Oh, Well You Walk and you walk and you walk and you STOP!

Check out the inhibitory control of these people! How fun!

Practicing inhibitory control is a big part of a toddler's job description....and they love it. The more joyful opportunities a child has to playfully practice this the more body control they will develop. Stopping on a dime from jumping or running is very challenging. I think my little students in my Kindermusik Our Time classes are showing real growth in this area!

Yvette

Giving and Taking: Every conflict is an opportunity for growth

Here's parenting tip #249814334:

How to model sharing and trading.

Scene: child #1 has the drum and child #2 has the shaker. Child #2 drops the shakers and grabs the drum away from child #1 (GASP!) Parents are reacting fast. Parent of child #2 grabs the drum and announces the rule : NO GRABBING!!!

Hey! That was me with my first two children. Claire was always looking to Ben (who was older by 2 years and 1 week) to see what big kids do and to find out what's interesting. Whatever Ben had was always interesting. She grabbed the drum, I grabbed the drum and screeched "No Grabbing!!!!".

It was Ben who said "Mom, How come you're grabbing?"
.......oh........ Hmmmm.....right.....I don't know. I'm trying to teach the no grabbing rule. I was actually reinforcing that, well, grabbing is OK...especially if you are bigger. And you probably should shout when you do it.

Here's what my new approach was when baby #3 comes six years later. Anne looked to the big kids and Claire got some of her own medicine. I got a chance to revise my message.

I noticed how connected the new baby grabber was to me. Even though the umbilical chord was cut it was as if we were really still connected...in so many ways. If I reacted to any situation it was as though she did.

When she grabbed, and before the shock to register on the other child, I had something with which to "trade" and using the best negotiating skills I could muster, I modeled a polite transaction. The younger the "victim" the smoother the action goes. And the younger the perpetrator, the more they believe that they actually did the right thing. And now the baby has the script for polite negotiations.

If the offer was refused I had to muster up some creativity to continue the negotiations. I'd say "Oh, Anne. Look at Claire's face. She's pretty angry. What do you think she might like as a trade?" or "Do you think you could give her back the drum and ask her to give it to you when she is all done?"

No set formula is perfect for every situation and this new way is very time consuming. But much more effective. Give it a try. And pray for patience.....Remember light travels faster than sound. Our actions are more powerful than anything we could possibly shout.

Peace,
Yvette

What's the difference between a library music time and a Kindermusik Class?

Some folks say "Oh, we do Kindermusik for FREE at the library!"

Well, I'd love to widen your view a little.

Darcy and I do music and movement storytimes here and there (i.e. the library and some mom and tot groups, for example). We meet children who love music, who naturally sing and dance to the music, children who love the instruments and knee bounces, circle dances and stories. Those children, their sparkling eyes, smiles and giggles capture our hearts. And we see the possibility. In all the children. All of them.

What would be different if they went to a weekly class for a whole semester at a time? This is what we know about children who are lucky enough to be in a flourishing environment where consistency of space, trust, routine, repetition and variety exist.

These children begin sometimes warily, like any child. Sometimes at the first class the younger ones look around for the moment their adult will sneak off or kiss them goodbye. Imagine their wide eyes when all the adults sit on the floor with them! They know then that they are safe. After the second class they begin to sense a rhythm in the flow of the class as it is very similar to their first experience. They realize that it is safe to put the bells or shakers back in the basket because they know they will have another opportunity to work with those again. After a few weeks a change comes over them. Waiting their turn becomes easier. The songs are very familiar since they hear them also at home (Home materials include CDs, story books, instruments etc.). The story is predictable and there are more and more details emerging every week. (This never happens at a one time event.)


They become thoughtful risk takers, more experimental, more creative. Everything is safe. They sing and twirl along, delighting in their participating adult. Here is their chance to be in charge. To practice their budding autonomy in a safe environment. Isn't that what we want for them?

It's how they bloom.

Please join us.
And for the families already participating why don't you bring a friend to you class!

Yvette

Changeing with the Time Change

Someone commented that while it was simple to set their alarm clocks back last night they had forgotten to change the internal clock in their dog. Guess who got licked awake!

I've been thinking about the internal clocks of the children too! They will be hungry, sleepy, awake, all at the wrong times! How long will it take? How understanding and patient will you be?

Years ago, as the music teacher for an elementary school in Delaware, I was surprised one spring Monday after the time change when the entire class really HAD to use the restroom just after our class began. They were used to their break being right after music every week! The clocks had been changed but not their little bodies!

Not so very long ago my very bright little friend and Kindermusik student, "Emily", began to tell her mother that she no longer liked Kindermusik. She even marched into her evening class one day and announced to me that she hated Kindermusik! I was so surprised. I asked her why and her answer told me you can never know a child's whole story! This 3 1/2 year old was convinced that it was MY fault that it got dark during her Kindermusik class. Now that meant that when she got home it was bath and bed right away! No more play time! She was angry and let me know.

Children are such interesting puzzles!
Love,
Yvette

What's good about Kindermusik for big kids?

I can't say enough about Kindermusik for 3 1/2 to 8 year olds (Kindermusik Imagine That! and Kindermusik Young Child). My goal is not to prepare them for school like the graph below suggests (click on it to read the study in detail). But my own goal is nurturing creativity, thinking, musicality, and joy. I do work them hard and I am so proud of my Kindermusik "graduates". They can read music...they can look at a sheet of music notes and hear the tune of it in their heads! They know key signatures, meter signatures, syncopation, ledger lines, musical form, they can read and play one rhythmic line while two or more contrasting lines are being played simultaneously, they know the instruments of the orchestra, ......They are amazing. Every year I am simply blown away. Area private teachers continue to tell me they love those Kindermusik graduates because they really fly through the first few books....And another thing: Parents of Kindermusik graduates really understand the imortance of their support and involvement in this musical journey. It really pays off and in more ways than one.Thank you for sharing your children with me. I love them.
Yvette

Helping Children Master Self Control

Have you re-enrolled for Spring classes yet? https://holland.kindermusik.net Children thrive in the routine. The following study regarding the benefits of a long-term Kindermusik education affirms your choice to continue the experience for more than just fun!! Your children are worth it: read on!

Excerpts from the following article are courtesy of Lori Burkhardt. The entire article can be read here.
*****
Repeated, not sporadic enrollment makes all the difference.
Beth Frook ~ Little Hands Kindermusik, Clifton, VA www.littlehands.com
Earlier this year (2005), Beth Frook shared a granddaddy of a Foundations of Learning (FOLs) in her Kindermusik class. A local university had recently conducted a study on 3-and-5-year old children in her program titled “The Effects of Kindermusik on Behavioral Self-Regulation in Early Childhood.” *See editor’s note at the bottom of this column.
It proved what Beth—and many other Kindermusik Educators—already knew:
The longer you stay in Kindermusik, the better.
Specifically, the study showed:
“Children currently enrolled in Kindermusik showed higher levels of self-control than those never enrolled and those previously enrolled. This suggests that in order for children to reap the benefit of increased self-control as a result of Kindermusik participation, it is important to have repeated and recent Kindermusik experiences and remain enrolled in the program.”
“Four-year-old children who had been exposed to Kindermusik for longer periods of time are better off in terms of self-control—namely a child’s ability to plan, guide, and control their own behavior—than similar children with less Kindermusik history.”
“These experiences, stop-go, high-low, fast-slow, short-long, and loud-soft, whereby children’s motor behavior is guided by the music, appear to be good exercise for young children’s emerging self-regulatory skills.”
Below, Beth shares her reaction to the study and the role that research plays in her Kindermusik classes.
Editor’s note:
Study results were made available to Kindermusik in May, 2005. The study was conducted by Adam Winsler Ph.D and graduate student Lesley Ducenne in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University.
The 15-month study included 91 children between the ages of 3 and 5 who were split into three groups: 23 students currently enrolled in Kindermusik, 19 students previously enrolled in Kindermusik, and 49 students of similar family backgrounds from local preschools who had never had Kindermusik.
The children were observed doing a variety of tasks that required self-control such as slowing down their motor behavior, delaying their gratification, refraining from touching attractive but forbidden toys, quietly whispering, and compliance with instructions to initiate or stop certain behaviors. Parents also completed surveys.
The study, supervised by Adam Winsler, Ph.D, Applied Developmental Psychology in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University, will likely be presented at national conferences and published later this year.

Yvette's comment: I immediately think of our Imagine That! classes where we have been asking children to jump to musical cues that they must wait for. We did this with "Hop To It" and also "Weggis Dance" where we change from staccato jumping to legato swaying. Yes we really do work them hard....their whole entire bodies from their ears to their toes! Imagine That!