Preschool Consumers: Be In The Know

Letter to the Editor of the Holland Sentinel

From:Yvette Odell
Kindermusik of Holland
616-392-7182
http://holland.kindermusik.net
www.kindermusikofholland.blogspot.com
singandtwirl@sbcglobal.net

Dear Editor,

Parents should be encouraged to make educated decisions for their pre-school aged children concerning academics and socialization. The narrow question of "Which preschool program is best?" ignores the bigger issue of "Is preschool the best choice for my child?"

There are studies on all sides of the latter question, some saying results of beginning education earlier are beneficial, others say preschool is the best choice only for "at risk" children, still others say there are no lasting benefits seen in children once they are in 3rd to 6th grade and finally there are studies that point to evidence that shows preschool experience may have a detrimental effect on children's social and emotional development.

Parents are their children's best teacher. As an educator myself, I would encourage parents not to rush right out with the crowd to stand in preschool registration lines without carefully considering if preschool would better suit their child better than quality time with the parents. Otherwise it's simply a reaction to peer pressure and media views. I see preschool as a business and the Holland Sentinel's front page article of Feb. 8, 2008 "A Head Start On Learning" as free advertisement for those preschool businesses!

Notes:

1.Head Start benefits at risk children but not those not at risk.

Researchers Darcy Olsen and Lisa Snell surveyed the research on early education polices in a new report for the Reason Foundation titled Assessing Proposals for Preschool and Kindergarten: Essential Information for Parents, Taxpayers, and Policymakers. What they found should make universal preschool advocates think twice.

....“The studies conducted on mainstream children generally do not show benefits from early education programs,” they explain, pointing to a 2005 RAND Corporation analysis which found that “children participating in preschool not targeted to disadvantaged children were no better off in terms of high school or college completion, earnings, or criminal justice involvement than those not going to any preschool.” While slim research evidence points to benefits for disadvantaged children, giving subsidies to middle- and upper-class children is just not justified by research.

www.rand.org.

2.No lasting benefits: the benefits of Head Start Programs tend to “fade out” by second or third grade.

McGroder, Sharon M., “Head Start: What Do We Know About What Works”—U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Lisa Snell, Director of Education and Child Welfare at the Reason Foundation, in her article titled “Don’t Expect Long-Term Gain From Early Education Money,” discusses the absurdity of Michigan considering another investment of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to public prekindergarten programs that just aren’t showing any return. Snell writes in her article that “policymakers [should not] be focusing scarce education resources on programs that can [not] make a lasting difference.” She reinforced her statements by quoting from The National Center for Education Statistics Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, which found that there were no “substantive differences in children’s third-grade achievement relative to the type of kindergarten program (full-day vs. half-day) they attended.” The article also mentions the California-based RAND Corp.’s December 2006 report, “School Readiness, Full-Day Kindergarten, and Student Achievement,” which found that children in the full-day kindergarten programs were showing decreased mathematics skills by the time they were in fifth grade, than those who had only attended a part-day kindergarten program. Snell, Lisa. “Don’t Expect Long-Term Gain from Early Education Money,” published by The Michigan Education Report, Fall 2007 Issue.

“Significant, immediate gains in cognitive test scores, socioemotional test scores, and health status, (though) in the long-run, cognitive and socioemotional test scores of former Head Start students do not remain superior to those of disadvantaged children who did not attend Head Start.”

3.Detriments of preschool:

"We find that attendance in preschool centers, even for short periods of time each week, hinders the rate at which young children develop social skills and display the motivation to engage classroom tasks, as reported by their kindergarten teachers.....For children from lower-income homes, additional hours in center programs does not further slow social development while it does advance cognitive gains (Figure E2). But for children from higher-income families, additional hours in care do further slow behavioral growth, while at the same time failing to improve cognitive outcomes relative to moderate attendance of 15 to 30 hours per week. The benefits of longer hours of care are clearly greater for children from lower-income families."

The Influence of Preschool Centers on Children's Development Nationwide

Susanna Loeb
Margaret Bridges
Daphna Bassok
Bruce Fuller
Russ Rumberger

Stanford University
University of California

Presentation at the Association for Policy Analysis and Management
Washington, D.C. November 4, 2005

This paper has undergone peer review and will appear in Economics of Education Review.

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

Choosing Activities For Your Children

Parents everywhere have a zillion great choices in kid activities. Soccer, T-Ball, gymnastics, dance, piano, violin.... What's best? Which class will give the most return on the investment?

Here's what one educator and studio owner of Performing Arts Center in Pawcatuck notices in her students. I asked her if I could quote her post on our educator's email loop and she agreed so here it is:

Posted by: "Heather Fortier" Thu Jul 12, 2007 1:46 pm
As an owner of a dance/gymnastics/kindermusik center I strongly encourage parents to enroll in a Kindermusik class first. I have found that children who participate in Kindermusik, when they enter into a dance or gymnastics class have better listening skills, are more agile, advance faster, do better on balance beam and balancing skills. Dancers have much better musicality than those that just do dance. All around - happier teachers, happier kids, happier parents..... They will truly appreciate the students participating in Kindermusik first.

Moms and Dads, of course your kid wants to climb, tumble and jump; and that is so important for their growing, exploring bodies. Know what your kids need too, Kindermusik. Kindermusik explores concepts to help with musicality-understanding rhythms (important for floor work), it stimulates their vestibular system (which helps with the bars), it helps with their sense of balance( which is beneficial for beam), and it helps their spatial awareness skills (which helps with vaulting). All around Kindermusik is the building block for future thinkers, movers and doers. Enroll in a class and see the growth before your eyes...oh yeah, you'll have fun too!.....Heather

And here's my extra bonus for you if you are in Kindermusik: It really is 2 for the price of one since your Kindermusik educators work hard to share with parents information on child development, parenting tips, great ideas for activities for nurturing your bond together in class and beyond, time to calm yourself and enjoy being with your children...and more...

Have you signed up for fall classes yet? Did you know there's still time to do lots of learning in August? The last summer session starts July 26.

These days I'm all about saving money!

Pinching pennies left and right, I've got bank balances in my head all day. I'm working at the Farmers Market so I can keep teaching Kindermusik.....(reminds me of farmers).

Here's about saving $ that's way bigger than the figures I keep in my head:

"A voluntary, high-quality, universal prekindergarten education program is
estimated to increase the compensation of workers by $432 billion and reduce the costs to individuals of crime and child abuse by $156 billion."

So says this study. And that's what adds to the passion of why I keep teaching Kindermusik. Not actually for the money I save myself and the world....but for the spirits of the children that we keep from being spent....

I wish there was some understanding and widespread acceptance of Kindermusik as a high quality pre-school program. Parents FIRST think of all the "PRESCHOOLS" in the area as THE choices in preschool programming. That's the big "competition" for my little Kindermusik studio. (I do have a few homeschool parents who call Kindermusik their "preschool"...but interestingly it's because in the social circles of preschool aged children even the kids themselves nag their parents to enroll them in "preschool".)

As a parent and as a "child advocate" I say the most quality one can give one's own children in the preschool arena is themselves as teacher/parent!

Second: Kindermusik.

"Clink, Clink". That's the sound of my .02!

Parents: go hug your children...give them yourself.

Love,

Yvette

PS Double your investment: Kindermusik Family Time summer session starts Aug. 2 every Thursday at 9:30 for 5 weeks.

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!