Making the most of your child's early education experience:

This little car

This little car is going on a trip. Trip. Trip. Trip, trip, trip. A little game like this - turning your finger into a car and driving it down the road is an exciting time for the brain - as vision tracking is engaged, eye-hand coordination is enhanced and fine motor skills are being practiced. This simple game is a brain workout in disguise. It can be found in the AWAY WE GO Home activity guide. (From the Kindermusik "Our Time" home materials.)

Kindermusik classes have a great deal to offer families who want to be very involved in their children's early education. It's a good beginning that never ends.

Thanks Helen, you are so wise.

Being able to keep a steady beat with a group is an important skill evident in good readers:



In Village we help them feel the beat.






In Our Time we help them play the beat.






In Imagine That! We help them vary the beat.









In Young Child we help them read and write the beat.









Enroll now for summer classes and fall semester: holland.kindermusik.net
Classes are for newborn to 7+ year olds. (ask me about the 5 weeks for free for under 5 months old.)

Email this blog to your friends! http://www.kindermusikofholland.blogspot.com/

Thanks! (Your friends will thank you too!)
and thanks to Kindermusik Loopers for this FOL!
Yvette

Animal Serenade for your little Valentines.....

Here's a cuuuuuuute video to watch with your little valentine on your knee. It's short so afterwards if you are part of the Our Time class and are reading the Animal Serenade book then you should cuddle up and read.....I wonder if the Yellow Mr. Horse will meow or quack or growl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yihq8BIhL9c

Then I'd like to tell you about making a contingent response. That's one of the big differences between a child watching a video and you reading together with your child. Making a contingent response creates moments of high learning possibilities.

If you child is watching the TV and reacts (let's say she makes a remark like naming an animal or making the animal sound) and no one pauses to say "Yes, that's a donkey!" or to imitate her vocalizations, when no one is there to make a contingent response, then a window of opportunity, a chance for learning, has been neglected.

When you're reading together and your baby starts to chew on the book and you gently pull the book down and turn the page you are reacting...that's another contingent response. Your reaction to their action creates a moment of learning not to be missed.....

Now that you know what a contingent response is be observant at how you naturally make them...you are programmed to do this...it's all in the plan for optimal learning for your child. A DVD or computer game just can't do this.

I learned this last year at the Challenge of the Children conference at Hope College last May. Jane Healey spoke on the topic of screen time (TV, video, Computer games etc) in education. It was eye opening. Ask me if you like to borrow her book!

Make room now on your calendar for this year's Challenge of the Children Conference, Thursday, May 17th all day. They've got a great line up of speakers....including me! I'll be talking about my passions: Music and babies and the brain! :-)

Now, go read to them and watch your contingent responses! See how they grow?
I would be reading too but big sister is reading to little sister right now so I'm doing this instead.
Happy Valentine's day to you and your loved ones.
Yvette

Music and language connection

Science is always trying to justify music! Why do we humans need music? This Stanford research shows that people who played musical instruments as children process spoken language faster and more accurately than their non-musical counterparts as adults. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2005-11-17-music-training-language_x.htmThey suggest that many children who become poor readers have trouble making auditory distinctions. Auditory discrimination is our work and our play in Kindermusik!