Look closely:

"Here is a face. Eyebrows up. Cheeks raised like so when mouth is open...teeth show. Good feeling. I see how it works. This is happy." She files that information in her memory for using later.

From the first hour after birth babies are programed to study faces. Programmed to look directly into mom's eyes. Study the mouth. Study neck muscles, face muscles to know what happens with the face in speech and emotions. They are programmed to study this so the can know how to do it themselves and how to read the faces of those she is relating to. How should a reaction look when two people interact? When they greet when they love each other, when they are angry, when they are worried.....There is so much work to be done in learning all this!

I've met mothers who were so amazed at their desire to stare at their newborn babies for hours! They didn't know it was programmed in to them too!

A friend's husband collected this tidbit of information for me: 7% of a communication's understanding comes from the words directly. 38% of what we understand comes from the musical elements: tone, melody, rhythm, timbre, dynamics etc. (spoken lovingly, angrily, excitedly etc) and 55% of our understanding comes from body language.

In our Kindermusik Village class (newborn to 18 months) we have a ritual dance around the room that usually incorporates stopping to greet another baby/adult couple. We wave, smile, touch hellos together baby to baby or baby to adult. I've been studying babies during this time lately. I see how seriously they take their job of studing faces. It's as if I can see them storing information. This is what it looks like when mommy greets her friend. This is what mommy looks like when she greets a person she doesn't know so well....Those babies eyes search their partner and the new adult's faces very intently.

In the old days before strollers, before the portable car seat how did we ever get baby from one place to another? We carried them...in our arms then up on our hip where they could see all of everything we do! We had no idea of all the work they were doing even as newborns. Now they are tucked away in the car seat closed up in the stroller with the canopy pulled over so the sun is not on their beautiful skin. In the grocery store, church, park, farmers market, everywhere...even at home they are tucked away in the car seat.

Do you think they are missing something?

And people ask me what do you do with those newborn

babies in Kindermusik? We give them the opportunity

to do their work.

Come and see for yourself.

Special offer for babies under 5 months: 5 weeks tuition free. (materials not included)

Register online
or call 616-392-7182
or email singandtwirl@sbcglobal.net

If your child is over 5 months old you haven't missed the boat. The best time to begin is now. And you know ....a good beginning never ends......