-Home Materials Kit is your invitation to spend fun and enriching moments with your child NOW when it is so important.” Sunny Kira, M.A. , Maestro Kindermusik Educator

 Here’s what’s in store:

Kindermusik Village: A Bonding Experience
The Kindermusik Village class provides a delightful environment unlike any other. Through a unique blend of multi-level activities that include creative movement, vocal play, object and instrument exploration, and a colorful literature component, baby’s growth and development are stimulated and all senses engaged.

Kindermusik Village is for lap babies, crawlers, and walkers. It incorporates the most current research on early childhood development and provides families a special place for learning and connecting with other parents and babies through music and movement.

DewDrops — Stop and smell the roses—and lily of the valley, and tulips, and pansies. In this class, parents and babies will play and move together to songs about flowers, such as “Jasmine Flower,” “How Does Your Garden Grow?,” and “White Coral Bells.” You’ll also hear traditional Irish music, dance a jig and move to the “Irish Trot.”
Home Materials: CD of beautifully arranged songs from class, a board book of colorful flowers—DewDrops, a set of Art Banners for the nursery wall, and a Flower Bells instrument for music-making at home.

Kindermusik Our Time — On the Go!
Our Time encourages toddlers to uncover an engaging musical world while building confidence, self-control, and communications skills. Singing, imitating sounds, rhyming, and object identification foster language skills, while creative movement to various musical “moods” develops a sense of balance, timing, and spatial awareness. Listening and turn-taking encourage blossoming social skills.

Our Time reflects the emotional foundations of school readiness and the latest research on music and early childhood development. Our Time is a unique opportunity for parent and child to interact and learn together in an unhurried and joyful manner. Away We Go! — Hop on the train, get in the car, board the plane, and Away We Go! This class focuses on transportation, a favorite topic for toddlers who are on the go, go, go! Sing and play along with favorite songs, such as “I’ve Been Workin’ on the Railroad” and “Wheels on the Bus”. Explore fast and slow, smooth and bumpy, and high and low. Read stories about ways to get around. Shiny Dinah tells the story of a train, and Giddy-Up! has a horse, speedboat, racecar, and more to help you get where you want to go.

Home Materials: Double CD featuring songs from class; two interactive story books—Shiny Dinah and Giddy-Up! to develop early literacy skills; Home Activity Book, and two harmonicas designed for toddlers.

Kindermusik Imagine That!: Individuality and Independence
Kindermusik Imagine That! takes the preschooler on a musical journey of discovery and exploration…a journey limited only by the power of imagination. Pretend play activities are integrated with music, vocal development, storytelling, movement, and literature to capture the preschooler’s potential to learn and to encourage cognitive and literacy skills, creativity and individuality.

Designed for active, energetic, enthusiastic, and imaginative children ages 3 to 5, Imagine That!  classes encourage socialization, sharing, and participating in group activities. Singing becomes a focus for enhancing the preschooler’s vocal development as expressive language is just beginning to emerge.  The parent and child have fun participating together in the last 10-15 minutes of class during Sharing Time, where they’ll also learn about Home Activities they can enjoy together throughout the week. Toys I Make, Trips I Take — Think of it like taking a course inside a child’s imagination. We’ll use the theme of a toy shop to make our pretend-creations, using rhythm and songs with every imaginary saw, hammer, and nail. The result is building the preschooler’s sense of a sequence of events, which is good for storytelling, as well as making his ideas a reality.

Home Materials: Two books—If I Had a Big Blue Boat and Tippity Tippity Too, Toys I Make, Trips I Take Play Set, Two Home CDs, Family Activity Book, and a drum.

Village is for lap babies, crawlers, and walkers. It incorporates the most current research on early childhood development and provides families a special place for learning and connecting with other parents and babies through music and movement.

Feathers — The musical poems of Woody Guthrie, bird songs, and the naturally occurring sounds in nature help babies develop an early appreciation—and accelerated aptitude—for language, movement, and music in this class.

Home Materials: CD with over 25 specially-selected recordings from class, Kindermusik chimeball, a colorful picture book of birds—Feathers, and a set of Art Banners for the nursery wall that strengthens vision and promotes early

Our Time reflects the emotional foundations of school readiness and the latest research on music and early childhood development. Our Time is a unique opportunity for parent and child to interact and learn together in an unhurried and joyful manner.

Wiggles & Giggles — The more than 30 songs, 15 dances, and eight different instruments create these unique music activities, designed to reflect the importance of movement in the life of a toddler.

Home Materials:  Double CD features 50 songs, sounds, and recordings of favorite activities from class; two story books—Watch Me! and Pete and P.J., to develop early literacy skills; Home Activity Book; and specially-made pair of zigzag blocks—instrument to develop rhythm and hand-eye coordination-all conveniently stored in a Wiggles & Giggles carry bag.

Imagine That is designed for active, energetic, enthusiastic, and imaginative children ages 3 to 5.  Imagine That!  classes encourage socialization, sharing, and participating in group activities.

See What I Saw — In this class, preschoolers use their real experience of playing in the park to create imaginative, storytelling scenarios with music—go on an imaginary trip to Grasshopper Park where they sail down the park slide and then recreate the sound of that experience with a loooong vocal glissando.  Each week provides preschoolers one uninterrupted session of imaginative play that’s guided in a very specific, sequential way—with a special sharing time with parents in the last 15 minutes of class

Home Materials: Two books—Can You Find Me? and The Ant Picnic Feast, Two Home CDs, See What I Saw Play Set, a Family Activity Book, a slide whistle instrument, a slide whistle and lumi sticks instruments, and a backpack.

All you have to do is post something on the discussion board of the facebook page http://www.facebook.com/KMWG#!/kmwithgina about Kindermusik. It can be a testimonial, a question, even a fact or link from a Kindermusik website, such as the corporate website http://www.kindermusik.com/, the music download site http://play.kindermusik.com/, the KI blog http://mindsonmusic.kindermusik.com/, or my own website www.kindermusikwithgina.com or even THIS BLOG! 

Then on August 15, all those who posted will be entered in a random drawing for the FREE SEMESTER. This includes all home materials.

FAQ
Q: What if I have already registered for fall and made a deposit or paid in full?
A: I will refund your payment so your semester is FREE.

Q: If I win the FREE semester and can’t use it, can I give it to someone else?
A: No, the prize is not transferable.

Q: What if a family member, such as aunt or grandparent, posts on the board and wins the prize, can they give the prize to me and my child?
A: The prize is not transferable. If the aunt or grandparent is the caregiver who will be bringing the child to class, then the prize may be used by them.

Q: May I use the prize for any class?
A: The prize is for any fall semester of Kindermusik with Gina.

Q: If I make more than one post on this discussion board, does it increase my chances of winning?
A: No. Each poster is entered one time. However, you are welcome make more than one post.

Q: What if I have been enrolled with KMWG before?
A: The drawing is not restricted to new families.

If there are other questions about this raffle, please ask!

Now tell me something! and GOOD LUCK.

     Since Kindermusik addresses the development of the whole child, there are certain ages at which you may wonder which of the Kindermusik curricula best suits your child’s age and stage. It is necessary for Kindermusik to indicate age levels to guide you, but there is flexibility in certain ages that overlap curricula.  Our “transitional stages”, 17-20 months, 3 to 3 ½, and 5, are points at which we can help your child by deciding which level would be most beneficial and appropriate.  Ask yourself some important questions: In which of these levels will my child thrive, rather than just get along?  Am I considering my child’s pleasure and emotional development as much as their cognitive development?  Is my child eager for added independence and challenges, or is she most delighted by sharing special time with me to help guide and support her?

     There are certain developmental guideposts to look for that will help direct your choice. Below are some characteristics that may indicate in which particular curriculum your child will obtain the maximum developmental benefits and pleasure.  While no two children develop in exactly the same way, a child who is ready for a certain curriculum will display many of the characteristics of that level.  Of course, I am always here to discuss individual questions and concerns;  sharing in your child’s developmental journey is both my profession and my joy.

From Village to Our Time: 17-20 months

?   Uses gestures and language to indicate needs

?   Sustains interest in an activity for several minutes

?   Shows cooperative/interactive learning: is interested in what others are doing and in sharing that activity (whether by observing, parallel exploration, or imitation)

?   Can understand and follow verbal directions of two steps; will generally cooperate with a request

?   Is learning to explore objects in purposeful, symbolic ways, rather than mouthing, dumping, etc.

?   Shows interest in concept pairs- high/low, fast/slow, loud/quiet, stop/start

?   Responds to song and rhyme; may join familiar ones, and enjoys word and language play

?   Can reliably point to named body parts, is beginning to understand number, color concepts

?   Group interaction and connection with an activity is becoming more appealing than individual exploration of the environment

?   Physically, can walk well, explores other types of movement (run, tiptoe, jump, turn)–enjoys own mobility and will try new movements he sees others doing

?   Beginning to understand and participate in “sitting” activities: finger plays, lap bounces, singing

From Our Time to Imagine That!: 3 to 3 ½ years

?   Thinks creatively–has moved from the more factual “what does a cow say?” to “ what might we see in our pretend tree?”

?   Recognizes the needs of others, can be empathetic, takes turn (usually!), understands classroom rules and why they are important

?   Developing abstract language and thought–can sustain pretend play and enjoys developing an idea for up to 5 minutes or more

?   Can tell stories, relate a series of ideas, connect own experiences to those of others

?   Has some patience/self-control–can accept “she is playing the wood block, and you have the tambourine today”

?   Generally separates from adult without crying; enjoys interacting as part of a peer group

?   Has a broad movement vocabulary, and can explore the same movement in diverse ways (“what other parts of your body can twirl?”)

?   Can sit and listen to a story or musical selection for 2 – 3 minutes, and comment on what he has heard

?   Knows shapes, colors, weather, seasons, counting

?   Participates in singing, reciting rhymes;  follows a model for movement or instrumental play

 Still have questions?  Visit my website for a schedule of Preview Classes, Demo Days, and PlayDates available this summer.

Erin Moore, trained Doula and lactation specialist, has also created THE MOTHER NURTURE PROJECT. What is it?

You can find The Mother Nurture Project on facebook!