The man behind the scenes

Ever hear of the woman behind the man?  You know, the one who helps out so that everything looks smooth for the work life?   Today I want to mention the man behind the woman who brings  Kindermusik to your family.

Why today more than other days?  Valentine's Day is the day I said "Yes" and became officially engaged.  And this year it's 25 years that I've been wearing this ring.  Maybe you've seen our picture together in the classroom, but in case you haven't, here is the man that brings joy to my heart.  As much as I'm an upfront person, he is a behind the scenes guy.  If ever there is a job to be done, he's the guy that will be there for me.  Or anyone else, for that matter.  A friend of ours said just hours ago, "whenever I see Greg driving up, I always get the feeling that everything is going to be alright."

When I wanted to start up the Kindermusik business, he encouraged me to go for it.  When I made the move from teaching at home to teaching in a rented facility, he was the one who helped make the space work.  He is hands on help for moving, ripping out carpet, painting walls, hanging hooks.  Our magnificently transformed classroom is thanks to him!

There are a thousand ways I have come to love this man over the years.  A thousand ways to be proud of him.  So to my amazing husband, Greg...Thank you!  I could never have done this without you.  And I'd still choose you.

Happy share the love day!

Tomorrow we are having the extended family over for a family dinner.  It's a great time to get out the heart shaped dishes, the red table cloth and white plates and just fuss it up all for the sake of celebrating the love of family!

In the busyness of life it's easy to let things slip by, but family time is REALLY important.  And it's fun to make a big deal out of certain days.

But as fun as all the hearts and chocolate is, it's the everyday life that matters so much more.  The daily servings of looking after each other, homemade chocolate chip cookies, or filling up your spouse's gas tank.  It's the snuggling up with a favorite children's book, or putting on a movie and making popcorn to eat together.  It's developing a library of favorite songs - you know, the ones you laugh at, or dance to, or smile about secret meanings.

By now your family has a few Kindermusik songs on that list.  The family rocking time with the stuffies is meant to provide families with intentional time to connect physically and emotionally, using the power of music.  The lap bounces provide some emotional connection through humour and fun.  And the dances serve to join us together as a whole classroom.  As the  children get older and participate in Kindermusik more independently, the music at home provides a connection point for doing projects together.  Making an instrument together to bring to class, or practising note names together using smarties for note circles provide opportunities for parents to build into their child's life and learning.

So celebrate your family this Valentine's Day!  You've got a lot of memories to look back on already!

A song in their heart

Walking up the big spiral staircase to class the other day I heard the happy sounds of a little girl singing all the way up.  Dad was waiting at the top and ready to participate in class with her.  What a happy way to start the day!

Another mother was telling me about her 19 month old daughter singing "Ru ruque" (one of our beloved songs from the Fiddle Dee Dee children's book, "Animal Serenade") at home.  I later found a video of it on that mom's blog - SO sweet!

While playing instruments in class during Family Jam I was leaning over a 15 month old girl while reaching for an instrument and heard her humming away.  

And then as we were singing "Bow wow wow, whose dog art thou?" while passing around Rover (our classroom stuffed dog), I saw one of our youngest boys singing in perfect rhythm.  It was too loud in the class with all of us singing to hear his voice specifically, but I could see his lips forming the actual syllables.

Those are just a few examples of what I have been witness to this past week or two.  Just know that sharing our songs in Kindermusik is a great step towards a lifetime love of music.  When music is a regular and normal part of your family life, children grow up to be lifetime lovers of music.

Case in point, this afternoon while I'm blogging this, my 19 year old son who is supposedly studying in his room can be heard singing.  He has no idea we can hear him through the vents in the house, but it warms my heart to be listening in.  And my daughter found a DVD of "Mama Mia" while dusting the living room just now and suddenly broke out into song.  

If your child is not yet singing out loud in class, don't panic.  There are ways to encourage it.

Keep playing your Kindermusik CD's and sing along yourself!

Your enthusiasm for music will be "catchy" and rub off on your children.

Watch and see if when you do Kindermusik at home your children are singing along there. Some children are shy about singing in front of others, but they'll happily sing at home.

Make singing games - start with a familiar song, then change a few lyrics to make it a sillier version!

Your voice is your instrument that you carry with you wherever you go.  Encourage your child's mastery!  Clap, cheer, sing along.  And have you heard me mention that singing releases endorphins, those feel good hormones?    It's true! 

Advancing Skills

The last couple of posts have been about the younger crowd in Kindermusik.  But Kindermusik is more than just for the very youngest.  Some families start Kindermusik when the children are babies - and then keep coming throughout the full 7 year curriculum.   The benefits of this are many, including being able to participate in music in an unself-conscious way.   They become as familiar with music making as they are with breathing.  Very young children typically approach the arts with abandon, but they become self-conscious about it as they age from lack of reinforcing encouragement.  When not used, they lose their natural music making self.

Yesterday, we had a beautiful example of musical advancement in our Kindermusik classroom.  In Family Time classes we have multiple ages represented, all the way from Village age to Young Child.  In this past class we were exploring some singing concepts and I quickly explained to the parents that we were going to try some "call and response".  In vernacular terms it is "echoing".  First I would sing a few notes and then the families would sing back whatever I sang.

So I sang my 4 notes to an easy lyric (ie. "tap, tap, tap your toes"), and without missing a beat, one of my "Young Child" students who had come to his sister's Family Time class, sang out "tap, tap, tap your toes." He sang in perfect pitch matching, he sang out confidently, and led the other adults in boldly making music.  It kind of took us all by surprise.  Even the parents efforts paled in comparison.

In my heart I was beaming!  Here was living proof that Kindermusik makes a difference.  Not only has this boy developed musical confidence, he was leading the way for others!  Awesome!!

One more time

I have favorite songs that no matter how many times I hear them, they make me smile.

I have favorite movies that I watch again and again.

I have books that I have read over and over.

Doing the same things can be a reassuring, restoring, reinforcing event.  There is a comfortable place in our brains that loves the replay of pleasurable experiences.  It makes us happy to know what to expect and to relive the moment.  

That's why in Kindermusik classes we repeat activities.  We use the bells to play along to "The Tailor and the Mouse".   We use the scarves to sweep up and sing "The Broom Man",  or we play the "Lucy Locket" game - week one, week two, and again on week three. 

Repetition helps to solidify learning, but it also helps people to feel at ease and comfortable.  So when we do our activites in a similar way from week to week, know that your child is getting the advantage of fully exploring ideas and concepts, and coming to feel that Kindermusik is as comfortable as a favorite blanket.

But there is also room for variation.  You'll notice that as we tap along to "Old Joe Clark" in Fiddle Dee Dee that there is a different way of tapping each week.  We expand the activity to include more ways to tap the sticks, and then we put the sticks in a hidden space and use our hands to clap along the steady beat.    Or another example would be that in Young Child classes, we explore  new ways of writing down music, using note circles on paper staff charts, the floor staff, and the flannel note chart - the variety helps to ensure that the concept is received through at least one of the modes of presentation.

Why not take your home instrument this week and play along to a recording on your home CD?   Then, ask your child how you could do it differently next time.

Or take time for yourself, make a big bowl of popcorn and watch your favorite movie again.  Sounds inviting, doesn't it?  After all, haven't you seen "Cars" or "Cinderella" just about 3 times past enough : )

Glockenspiels as elevator music?

Across the board, one of the best parts about a Kindermusik class is using new instruments.  Children LOVE when I get out an instrument that has never, or rarely been explored  Sometimes the delay happens because we wait until a child is older.  Sometimes we wait for a particular concept to be addressed.


Lately, in Imagine That "Cities" class we have been talking about glissando.  As is typically the case, we introduce through play and imagination.  While the "elevator" - aka the purple mat magically transformed into a high rise elevator - goes up and down we use our voices to slide up and down.  Then, out comes the glockenspiel where we can slide our mallet up and down the keys, introducing our new musical word.

It's amazing to watch 3 and 4 year old children not only engage so enthusiastically in the pretend play, but to sing vocal glides and test out new techniques  on an instrument they thought they could only tap.

Not only are we learning new skills, we are enlarging the creative learning center of your child's brain through the development of new neural connections.  Creativity born through one activity means more creative capacity for future endeavors, as well.  So one day you may find your child writing their own musical compositions, or designing actual high rise buildings.

Sharing stories, merging hearts

This morning I was talking to one of my best friends in the world and she asked if I was going to be posting again today.  Must admit that it's always with mixed feelings that I hear such questions.  On the one hand I am happy to know that people are actually reading what I'm writing.  On the other, it feels a little pressured to say something meaningful.  I told her that I'd give her a shout-out in my blog (smile).  So to Shannon, here's your mention (and picture because people are going to wonder who you are!)

I do enjoy blogging and sharing my heart with you all.  It's part of who I am to be passing on the twenty-five cents of information that I have accumulated along life's path.  In fact, words have always held a high regard for me.  I love a well-crafted sentence. 

Just yesterday I was reading a book where  two mothers had just met and discovered they each had the challenge of raising a special needs child.  There was this amazing sentence that grabbed my attention:

" We stared at each other for a moment, in silence, as our hearts twisted together like vines."  (from "Dancing with Max, p. 151  Emily Colson, Zondervan publishing, 2010) 

There's a great word picture if ever there was one : )

So what does all this have to do with parenting well, music and such?  I got to thinking about how almost all of what I know has been passed on to me from others.  My parents, teachers,  friends, authors.  It has been their willingness to be open about their lives and experiences that has brought learning and richness to my life.  

You have a story to tell, too, and I love to hear about your journey.  When friends meet over a cup of coffee, or in a Kindermusik classroom, wonderful things can happen.  Shared stories become rich resources for parenting ideas.  Understanding ears become pathways to hope.  Laughter becomes glue that binds lives together.  Songs become the vehicle of love.  And hearts "twist together like vines".

It can feel scary to be vulnerable and talk about your challenges, your life, but if you bring your open heart to class, your willingness to offer your story may be just the answer someone is looking for!

And Shannon, you know my heart is knit to yours.  Thanks for being there for me always!

Why Kindermusik for babies and toddlers?

One of the most common questions I get when I tell people that I teach Kindermusik is "what can a baby do in a music class?"  Followed up by "why would a baby need music classes?"

So this blog is devoted to answering that question.  Truthfully, some moms come to class with their baby to engage in a social connection with other moms.  That is a very important side-benefit, but not the real reason I offer classes for babies.  

It actually starts with the premise that babies and young children are seeking to learn primarily through sensory experiences.  You have probably noticed how babies put everything in their mouths.  The reason they do that is that the mouth has a very high number of nerve endings per square inch, making it a highly sensitive region - capable of taking in a great deal of information about how something feels.  They really aren't interested in "eating" everything (smile).  

Babies will hold on to instruments and objects, feeling their texture, smelling their fragrance, finding the taste.  They want to know what happens when they move their arms - and discover the sensation of moving beads inside various shakers.  They begin to understand that their movement brings pleasure.

The key to all of this is that adding music to the discovery process opens up the brain to new areas of memory.  Studies and testing have shown that only music provides total brain stimulation.  While there is an auditory center, a visual center, and language area, imaging done  while people listen to music shows that the entire brain is activated and stimulated when music is involved.

Kindermusik classes offer layers of learning by hearing the music, experiencing the social connectedness of the same songs through dance and group play, playing instruments to the same music, having a parent sing the songs, and doing various finger plays and motions to the same songs and rhymes.  The repetition of activity in similar ways and creative options provides optimal learning and assimilation of material.

Addtionally, parents are equipped with new ideas through class attendance.  Kindermusik teachers provide valuable information regarding child development and age appropriate learning schemes.  Children discover social skills, musical skills, and cognitive skills on a developmental plane.  Having that knowledge helps parents target their child's learning in a more appropriate way.

Whether it is stimulating the vestibular system through blanket rocking, or providing visual development through tracking coloured scarves during object play, Kindermusik classes offer growing children and their parents the opportunity to create neural connections in the growing brain.  Did you know that your child's brain is physically growing until he or she is approximately 3 years old?  The early years are critical in developing the neural connections that will serve them throughout their lifetime.  Besides the complete fun of making music as a family, early childhood music classes are an investment in your child's learning potential.

Equally important is the notion that all learning takes place in an emotionally charged environment.  The positive associations to music of various styles that take place in a Kindermusik classroom and a Kindermusik family home are invaluable.  

The testimony of thousands of families worldwide is that Kindermusik provides an environment where long term learning occurs because of the excellent curriculum, the care and attention of qualified teachers, and the primary support of families who want to make music an integral part of life.

Sleep, Baby, Sleep

If there is one word that describes the typical family these days, it's "busy".   We're busy learning,  working, cleaning, playing, helping others, cooking, eating, meeting friends, running errands, shopping, driving...and the list goes on...and on.  We are a culture distracted with getting everything done.  I read just the other day that the one thing that has been sacrificed along the way is sleep.   

Children, however, let us know pretty quickly when they are in sleep deficit.  They get irritable, they fuss, they get on their siblings' nerves.  That being said, I remember being a novice mother and being oblivious to the signs in front of me.   I was getting annoyed at my 4 year old boy who wouldn't hurry up and eat.   Saying a chiding remark about not taking so long to eat,  I turned around for literally under a minute to some sort of task.  When I looked back to check on his progress, my poor son had his head resting on the table and was sound asleep.  And I felt like I had failed motherhood.  Ironically, it was a time in my life when with 3 small children at home, I was the one running on too little sleep.

  

I took a picture and left it on my fridge for years.  To remind me to be more patient and read the signs.

That was years ago, but I notice that my energy stores still start to run dry when I'm not getting the sleep I need.  I get frustrated more quickly, my mind is more forgetful, I'm definitely hungrier.  So my goal is to get to bed sooner each day.  I don't want to call it a "New Year's Resolution", because that has an almost built-in expectation of eventual failure.  I prefer to think of it as a gift.  A gift not just to me, but a gift to those around me.

Welcome back!

Tomorrow I get to see you again!  Or at least some of you.  With all the Christmas/New Year celebrations it seems like just the other day we were all together...like no time has passed.

But if activities completed says anything, a lot of time has gone by.  I've really enjoyed having lots of time to cook for my family, visiting with friends and family, spending time with my grown up kids, and making lots of music.  I even got a lot of basement clutter sorted through, making way for a bedroom and bathroom development this year.  While there is still a little debris laying around (after all, with all the keep-or-toss decisions and Value Village drop-offs, it's an enormous task), my husband and I got the lion's share done.

But tomorrow the face-to-face, finish-off-semester-1-or-3 happens.  Sometimes when I'm at home feeling like I'm getting bogged down in the organizational aspect of the music lessons, it is the promise of bringing the joy to people that keeps me focussed.  So can't wait to see you all.   Truly.

And for all of you waiting for Our Time, Village, Imagine That, or Family Time classes, our return to classes is in just a couple of weeks.  Are you smiling as big as I am?