NEW! Kindermusik at Home Digital Home Materials

Introducing Kindermusik@Home
Kindermusik, the number one name in music and movement education for children, has created new, easy to use, digital home materials to extend the magic and learning of a Kindermusik class into your own home throughout the week. Kindermusik@Home delivers your favorite Kindermusik songs and activities, instrumental music, books, and lyrics—as well as recipes, learning games, crafts, and more in a green-friendly digital format. With each new monthly unit, families receive a treasure trove of developmentally appropriate activities that will give children a lifelong love of music and a strong early foundation for learning. And with each activity, parents learn how and why that activity enhances a child’s learning and development. Kindermusik@Home is available through tablet, mobile, and PC devices—ready to use wherever your family wanders. It’s Kindermusik for you!

Want more details?
Each newly created curriculum, Wiggle & Grow(18 months-3 years), Laugh & Learn(ages 3&4) and Move & Groove (ages 4&5) unit's digital home materials page contains an abundance of unit-specific, age-appropriate materials and activities - all tied to the class content. The digital home materials are built specifically to make it fun and easy for a parent to connect class-time to home-time, and to enrich both experiences. Everything a parent needs to read the class story, play a game, do a fingerplay or dance, teach new words or instrument sounds, plan an activity, do a craft, follow a recipe, take a "field trip" (real or imagined), or play pretend . . . it's all in one spot!

• Music downloads All of the songs, rhymes, stories and sounds from class are easy to download and add to your music collection.
• Every unit's literature book is included in e-book format, with pages you can turn yourself, and a page-by-page audio read-aloud that you can turn on or off. The ebook can be downloaded and printed if you prefer!
• Activity buttons take you to a variety of different activity types, including dance and movement instructions, fingerplay demonstrations and instructions, together-in-the-kitchen activities, music time, listening games, vocal play activities, video field trips, find-it/count-it style activities, ideas for pretend play, and more.
• The Why It's Good for Your Child area fills automatically with information about why any specific activity or activity type is useful, important, or developmentally significant. Addressing the parent directly with up-to-date, research-supported, clear and friendly information, there's a "why it's good" feature for every single activity.
• In addition to the music downloads and e-book, the Download Center also includes Printable Activity Pages and, for the first time, Printable Lyrics Pages for all of the songs in the unit.
• An age-appropriate instrument to continue your musical jam time at home every third month.

*A note about Screen Time:
Like most parents, we are ever conscious of keeping the amount of screen time to a minimum. At the same time, we are constantly encouraged by parents to make our content available on computers, tablets, and phones, and to develop content not only for parents but for children to interact with directly. We do our best to balance these forces, providing as much robust and variable content as we can, and giving parents the option of delivering that content to their children in whatever way(s) they choose. All units naturally contain only a small percentage of content that occurs primarily on the screen. (This percentage rises slightly as the age level climbs.) In most cases, we have provided an off-screen alternative for those activities. For example: While a video field trip (typically less than 2 minutes long) can't be experienced by a child whose parents limit screen exposure altogether, an online matching game, find-it page, fingerplay, recipe, craft, game, dance, or pretend play activity would be equally viable and enjoyable by a parent/child together at the computer or by a parent/child together away from the computer. We are truly respectful of all parents' choices about screen time, and hope to be providing materials that are robust and flexible enough to delight our diversity of Kindermusik families.

The Spirited Child & Kindermusik

The Power of a Word

 I will be focusing the next series of blog posts on the special 10-15% of our children who are just that little bit more....or a lot, than their childhood counterparts. These are the energetic, boisterous, strong-minded, ardent, dramatic, charismatic, selective and assertive little super-stars that can often drive their parents and care givers to their wits end with all their "brightness". As you may know, I am the mother of two young boys ages 4 1/2 & 18 months and my oldest son is in this small percentage. This is a topic very close to my heart. Notice my careful selection of adjectives to describe these children. Society, or even ourselves as parents very commonly use a different set of adjectives to describe our children all the time without realizing how damaging they can be. Let me demonstrate by using the very same descriptive words in a negative light: wild, disruptive, argumentative, impatient, explosive, manipulative, picky and stubborn.

The difference is dramatic, isn`t it?

I know I`ve been guilty many times of using these negative words to describe my son, both with my peers and directly to him. I had no idea how powerful they were in determining how I truly saw him as well as how I was influencing what others chose to label him as. I came to realize how unfair I was being to him by expecting him to fit into a pre-conceived idea of what a "good boy" is. I`ve been reading a wonderful book by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka called "Raising Your Spirited Child" that has breathed fresh air and life into my approach to my own personal parenting challenges. It`s been so inspiring that I felt compelled to share my journey of what I`ve been learning with you.

Mary wisely refers to these children as simply being "more". They maybe melt down sooner, are extra particular as to how things need to play out, certain fabrics or clothing are unacceptable & enough to bring them to tears, may have constant & boundless energy and are always on the move, or may constantly argue and debate everything under the sun. Spirited children come in many different shapes and sizes and often exhibit traits that we admire in adults. Consider the hilarious comedian that makes you laugh until you cry, or the brilliant filmmaker with visionary talent, or maybe the social/political activist that inspires hundreds of thousands of people to move towards a major world change. Now consider what they may have been like as children.....something to think about.

Now, for those of you who are in this same boat as I and count to 10 at least 100 times every day and are masters of the deep cleansing breath, take heart. Your child is amazing, brilliant, creative and inspiring! In fact, they might just be major leaders, movers and shakers when their time comes. Support all that energy and cheer them on!

This is where Kindermusik aligns perfectly with what Mary is teaching. In each class, children are encouraged to engage in whatever way they need to at the time. There is never pressure to perform in any expected way and it`s the process that is always encouraged. Each activity can always be modified to suit the mood of each class at any given time and each personality is celebrated and respected. I can`t stress enough how much of a relief this kind of environment is for a mother of a spirited child. I speak from my own experience. No judgements...no expectations. Just freedom to have fun with your child.

Making the Right Choice for Your Child

You open your local parent publication and your eyes are drawn in virtually every direction.  The conglomeration of ads scream out for your attention…Make-believe fantasy birthday parties…Children’s theater…Ballet and performing arts…Summer camps…Swim lessons…Soccer…Bowling leagues...Gymnastics.

As a parent, you want what’s best for your child.  But how do you provide a well-rounded experience without over-scheduling your child, over-committing yourself or outspending your discretionary income budget?  There aren't always easy answers.  But because you have selected Kindermusik, you can rest easier knowing that you've made a great choice for your child. In addition, here are some key questions you can ask yourself prior to choosing any type of activity.

Who will be leading the activity?  

You’ll find that many summer camp programs and play activities are led by adult or student volunteers.  Likewise, many youth sports teams are headed by volunteer parents.  Those individuals may or may not have extensive training or background in the activity.  Coaches tend to change every season.  And those individuals may or may not have a personal connection with your child.  With Kindermusik, your child will likely benefit from the same professionally licensed and certified educator for up to seven years.  More importantly, your Kindermusik educator is fully committed to sharing a passion for helping children learn through the magic of music.

  

What is the frequency of the activity?

Many youth activities are designed to occur once or twice a week.  The activity may be seasonal and may only involve your child for those brief periods of scheduled time each week.  Kindermusik provides you and your child an opportunity to share a musical learning experience each and every day of the week.  Moreover, it provides an opportunity for your child to participate in a learning experience that will create an appreciation and knowledge of music that will last a lifetime.  Although the Kindermusik classroom experience is designed to occur once a week, a wealth of At Home materials and activities allows for daily, at home interaction and exploration of the music, the concepts and the learning first experienced in class.  In addition, those materials are of virtually unmatched quality and unique to the Kindermusik program.

What are the goals of the activity?

Most childhood sports and activities are geared to mastering a specific skill set or goal such as learning to kick a soccer ball or memorizing the steps required for a successful dance recital.  In a time when virtually everything your child does is based on standardized tests and measurable results, Kindermusik takes the opposite stance by basing its curricula on process – not performance.  While achieving specific skill sets are not required goals of the Kindermusik experience, mastering skills comes naturally as one of the results of the program.  Kindermusik focuses on a developmental approach that nurtures the child from the inside out.  Children develop by learning “how to learn.” In addition to practicing certain skills, they think, talk, share, create, sing, express, move, and participate fully with peers and adults.  They’re driven not by an upcoming game or recital, but by their own personal experiences.

What is the size of the group participating?

Many youth activities can seem overwhelming based on the sheer number of children involved.  Kindermusik, in contrast, is limited to 12 children in a class.  With a small group setting, children have an opportunity to build friendships while building self-confidence.

What is the degree of parental involvement in the program?

As a parent, how involved are you?  Do you want to be relegated to a role of taxi driver and audience participant?  Or would you prefer to play a more interactive part in the activity?  At Kindermusik, we believe you are your child’s first and best teacher.  In addition to making parents and caregivers a part of every class, the At Home materials provide ongoing participation and interaction for the entire family.  You’ll have an opportunity to play an important role in your child’s overall enjoyment and learning throughout the Kindermusik experience.

Kindermusik is the single best choice.

Many children’s activities provide a viable and valuable experience.  But when all things are considered – when all the questions are answered – chances are that you’ll find Kindermusik offers the single best choice for your child.