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

How Early?

"What scientists say at the moment is that music instruction will make you
smarter about music, and that for music to help children they need to
begin instruction really, really early."

I've thought long and hard about this. Traditional Suzuki method wants you to start children playing violin at 3 years old. When my older children, Ben and Claire, were finished with Kindermusik we signed up on a local violin teacher's waiting list....and waited and waited. Hey! I'm the Kindermusik teacher! What if we've missed the music boat??? Ben was ten and Claire was eight when we finally found a different violin teacher who's waiting list was not so loooong. Now Ben is 19 and plays with the Keewenaw Symphony and Claire is concert master for the Holland Area Youth Orchestra. One might argue that they didn't start very early but I say they didn't physically hold their instrument very early but they've been in music since the beginning!!! They've gone to all my Kindermusik classes!

And Kindermusik has the prefect early class. Kindermusik Village. Now we offer 5 weeks of Kindermusik free for babies who are 5 months old or younger.

You can begin instruction really, really early. There's no waiting list for this.

Thanks miss Jamie in Kansas...
ps...our prayers are with you all in Kansas struggling in the tornado aftermath.

Why music?

Music should be a daily requirement in every facility...every home!

Do we know good music when we hear it?

I was riveted to this Washington Post article. Now I will finally go to bed mulling over this significant paragraph:

...the behavior of one demographic remained absolutely consistent. Every single time a child walked past (the street musician), he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away.

Hey, we've got to stop and smell the roses. Take a hint from the children.
Yvette

Hat tips to Molly and Miss Terri! Thanks.

The Window of Opportunity

A newborn, you might think, exhausted from the birth, would be ready for an attempted nursing but would rather fall into a deep sleep. Some know that nursing in the first hour is critical but also that during the last trimester have stored up a layer of fat especially since that colostrum comes in such small amounts and the mature milk doesn't come in for a few days.

I have witnessed a newborn crawl with amazing strength and determination from his mother's belly to find and latch on to the breast completely unaided. If you catch the window of opportunity the baby will actively nurse for a long time...not just an attempt. Imagine that baby's advantage in receiving more than just a belly full of colostrum. Colostrum is the liquid gold that is not only full of antibodies and a laxitive for bilirubins, but also carries the critical flora needed for coating the intestines.

I have a particular interest in babies....(other than my own since they've grown). I've been a La Leche League leader since 1995 and I help moms who call in desparation, in tears! La Leche League offers information and support to moms who choose to breastfeed their babies. LLL is not about telling any mom what they should or should not do...we want to support them in their choices. La Leche League, International is the world authority on breastfeeding and by being a leader I am connected to information to help mothers in many different situations regarding breastfeeding.

A few years ago I attended an area conference for LLL and heard a presenter explain how the mother, gazing lovingly into the newborn's eyes, would cause hormones to be released that promote the production of breastmilk. We were encouraged to include information about that loving gaze in explaining breastfeeding to mothers.

Recently I came across more information about that loving gaze in that first hour after birth. It's really a critical brain growth moment. When a baby is just born they are amazingly alert. If they are given what they naturally crave, the mother's loving gaze, their brain turns on! They turn on in a way that causes them to be so alert to visual stimulation from that point on. They study everything that comes into they periferal vision especially if it's a face. The more of the mother's face they see, the more development happens in the limbic system of the brain and less has to take place in the hind brain. The hind brain deals with survival issues and usually involves stress hormones like cortisol. Cortisol is not optimal for brain growth.

I love the Kindermusik Village class. There are so many golden moments of eye to eye contact. Precious! Precious in so many ways but to me I treasure the brain growth happening right before my very eyes! As we say: Kindermusik....a good beginning never ends.

So happy mothers day to brand new mothers this year. Kindermusik of Holland is offering 5 weeks of Village class TUITION FREE to babies under 5 months old. (Materials are not included.) That means you can take an entire summer session with your infant tuition free!

Let's take advantage of this window of opportunity!

Are you going to tell your friends?

Peace,

Yvette Odell

Kindermusik of Holland

Here Comes the Broom Man! Street Cleaning Parade!

Don't you think parades are more fun when you are in them?

You know, last year we sang our hearts out and the crowds really did love it.
So meet us on Wednesday, May 9th, at the corner of 8th and Columbia at 1 pm to be in the Street Sweeping Parade (in costume). Some bring thier own buckets or brooms, some bring a wagon for riding, some just come for the walk and use a broom or bucket that the city provides.

Anne is ready! Her grandmother came to town and made her Dutch costume! How lucky!

We're thinking of all the Kindermusik clean up songs we know!

"This is the way we sweep the streets..."

"Sweep, sweep, sweep the streets...."

"Here comes the broom man, passing by..."

"Dirt away, dirt away, Now we sweep the dirt away!"

Got any more ideas?

Do join us. Ms Darcy and I will be looking for you.

Yvette

Beatboxing Flute

This is such a fun time in Kindermusik for the Young Child 2 class. We now have the cards for all the instruments of the orchestra. The four families: Percussion, Brass, String and Woodwind families....And we bring all this together with the story of Peter and the Wolf. Here's a wild and wonderful way to look at the music of Peter and the Wolf all on the flute, my favorite instrument!

I often ask which instrument the children are dreaming of playing in a couple years. Piano? Violin? Flute? Guitar? Tuba? Harp? I think it's important to encourage them to dream about this. Besides being an important cognitive activity, playing an instrument through high school is such a wonderful way to have a safe and fun social group.

I encourage families to take their young children to live music concerts as often as possible, even before they start taking those piano lessons. Talk about "what's their favorite instrument" and that "after Kindermusik they will take lessons" as if it was just what everyone does....They won't skip a beat!

You've made a great investment in Kindermusik. Many local private music teachers report back to me that they absolutely love Kindermusik Graduates! They just fly through those first couple books. I say of course! We didn't have to learn what a quarter note was while sitting still on a piano bench. We jumped them and danced them into knowing! Now at their first piano lesson they are already making music!
Who knows where they will go from there! What a start.
Love,
Yvette