BLOG-Kindermusik With Kim

Sing HELLO!

2012-01-20T13:51:00.000-06:00

This Kindermusik video is a great example of how babies and toddlers build language skills through music. Plus, listening and practicing the cues in the song (waving, bouncing, etc) also begins the early building blocks for self-control. So, sing Hello with us and don’t forget to reinforce the learning with the take home activities provided for each Kindermusik music class!

Winter/Spring Registration is OPEN!

2011-12-27T09:42:00.001-06:00

If you have children newborn through 7 years old, Kindermusik is the SINGLE best choice you can make for your child. Research proves that early integration of music in your child’s daily routine means improving their ability to think, reason, create and express. With Kindermusik you and your child will participate together in the learning process- Music skills to Academic skills to Life skills!

WHAT’S INCLUDED?
-Winter/Spring Tuition includes 15 classes which run once a week from January 30th through May 26th. Classes are 45 minutes in length except for Young Child 5-7 yrs which are 60 minutes. All participants receive At Home Materials that include a CD, book, activity materials and instruments.
-Classes available mornings,afternoons and evenings Monday through Friday! Check out schedules below!

The Gift of Music!

2011-12-09T13:31:00.003-06:00

Looking for great kids gifts this holiday season?
Does your niece or nephew have everything?
Does your mother in-law need a gift idea?

We have a perfect (and easy) solution for those on your Holiday List ages 7 and under…. Kindermusik Gift Certificates!

The gift of a Kindermusik Music Class will be far more memorable than the latest toy or gadget. It is a gift that lasts for 15 weeks and the memories last a lifetime! Certificates can be written for any amount and never expire. They can be used towards any future class or materials cost.

Contact Kim at: kim@kindermusikwithkim.com

Don't Give Up with BRUNO MARS & Sesame Street!

2011-12-02T11:49:00.001-06:00

We're Growing! Now Hiring Fabulous Teachers!

2011-11-27T14:43:00.002-06:00

If music and children make your life richer, now you can enjoy them to the fullest. Join the Kindermusik community of teachers and families who all share a passion for transforming the lives of children through music. We’re hiring new Kindermusik teachers because we’re growing!

Kindermusik With Kim is interested in hiring an energetic, part-time teacher to teach one or two weekday evenings and one or two Saturday morning classes.

This is a terrific part-time job for someone with a great singing voice, experience with teaching or performing music or early childhood development experience. A Kindermusik certification program must be completed before employment can begin.
Join an already established and successful program at Kindermusik With Kim!

Contact Kim: kim@kindermusikwithkim.com to learn more!

Content Photography At KINDERMUSIK!

2011-10-28T12:23:00.003-05:00

I am honored to support local photographer, Tirisha Dirks of Content Photography in Excelsior! Tirisha will be joining our classes for then next 2 weeks taking candids of our families enjoying Kindermusik!

Welcome Tirisha!

Piano Lessons

2011-10-03T13:14:00.003-05:00

My son, London, has been in Kindermusik since he was about 9 months old. He graduated this past Spring from Kindermusik Young Child at the age of 6 years old. This meant he was ready for piano lessons. Though he would prefer to jump right into guitar lessons, I gave him a deal that after 2 years of piano he could also try guitar lessons. He's had an acoustic guitar since he was three but piano is typically an easier instrument to learn at his age. The easier the better. It keeps them confident and when they are confident, they'll want to continue.

London began his lessons this Fall and LOVES it. He works with Teresa Peterson in the Kindermusik With Kim studio. She holds piano lessons on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

He enjoys lessons, he doesn't grumble (much) about practicing and we're having a ball. Just yesterday, we heard him go downstairs and begin practicing on his own. We didn't ask him to practice, he just did it by himself. Not only that, he was figuring out a tune by ear. I think it was "Happy Birthday". It wasn't part of his lesson but it was awesome listening to him try to figure out the correct notes by LISTENING.

Not sure how long this love of learning music will last but it sure is neat to observe!

Kindermusik With Kim offers piano lessons in her studio with Teresa Peterson on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon & evenings!

Why Study Music?

2011-09-06T12:34:00.002-05:00

It must be a conspiracy. Chinese parents are selling plasma-screen TVs to America, and saving their wages to buy their kids pianos—making American kids stupider and Chinese kids smarter. Watch out, Americans—a generation from now, your kid is going to fetch coffee for a Chinese boss.

There is little doubt that classical music produces better minds, and promotes success in other fields. Academic studies show that music lessons raise the IQs of six-year-olds. Elite American families still nudge their children toward musical study. At Brearley, New York’s most exclusive girl’s school, playing in the orchestra is a requirement. American medical schools accept more undergraduates who majored in music than any other discipline (excepting pre-med).

Any activity that requires discipline and deferred gratification benefits children, but classical music does more than sports or crafts. Playing tennis at a high level requires great concentration, but nothing like the concentration required to perform the major repertoire of classical music. Perhaps the only pursuit with comparable benefits is the study of classical languages. It is not just concentration as such, but its content that makes classical music such a formative tool. Music, contrary to a common misconception, does not foster mathematical ability, although individuals with a talent for one often show aptitude for the other.

Western classical music does something that mathematics and physics cannot: it allows us to play with time itself.

Asia Times, 2008

Inspiring Natural Curiosity!

2011-09-02T10:50:00.004-05:00

Children who are allowed to explore freely in a safe environment become eager learners. As we encourage natural curiosity, we validate their innate need to know.
Here are some other ideas to encourage creativity:

-Make a big plastic container of jello. Add some extra packets of plain gelatin to the mix so it is firmer. As it is solidifying, add some plastic animals, small colored rocks, and other objects like corks, bottle caps, marbles, etc. In the backyard (or the empty bathtub), provide your child with plastic utensils (yes, even a plastic knife!) and let them go for it.

-Collect starch-based packing peanuts and give your child a boxful along with a little cup of water. Show your child how to dip the end in a little water and stick it to another packing peanut. Be sure to take pictures of their creations!

-Pack a box with totally random craft items you might have around the house (just a few of each) – feathers, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, glitter or glitter glue, dried pasta, buttons, cut up straws, fishy crackers, empty toilet paper rolls, etc. Hand your child a couple pieces of construction (or plain) paper and a glue stick or glue bottle – AND NO DIRECTIONS. This is about the process, not the end result!

-Find some unusual building blocks – a whole box of plastic or paper cups, stacks of paperback books, plastic bowls and plates. Provide a few matchbox-type cars or a small ball and watch what happens.

-Hand your child a spray bottle filled with plain water and some sidewalk chalk. Send your child outside. Alternately, put fill two spray bottles with two different colors of water (or even the 3 primary colors – red, blue, yellow), and put an old (or cheap) white sheet down on the ground outside. Made those starch packing peanut creations recently? Have your child spray them with water to make a little magic.

Here are the rules:
-No hovering
-No directing
-No explaining what to do (unless your child has never used a glue stick or squirt bottle before.)

This is all about fostering natural curiosity. Yes, there are certainly times when we should be right there guiding and teaching our children. But not all the time. You are your child’s best teacher, but our children don’t always require our presence in order to learn. And sometimes, when left to their own devices (with some objects to work with) they discover things about the world they might not have learned otherwise.

Home Materials & How To Use Them

2011-08-15T11:59:00.005-05:00

You and your child will enormously benefit from the Kindermusik experience, especially if you make active use of your At Home Materials included in your tuition. Frequent reinforcement at home throughout the week makes all the difference in a child’s comfort & participation in the classroom. Many of these materials have a value that exceeds the duration of time spent in class. The value of Kindermusik isn’t just a 45 or 60 minute class each week, you can have music time together every day by using your At Home Materials!

The At-Home Materials Kit includes home activity books, carefully planned activities, CD recordings, and specially designed instruments. The CD includes a wide selection of age-appropriate classical music, jazz, opera, choral music, lullabies, multicultural folk music, and prize-winning children's recordings that your child will love listening to again and again.

Suggested activities may be as simple as asking your child to listen for loud and quiet sounds in the kitchen and affirming your child's observations. Kindermusik is designed as a daily learning process. The key is extending the classroom activities to the home using the At-Home Materials Kit throughout the week. For some children, home will be the most comfortable place where they will want to sing and perform with the Kindermusik CD playing in the background!

The time you spend with your child now is absolutely critical for development throughout his or her life. This is your window of opportunity to shape your child's future development. The Kindermusik At-Home Materials Kit is your invitation to spend fun and enriching moments with your child NOW when it is so important. So don’t put them on a shelf! Consider the value add and use them in your family!

Fall Classes ENROLLING NOW!

2011-08-09T14:30:00.001-05:00

If you have children newborn through 7 years old, Kindermusik is the SINGLE best choice you can make for your child. Research proves that early integration of music in your child’s daily routine means improving their ability to think, reason, create and express. With Kindermusik you and your child will participate together in the learning process- Music skills to Academic skills to Life skills!

WHAT’S INCLUDED?
-Fall Tuition includes 15 classes which run once a week from September 12th through January 21st. Classes are 45 minutes in length except for Young Child 5-7 yrs which are 60 minutes. All participants receive At Home Materials that include a CD, book, activity materials and instruments.
-Classes available mornings,afternoons and evenings Monday through Saturday! Check out schedules below!

Reasons For Early Childhood Music!

2011-08-03T15:05:00.004-05:00

If you think that music and movement classes for little children are just fluff, think again. Early childhood music classes (like Kindermusik!) will:

1. Expose children to basic music fundamentals that will help them be successful when pursuing private lessons later.

2. Introduce social skills.

3. Ease children into a nurturing learning environment.

4. Promote peer interaction in a setting in which they share, listen to others, and support their friends.

5. Help children discover that different learning styles abound.

6. Make music – and music lessons – a routine priority in their schedule, now and in the future.

Parents and Caregivers play an enormous role in the support and commitment needed for children to succeed in music. The musical foundation that teachers strive to introduce and create is nearly impossible to accomplish without the caregiver’s support.

From the first day of classes, the joy of creating music in a classroom, as many of my own families share with me, continues on the car ride home, in line at the grocery store, at the park, before bed time … everywhere. What a wonderful foundation to build upon–one in which music is a vibrant and active part of a family’s daily life.

READ To Your Child!

2011-07-12T13:06:00.004-05:00

So much of the intelligence children will ultimately have is developed before they even go to kindergarten. When you read to them, you are building pathways in their brains needed for successful reading experiences. They will develop auditory perception that allows them to think about how words sound. Listening to stories helps children enhance their vocabularies and use longer sentences.

Another wonderful benefit of reading to children is that it increases their attention spans and ability to focus on what is being said. More than anything else, reading to young children gives them a desire to read.

TIP: Check out the fabulous Parents’ Choice Website for book reviews and tips on reading to young children.

Let The Music OUT!

2011-07-08T07:39:00.003-05:00

“Too many people die with their music still in them.”

I was remembering this quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes yesterday afternoon and made a point of looking it up and reflecting on it and my own life. Unbelievably within hours my husband was home telling me he was just informed that one of his best friends had just died from a sudden heart ailment that morning while biking.

Before you know it, time will run out and you’ll still be getting ready to live. Hug your children. Love them. Sing with them. And let your music out while you still can!

Can't Decide Whether to ENROLL?

2011-07-05T10:59:00.004-05:00

If you have children newborn through 7 years old, Kindermusik is the SINGLE best choice you can make for your child. Research proves that early integration of music in your child’s daily routine means improving their ability to think, reason, create and express. With Kindermusik you and your child will participate together in the learning process- Music skills to Academic skills to Life skills!

WHAT’S INCLUDED?
-Fall Tuition includes 15 classes which run once a week from September 12th through January 21st. Classes are 45 minutes in length except for Young Child 5-7 yrs which are 60 minutes. All participants receive At Home Materials that include a CD, book, activity materials and instruments.
-Classes available mornings,afternoons and evenings Monday through Saturday! Check out schedules below!

CLASSES ARE PRO-RATED from the date you begin! Join us at anytime this FALL!

Infants Recognize Melodies From Womb

2011-06-10T07:50:00.003-05:00

By five weeks before birth, the cochlea — the spiral-shaped part of the inner ear responsible for hearing — is usually mature. To see if babies can actually remember sounds from back that far, developmental psychobiologist Carolyn Granier-Deferre at Paris Descartes University in France and her colleagues played melodies to infants inside the womb and then tested them after they were born.

"I was interested in prenatal hearing and learning since my first pregnancy almost 40 years ago," Granier-Deferre explained.

Music to the womb
Fifty women were asked to play a brief recording of a descending piano melody (one that gets lower in pitch) twice daily in the 35th, 36th and 37th weeks after their last menstrual period. (The average human pregnancy lasts 40 weeks after the last menstrual period.) The melody was nine notes long and lasted 3.6 seconds.

When the women's 50 infants were 1 month old, both the descending melody and an ascending nine-note piano melody were played to the babies while they slept in the researchers' dimly lighted laboratory.

The scientists found that on average, the heart rates of the sleeping babies briefly slowed by about 12 beats a minute with the familiar descending melody, and by only five or six beats with the unfamiliar ascending melody.

"Our data shows that a melodic sound, which is an important characteristic of a voice and was frequently heard during prenatal development, produces a much stronger cardiac response than occurs without that experience," Granier-Deferre told LiveScience. "The large heart rate deceleration means the 1-month-old infants paid more attention to that melody than they did to other melodies, even though they had not heard it for six weeks."

Mama's voice
These results suggest newborns will orient toward and pay more attention to what may be "their mother's melodic sounds than they will to those of other women, and will pay more attention to other similar sounds, like female voices in general, than they will to even less similar sounds, like male voices," Granier-Deferre said.

Moreover, these findings add to evidence suggesting that prenatal hearing can help infants perceive the sounds of speech.

"It was long known that newborns could discriminate or perceive most of the acoustic properties of speech. The prevailing theoretical view is that these capacities are mostly independent of previous auditory experience and that newborns have an innate bias or skill for perceiving speech," Granier-Deferre said. "Our results show that merely exposing a human fetus' developing auditory system to complex stimuli can affect how it functions — I think the newborn's capacities to perceive speech get physiologically 'built in' during development of the auditory system."

So should pregnant women play music to their developing offspring? "When fetuses are old enough to hear fairly well, about four to five weeks before birth, they will be exposed to all the sounds of the maternal environment, so there is simply no biological need for more auditory stimulation — more is not always better, especially during development," Granier-Deferre said.

"If mothers want to encourage music appreciation in their children, they can begin after the baby is born, when they can see and know what pleases or annoys, which she will never know from the behavior of her fetus."

Furthermore, when it comes to devices that mothers put directly on their skin to play music, "this kind of stimulation can be harmful to the fetal ear if it is too loud or left on too long or applied too early during the inner ear development," she added. "Now, if the mother wants to sing to her baby, why not? A mother's singing is a wonderful part of the natural sound environment."

The scientists detailed their findings online Feb. 23 in the journal PLoS ONE.

"M" Is For Monkeybars

2011-05-31T08:06:00.008-05:00

A child's hand is a powerful tool for learning. With his hands he can control the world around him, build and create all that he can imagine, and express himself, first in gestures, then with scribbles, and eventually, with the written word.

Parents know the importance of fine motor control -- especially when it comes to handwriting -- which is probably why I'm frequently asked for advice on this subject. Here's what I say...

Put your pencils down and go play on the monkeybars.

NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS
Children's muscle control and coordination is developed in a natural, orderly way -- from the top down and from the inside out -- starting at the head and working towards the toes while building out from the torso to the limbs. This order of priority, established by the brain, insures that the large muscles necessary for coordination and locomotion (getting from here to there) are well organized and in control, before taking on the complex mastery of the more than 60 combined muscles in the hands (let alone the dozens of bones, hundreds of ligaments and tendons, etc., etc.)

So you see, on the developmental totem pole, the hands come last.

WHAT IS FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT?
Now, that doesn't mean that your child's hands aren't active as he's growing. Young hands begin with simple, reflexive, whole-hand grasping. Over time, early reflexes integrate and the pincer grip kicks in, allowing him to use his forefinger and thumb together in unison. Each day, you'll see more and more deliberate hand and finger movements. But that's not fine motor skills -- not yet.

Fine Motor Skills are the highly precise motor control necessary to bring all five fingers together to do detailed work requiring minute, almost imperceptible movements, such as using a pencil to write your name.

But writing your name isn't all in the wrist, so to speak. In fact, it involves much of the whole body...

IN ORDER TO WRITE MY NAME...
1. The upper body must be strong enough to hold the body in an upright standing or sitting position.
2. The shoulders muscles must be strong enough to control the weight of the arm, and flexible enough to rotate freely to position the arm for writing.
3. The upper arm holds the weight of the lower arm and hand, delivering the hand to the page.
4. The lower arm provides a sturdy fulcrum on which the wrist rotates.
5. The wrist holds the hand steady and rotates to the appropriate position.
6. The fingers fold around the pencil which is held in place by the thumb.
7. Together, all five fingers do a precision dance on the page: a. placing the pencil at the exact angle to meet the page, b. pressing down and maintaining the right amount of pressure to leave the imprint, and c. coordinating the tiny up, down, left, and right movements across the page.

If any of those muscles in that chain of events don't do their job, writing his name will be a very hard thing to do.

Which brings us full circle back to the monkeybars...

PLAYING "WRITE"
Climbing, hanging, swinging, and any other high-energy activities that build strength in his upper body and core muscles are vital precursors to fine motor skills.

Twisting, turning, dangling, and swinging helps develop the flexibility and agility necessary for rotating the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingers.

Pushing, pulling, tugging, and lifting himself up builds strength while developing an intuitive understanding of simple physics such as weight, pressure, and resistance.

And when he comes off the monkeybars, messy play is ideal for building up strength and dexterity in the hand muscles. Play-Doh, sand and water play, mud (yes, mud!), and any other tactile play is great sensory experience for the brain and hands which one day may mean neater handwriting!

So remember. When it comes to getting ready for writing, "M" is for Monkeybars!

POSTED BY GILL CONNELL & CHERYL MCCARTHY of MOVING SMART

Top Studio!

2011-05-27T19:08:00.002-05:00

Kindermusik With Kim has received the Kindermusik Maestro Award for 2011/2012. We are in the TOP 5% of Kindermusik Studios in the WORLD! Thank you to all of you who participated this past year!

Summer is Getting FULL!

2011-05-16T12:37:00.000-05:00

In just five lessons, we’ll give you a summer’s worth of music, stories, and activities created to inspire a lifetime of learning. In a Kindermusik SUMMER CLASS, you and your child will play, learn, sing, dance, create and share in the fun of making music together.

Inspire your child's love of learning in our delightfully engaging summer sessions during the weekdays and weeknights! Best of all, every one of our summer camp activities—the music, stories, and crafts—is specially designed to nurture your child's natural curiosity, eventually drawing them toward learning new words, new concepts and new big ideas.

Why Music?

2011-04-23T11:01:00.002-05:00

Sure, there are swimming classes, soccer, gymnastics and football....so why music?

Music is a Science.
It is exact, it is specific and it demands exact acoustics. A conductor’s score is a chart, a graph which indicates frequencies, intensities, volume changes, melody and harmony all at once and with the most exact control of time.

Music is Mathematical.
It is rhythmically based on the subdivisions of time into fractions which must be done instantaneously, not worked out on paper.

Music is a Foreign Language.
Most of the terms are in Italian, German or French; and the notation is certainly not English - but a highly-developed kind of shorthand that uses symbols to represent ideas. The semantics of music is the most complete and universal language.

Music is Physical Education.
It requires fantastic coordination of fingers, hands, arms, lip, cheeks and facial muscles in addition to extraordinary control of the diaphragmatic, back and stomach muscles, which respond instantly to the sound the ear hears and the mind interprets.

Music is all these things, but most of all, MUSIC IS ART.
It allows the human being to take all these dry, technically boring (but difficult) techniques and use them to create emotion. This one thing science cannot duplicate: humanism, feeling emotion, call it what you will.

That is why we teach music! Not because we expect you to major in music. Not because we expect you to play or sing all your life.

But, so you will be human, so you will recognize beauty, so you will have something to cling to, so you will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good - in short - more life.

Frog Went A Dancing PLAYDATE

2011-04-11T12:35:00.005-05:00

Join us on SATURDAY, APRIL 23rd at 9:30am for a fun, single session class where we will sing, experiment with instruments, move and read a story just like any other Kindermusik class! Great class for both Mom & Dad or Grandparents in town! This class is for toddlers ages 18 months-3.5 years old.

This amazing story is a perfect bedtime giggle fest. Follow Little Frog as he visits all his friends on his quest for the perfect dancing song. Little Frog visits elephant, otter, pig, monkey, and bear, only to find that the right song for a frog could be found right at home—following his mom’s dance moves.

The CD includes silly songs like “Skip to My Lou,” the “Hokey Pokey,” and “Over in the Meadow.”

The cost is $15 for one child, $25 for two or more children and includes the class, a CD of songs and an illustrated hardcover book. Payment due at class.

Only 10 AVAILABLE SPOTS! Email KIM at: kim@kindermusikwithkim.com TODAY!

Growth In Kindermusik

2011-04-10T07:41:00.003-05:00

The musical experiences your child enjoys in the early years can provide a lifetime of benefits. At Kindermusik With Kim, we see this every day. And our numerous research studies have proven the results as well. We’ve found that a child who stays enrolled in Kindermusik classes is highly likely to exhibit growth in some or even all of the following areas:

-perseverance
-confidence
-responsibility
-identity and self-esteem
-discipline
-love of music and art
-culture
-identification of talents
-using time wisely
-teamwork
-following directions
-intellectual and social development
-precision and motor control
-overcoming fears in public speaking and shyness
-commitment to excellence
-creativity and self-expression

Come see for yourself! Contact Kim at: kim@kindermusikwithkim.com

Enroll for SUMMER Today!

2011-04-04T13:00:00.001-05:00

In just five lessons, we’ll give you a summer’s worth of music, stories, and activities created to inspire a lifetime of learning. In a Kindermusik SUMMER CLASS, you and your child will play, learn, sing, dance, create and share in the fun of making music together.

Inspire your child's love of learning in our delightfully engaging summer sessions. Best of all, every one of our summer camp activities—the music, stories, and crafts—is specially designed to nurture your child's natural curiosity, eventually drawing them toward learning new words, new concepts and new big ideas.

Even Babies Know Rock N Roll!

2011-03-16T17:33:00.001-05:00

Newborns can follow a rhythm, a new study has found, suggesting rocking out is innate.

The finding, published in the Jan. 26 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, adds to growing evidence that the newborn brain is not the blank slate it was once thought to be.

Rather, scientists have shown, at birth we already have sophisticated methods for interpreting the world. Discrimination may be crude, explained lead researcher István Winkler of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest, but "the basic algorithms are in place already."

This may be particularly true when it comes to sound. Infants as young as 2 days old can process pitch and tell if a series of notes are rising or falling in scale. And it is now known they have rhythm, too.

Newborns can't exactly swing their hips to prove they can jive, so Winkler and his colleague Henkjan Honing of the University of Amsterdam monitored the brains of 14 infants listening to variations of a rock rhythm — complete with drum, snare and high hat cymbal.

When "metrically-unimportant portions" of the beat were silenced, nothing much changed among the auditory-related activity in the brain, Honing said. But when the rhythm was disturbed, particularly by omitting the downbeat, the infant brain responded with an error signal: An expectation for a rhythmic pattern was not met.

"A baby's auditory system is working the same way as an adult's, in that it is always making predictions," Winkler said. If the prediction is incorrect, an error signal helps gauge "how much you are off the actual target," he said.

While spoken language can take more than a year to develop, "music is one of the earliest things parents have with their children," Honing said.

On a note-to-note level, adult speech usually lacks the pulsing regularity of music, but when parents talk to babies, they instinctively switch to melodic and rhythmic intonations "as a way of communicating emotional messages," Honing said.

Infants can perceive anger, happiness and sadness from a caregiver's cooing and baby babble, he said.

A study last year found that babies as young as 5 months can distinguish an upbeat tune, such as "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, from other gloomy tunes.

At a structural level, certain conversation protocols require rhythmic synchrony and are likely unique to humans, Winkler said. While other animals, such as birds and frogs, do have significant auditory skills, few, if any, perceive rhythm or carry on a dialogue, he said.

"If you ever talk to someone who will really not synchronize with you, for example like with a computer," Winkler said, "you have the feeling that you can not communicate."

An infant's perception of rhythm may make him receptive to the distinctively human tendency to teach, Winkler said. "Apes never teach," he said, explaining that baby apes learn by simply emulating their parents. But humans engage in a sing-song form of information exchange, where the recipient of new knowledge must respond in a synchronous way (not too fast, not too slow) to convey understanding.

Therefore, evolution may have favored brains wired to rock for learning purposes, said Winkler, and "music went along for the ride."

And The Beat Goes On...

2011-03-11T06:28:00.003-06:00

In all Kindermusik classes, there is always emphasis on hearing, feeling, moving, and even “seeing” a steady beat. It may seem very elementary, but it is essentially the cornerstone of music.

More importantly, steady beat plays a huge importance in our speech, movement, thoughts and verbal organization. From a baby’s first hesitant steps, he slowly finds his pace and soon starts to walk steadily and confidently. Our preschoolers who have a strong sense of beat would be able to use the scissors more skillfully. Ever watch a basketball game? The steady dribble of the ball before it is tossed smack into the basket require an acute sense of beat and timing. A master chef needs to have a command of steady beat in his knife skills. Even writers rely on a sense of steady beat and rhythm in their prose to produce a good read.

Because it is such a fundamental element, parents and teachers often do not give sufficient attention to the development of this very important underlying skill – a strong sense of beat. The consequence of insufficient steady beat experiences in early years can result in poor physical coordination, halting speech and even weakness in thought flow. Would you have imagined that something so apparently a strictly musical characteristic can have such bearing on so many areas of our functioning?!

Here are some simple and fun activities that you can do with your child at home to reinforce the concept sense of steady beat:

Movement – Turn on the music and pretend to be a marching band. March, stomp or jump to the music. For younger babies, put them on your lap and bounce to a steady beat or dance with them around the room to the steady beat of the music.

Instrument play – Use the instruments from your home materials or make your own. An old pot and spoon will make a very fun ( and loud!) drum. Practice keeping a steady beat along with the music.

Reading – Nursery rhymes are a great way to introduce steady beat. Clap or tap along as you recite your child’s favourite rhymes.

SUMMER Classes ENROLL TODAY!

2011-03-06T15:26:00.006-06:00

In just five lessons, we’ll give you a summer’s worth of music, stories, and activities created to inspire a lifetime of learning. In a Kindermusik SUMMER CLASS, you and your child will play, learn, sing, dance, create and share in the fun of making music together.

Inspire your child's love of learning in our delightfully engaging summer sessions. Best of all, every one of our summer camp activities—the music, stories, and crafts—is specially designed to nurture your child's natural curiosity, eventually drawing them toward learning new words, new concepts and new big ideas.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

2011-03-02T15:13:00.007-06:00

Nearly a decade after his death, the stories of Pulitzer Prize-winning Theodor Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss) still reign supreme in hilarity and genius with both adults and children, many of the former retaining fond memories of Seuss I Can Read books and television specials from their own childhood.

Of the three fine discs reissued by Buddha Records in 1999, Fox in Socks and accompanying tales takes the most glorious cake. Marvin Miller is as splendid a yarn spinner as there ever was. His pliant and strong readings wittily match the brilliance of the author, especially on the pinpoint precision of a fast version of "Fox in Socks," along with the understated morality tales of the star-bellied Sneetches and Gertrude McFuzz, both of which celebrate identity and individuality.

These are a must-have for fans of any age! Check them out at the Kindermusik With Kim store under CDs, HERE!

Give Them A HAND!

2011-02-22T12:24:00.004-06:00

Research shows that listening and playing along with music is one of the few activities that fully engages both hemispheres of your child’s brain. Add the fine motor coordination it takes to hold an instrument and tap in time with the music, and your child is working on the hand-eye coordination and finger strength that’s necessary to hold a pencil, tie a shoe, use scissors and even dribble a basketball!

Kindermusik TIPS…
> For your baby – Gently tap the steady beat on your baby’s hand, foot, or knee with an instrument.
> For your toddler – Invite your child to use the instrument to tap on his own toes, knees, or even a tummy!
> For your preschooler or big kid – Preschoolers and older kids can march around the house in a musical parade.

Cool Kids Music!

2011-02-16T16:25:00.002-06:00

Ever wonder what it would sound like if Neil Young and Crazy Horse made a kids' album? Think on it no more, music lovers, Roy Handy and The Moonshot are here! The "group" is actually Gerry Stanek doin' the solo thing, and his debut CD, (I'm Gonna Be) Your Best Friend, borrows heavily from the loud, loping sound created by Young and his legendary backing band.

Stanek says that the entire album was conceived and recorded in a mere three weeks. This, and the fact that half the songs are under two minutes long gives the album an immediate, shambolic, but not messy, sound and feel ... kinda like your uncle's band playing in the garage. Amusing side note: all the song titles are followed by three exclamation points, except, of course, the lone tender-hearted (but still pretty loud) tune "Sometimes You Need to Be Cuddled."

The album kicks off with a song from the canine's point of view, "I Am a Dog!!!" complete with guitar solo and howls, followed by the Who-like chordfest, and second single from (I'm Gonna Be) Your Best Friend, "Crayon Man!!!" And the loping "That's a Great Idea!!!" which includes a few suggestions that are sarcastically categorized as "great," would give Atlanta kindie rocker Daddy A Go Go a run for his money.

Stanek dips into Jason and The Scorchers' amped-up version of country rock to declare that "Socks are Overrated!!!" while the Crazy Horse influence resurfaces on Stanek's ode to his comforting "Blanket!!!" Some big ol' chunky chords, a la Bachman Turner Overdrive, describe the awesomeness of the "Playground!!!" and a great T. Rex boogie celebrates the "Hotdog!!!"

The lighter-hoisting "Sometimes You Need to Be Cuddled" slows down the pace a little with some Teenage Fanclub-inspired chord changes and the admission that we all need a hug every once in a while. But then the breakneck speed of "Pancakes!!!" wakes everyone up again, highlighted by a ridiculous solo that'll have yer budding juke box heroes air guitaring all over the living room.

The straight-ahead rocker "Shopping List!!!" details a trip to the grocery store, while "Space Kitty!!!" the first single from the album, would be a perfect theme song for a Saturday morning cartoon. The album ends with "Moonshot!!!" a raging tribute to space travel that would make Alabama garage rockers The Quadrajets proud. If you dig the rowdy, grungy, guitar-driven rock and roll of, say, Ragged Glory or Rust Never Sleeps, Roy Handy is right down your alley. Play this one LOUD!

Posted by Warren Truitt of KidsMusicThatRocks

Get That Song Out Of My Head!

2011-02-04T13:37:00.005-06:00

Music education is a vital part of a child’s life. Research shows that our abilities to sing in tune, move to a steady beat and yes, hear music in our heads, are all formed by the time we are 8- or 9-years old. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn to sing or dance or play the piano after the third grade, but the learning windows for musical aptitudes do begin to close.

Do you ever hear a song in your head over and over again? Can you imagine not being able to hear music this way? Audiation, the ability to hear music when no musical sound is present, is an acquired skill. Similar to thinking thoughts without talking aloud, when you audiate, you internalize and “think” music. To practice audiation with your child, leave off the last word of a favorite song. Stop completely. Observe and listen to your child. What is the reaction? When you play this game with familiar songs, you are engaging your child’s ability to think and “speak” with you musically.

Were you lucky enough to have wonderful parents who sang to you all the time? Did you sing endless rounds of “She’ll Be Comin’ Round The Mountain” when you went on vacation? Repetition is a critical part of your child’s growth and development between the ages of birth and seven. Repetition aids in strengthening the neural pathways in the brain. So when your child wants you to “Read it again, Mommy!” or “Play that song again, Daddy!”, do it!!!

Babies are innately musical. They respond to music and sound in utero. Carla Hannaford, author of Awakening the Child Heart, tells us that hearing and language begin in utero and become the first window to the material world as the embryo physically reacts to sound 23 days after conception. Sound becomes the organizer of our physical structure and later, via the mother’s coherent heart rhythm, gives us the patterns on which to form a coherent understanding of patterns within our world.

People often ask, “What do you do with an infant in a music class?” Babies can be soothed with music. Brain development is stimulated by music. A Kindermusik Village class, for example, provides a rich environment of music, movement, language and touch for babies newborn to 18 months. This combination of music and movement stimulates the Vestibular System, the fluid in the brain. According to Dr. Alfred Tomatis, without a fully developed Vestibular System that allows us verticality and balance, language and learning become difficult. Language development begins with movement and is supported with interactive communication and music. Hannaford points out that early music education, including the interplay of music, movement and sound, is key to developing language, math, relational and learning skills, as well as creativity.

Toddlers love to clap and pat to the steady beat of favorite tunes. Steady beat is the unchanging, underlying beat that pulses through every top-10 tune on the radio. Different from rhythm – a combination of various short and long sounds – steady beat is what we tap our toes, pencils and imaginary drums to. For many toddlers, steady beat is an innate ability nurtured with lots of opportunity to practice. For others, it is a skill that can be learned through practice. The ability to keep a steady beat is a gift that we all want our children to have. A study showed 100% of first string professional football players can move their bodies to a steady beat. Moving to a steady beat develops a sense of timing and the ability to organize and coordinate movements like walking, dribbling a basketball, driving and using scissors. Not true for 2nd string. Kindermusik classes provide many opportunities for toddlers to play instruments and move to a steady beat and parents are educated about ways to keep music alive at home.

Preschoolers are exploding with ideas and questions. Creative music and movement provide an outlet for the imaginary characters that live inside a child. 3- and 4-year olds flourish in an environment where there is music, movement and an opportunity for them to contribute ideas. In a Kindermusik Imagine That! class, a child can explore voice and ideas, add instruments to songs and rhymes, act out enticing characters and grow socially while interacting with peers.

For a kindergarten or first grade child, reading readiness is an important issue. I often imagine how it would have been to have the language of music and the English language concurrently integrated into my life: learning to read and write music while learning to read and write language.

Kindermusik provides a whole child approach to music education. Children move and sing, play musical games, learn about music in other cultures, talk about and listen to the instruments of the orchestra, develop their discriminative listening skills, build self-esteem through group interaction and music making, begin to read and write basic musical notation and much more.

I often get calls from eager parents, ready to spend gobs of money on private music lessons for their 3-, 4- and 5-year olds. I first ask them, how are the children’s fine motor skills? Are they reading? How big are their hands? Are they ready to practice at least 20-30 minutes each day? By the time children complete a 2-year Kindermusik class, they have played a pre-keyboard instrument, a simple string instrument and a wind instrument. They are eager to pursue private lessons and have more staying power!

When you choose a music program, make sure it is compatible with you and your child. Be prepared to be an active participant and supporter of your child’s music experience. It could be the best investment you ever make.

Music turns kids on. So turn it up!

Only A Few Spots LEFT!

2011-01-23T20:43:00.008-06:00

Kindermusik With Kim has spots left in her
EVENING Our Time (18 Months-3.5 Years) classes and her Wednesday BABY Village (Newborn-18 Months) class!

Winter/Spring Home Materials

2011-01-17T13:56:00.006-06:00

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T14:12:00.002-06:00

It's a New Year! Come join us for the Winter/Spring Session!

Would you like to try a class before you register? Come for a FREE PREVIEW! Contact Kim to find a class TODAY!

$10 Early Enrollment Discount Ends SATURDAY!

2010-12-28T09:50:00.007-06:00

If you have children newborn through 7 years old, Kindermusik is the SINGLE best choice you can make for your child. Research proves that early integration of music in your child’s daily routine means improving their ability to think, reason, create and express. With Kindermusik you and your child will participate together in the learning process- Music skills to Academic skills to Life skills!

WHAT’S INCLUDED?
-Tuition includes 15 classes which run once a week from January 31st through May 27th.
-Classes are 45 minutes in length except for Young Child 5-7 yrs which are 60 minutes.
-All participants receive At Home Materials that include CDs, books, activity materials and instruments.
-Classes available mornings, afternoons and EVENINGS Monday through Friday! Check out the schedule below!

Holiday Playdates!

2010-12-13T21:04:00.004-06:00

We will have SPECIAL WINTER HOLIDAY PLAYDATES next week at the Kindermusik Studio. Jingle bells, sleigh rides, ice skating, snowball fun and more! Morning AND Evening! Reservations REQUIRED. Room for only 10 families in each playdate.
Reserve your spot TODAY!

Thursday, December 23rd
9:30am-10:15am OR 10:30am-11:15am
1.5-4 Years Old WITH Caregiver
$10 Due at Class
Register by emailing: Kim@kindermusikwithkim.com

Thursday, December 23rd
11:30am-12:15pm
4 Years-7 Years Old DROP OFF
$10 Due at Class
Register by emailing: Kim@kindermusikwithkim.com

Thursday, December 23rd
6:15pm-7:00pm
1.5-4 Years Old WITH Caregiver
$10 Due at Class
Register by emailing: Kim@kindermusikwithkim.com

Babies LOVE MUSIC!

2010-12-13T20:58:00.000-06:00

Winter/Spring Registration is OPEN!

2010-11-14T09:25:00.006-06:00

The class schedule is up for the Winter/Spring Semester! Classes begin January 31st and run through May 27th.

Register early to ensure your spot and to receive your $10 DISCOUNT!

Baby Can DANCE!!

2010-11-10T18:54:00.000-06:00

Fantastical!

2010-11-05T15:26:00.003-05:00

Music and Brain Development: What You Can Do At Home

2010-10-10T19:52:00.004-05:00

Parents are a child's first and best teachers, and nothing is easier or more enjoyable to nurture than a love of music! Focusing on variety and activities in which your child can participate are key, says Linda Page Neelly, Associate Professor of Music at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. "Through singing, playing, moving, listening and other experiences," she says, "you can stimulate children's thinking and decision-making, and encourage creativity."

Here are some ideas to get you started:
-Foster your infant's love of music by singing, humming and chanting to her throughout the day. Don't worry if your voice isn't the best. Even if you're a bit off-key, it's a delightful sound to your baby!

-Imitate the sounds your baby makes and encourage her to explore her own range. (Yes, that high-pitched screeching is a form of musical exploration!)

-Encourage your baby or toddler to move along to music, dancing, rocking, clapping, nodding a whatever. The more active involvement, the better, says Neelly. "That kinesthetic immersion into the sound, that's when the brain is developing more," she explains. Try dancing with a fussy infant: You might be surprised at how calming it is for you both!

-Introduce toddlers to songs that allow them to move and follow directions. By imitating your movements in "Follow the Leader" and "Hokey Pokey," they learn how to keep time with music. It's also great for language development and gross motor skills!

-Children love to hear music that's familiar to them, so play their favorites often. Inventing new lyrics for familiar songs can teach them that music is a way to express creativity.

-The benefits of music education are most noticeable when children are encouraged to create their own music. It's never too early to let your children be musicians. -Infants can play with bells and rattles. Older babies and toddlers can bang on drums, xylophones, and toy keyboards or strum on child-sized guitars to develop musical abilities and fine motor skills.

-Help your children make their own "instruments" using pots and pans, blocks, empty cans, plastic containers filled with beans, and other common household items.

-Introduce your child to music from different styles and cultures. Music is one of the most effective ways to bridge cultural, social and generational differences. ---Fostering an appreciation of many types of music stimulates healthy brain development and can teach your child to communicate with people from many cultures and all walks of life.

-Expose your child to a wide variety of musical experiences, from listening and moving to singing and playing, from solo "performances" to group music making, from exploring traditional instruments to improvising on "instruments" of her own creation.

-Include music in your child's bedtime and naptime rituals. "One time that listening to music is extremely beneficial without movement is if it's calming, soothing music to help children rest," says Neelly. "It's very beneficial therapeutically to have a slow, calming melody and a slow rhythm to help calm children."

When it comes to music, experts agree, THE MORE THE BETTER! "There has to be a good bit of it," Neelly advises, "not just a smattering here and there, but a real immersion." When you sing to and with your child as you get her dressed, play familiar CDs as you travel in the car, help her explore her music-making creativity by banging on pots and pans or tapping on a toy keyboard, introduce her to a variety of music through CDs and engaging children's videos, or calm her to sleep with a favorite lullaby, you make music an integral part of your child's life. It's never too early to foster a passion for music!

Great Song For Preschoolers!

2010-09-13T20:02:00.005-05:00

Fall At HOME Materials!

2010-08-27T10:04:00.009-05:00

You and your child will enormously benefit from the Kindermusik experience, especially if you make active use of your At Home Materials included in your tuition. Frequent reinforcement at home throughout the week makes all the difference in a child’s comfort & participation in the classroom. Many of these materials have a value that exceeds the duration of time spent in class. The value of Kindermusik isn’t just a 45 or 75 minute class each week, you can have music time together every day by using your At Home Materials!

The At-Home Materials Kit includes home activity books, carefully planned activities, CD recordings, and specially designed instruments. The CD includes a wide selection of age-appropriate classical music, jazz, opera, choral music, lullabies, multicultural folk music, and prize-winning children's recordings that your child will love listening to again and again.

Suggested activities may be as simple as asking your child to listen for loud and quiet sounds in the kitchen and affirming your child's observations. Kindermusik is designed as a daily learning process. The key is extending the classroom activities to the home using the At-Home Materials Kit throughout the week. For some children, home will be the most comfortable place where they will want to sing and perform with the Kindermusik CD playing in the background!

The time you spend with your child now is absolutely critical for development throughout his or her life. This is your window of opportunity to shape your child's future development. The Kindermusik At-Home Materials Kit is your invitation to spend fun and enriching moments with your child NOW when it is so important. So don’t put them on a shelf! Consider the value add and use them in your family!

Register for Fall Today!

2010-08-03T12:51:00.002-05:00

If you have children newborn through 7 years old, Kindermusik is the SINGLE best choice you can make for your child. Research proves that early integration of music in your child’s daily routine means improving their ability to think, reason, create and express. With Kindermusik you and your child will participate together in the learning process- Music skills to Academic skills to Life skills!

WHAT’S INCLUDED?
-Tuition includes 15 classes which run once a week from September 13th through January 22nd. Classes are 45 minutes in length except for Young Child 5-7 yrs which are 60 minutes. All participants receive At Home Materials that include CDs, books, activity materials and instruments.
-Classes available mornings,afternoons AND evenings Monday through Friday! Check out schedules below!

REGISTER BEFORE August 13th for a $10 Early Bird Discount!

Piano & Guitar Lessons Offered!

2010-07-05T14:11:00.008-05:00

The Kindermusik With Kim Studio offers Piano and Guitar lessons for anyone ages 6 and up! All levels, all styles! Weekly lessons start at $20. Classes offered this Summer and throughout the school year!

Contact Kim for information or click on the links on the RIGHT side of this page!

Building Baby's Brain: The Role of Music

2010-06-06T14:13:00.004-05:00

"Researchers believe that musical training actually creates new pathways in the brain."

Music has a powerful effect on our emotions. Parents know that a quiet, gentle lullaby can soothe a fussy baby. And a majestic chorus can make us swell with excitement. But music also can affect the way we think.

In recent years, we've learned a lot about how the brain develops. Babies are born with billions of brain cells. During the first years of life, those brain cells form connections with other brain cells. Over time, the connections we use regularly become stronger. Children who grow up listening to music develop strong music-related connections.

Some of these music pathways actually affect the way we think. Listening to classical music can improve our spatial reasoning, at least for a short time. And learning to play an instrument may have an even longer effect on certain thinking skills.

Does Music Make Us Smarter?

Not exactly. Music seems to prime our brains for certain kinds of thinking. After listening to classical music, adults can do certain spatial tasks more quickly, such as putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

Why does this happen? The classical music pathways in our brain are similar to the pathways we use for spatial reasoning. When we listen to classical music, the spatial pathways are "turned on" and ready to be used.

This priming makes it easier to work a puzzle quickly. But the effect lasts only a short time. Our improved spatial skills fade about an hour after we stop listening to the music.

Learning to play an instrument can have longer-lasting effects on spatial reasoning, however. In several studies, children who took piano lessons for six months improved their ability to work puzzles and solve other spatial tasks by as much as 30 percent.

Why does playing an instrument make such a difference? Researchers believe that musical training creates new pathways in the brain.

Why Classical Music?

The music most people call "classical"--works by composers such as Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart--is different from music such as rock and country. Classical music has a more complex musical structure. Babies as young as 3 months can pick out that structure and even recognize classical music selections they have heard before.

Researchers think the complexity of classical music is what primes the brain to solve spatial problems more quickly. So listening to classical music may have different effects on the brain than listening to other types of music.

This doesn't mean that other types of music aren't good. Listening to any kind of music helps build music-related pathways in the brain. And music can have positive effects on our moods that may make learning easier.

What Can You Do?

Parents and child-care providers can help nurture children's love of music beginning in infancy. Here are some ideas:

-Play music for your baby. Expose your baby to many different musical selections of various styles. If you play an instrument, practice when your baby is nearby. But keep the volume moderate. Loud music can damage a baby's hearing.

-Sing to your baby. It doesn't matter how well you sing! Hearing your voice helps your baby begin to learn language. Babies love the patterns and rhythms of songs. And even young babies can recognize specific melodies once they've heard them.

-Sing with your child. As children grow, they enjoy singing with you. And setting words to music actually helps the brain learn them more quickly and retain them longer. That's why we remember the lyrics of songs we sang as children, even if we haven't heard them in years.

-Start music classes early. If you want your child to learn an instrument, you don't need to wait until elementary school to begin. Young children's developing brains are equipped to learn music. And starting lessons as early as infants helps children build a lifelong love of music.

-Encourage your child's school to teach music. Singing helps stimulate the brain, at least briefly. Over time, music education as a part of school can help build skills such as coordination and creativity. And learning music helps your child become a well-rounded person.

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE!

2010-05-20T16:06:00.003-05:00

Join us this Summer for some great music fun! We have classes for newborns through 7 year olds!

This Summer we have weekly classes in two, 5 week sessions. Come for 5 weeks in June or come for 5 weeks in August or come to BOTH!

Have a conflict with vacations? Contact Kim and we'll work a pro-rated rate out!

www.KindermusikWithKim.com

Seven Years Old

2010-04-16T13:32:00.004-05:00

This is incredible voice control for a seven year old. Amazing.

Tiny Dancers

2010-03-22T12:45:00.001-05:00

In perhaps the cutest study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, psychologist Marcel Zentner and Tuomas Eerola found that babies will spontaneously boogie when they hear music and other rhythmic sounds. The findings suggest babies are not great dancers, but they smile more when they do hit the beat!

SUMMER SESSION IS READY!

2010-03-19T14:59:00.005-05:00

The Summer Session is open for registration! Join us for weekly classes in one or both sessions in June or August!

Five weeks of classes for 1-7 Year Olds! Check out the schedule at www.KindermusikWithKim.com!

NEW CLASS!!! ABC Music & Me

2010-02-24T14:00:00.006-06:00

ABC Music & Me is a new class offered by Kindermusik With Kim for 3 to 6 Year Olds. It's a shorter committment class which is offered 4 weeks at a time! New curriculum and new materials offered EACH MONTH! Classes for APRIL begin on Wednesday April, 7th! Classes are on Wednesdays from 12:45pm-2:00pm! JOIN US!

MORE INFORMATION HERE:
http://www.kindermusikwithkim.com/pdf/ABCMusicAPRILpdf.pdf

Winter/Spring Classes Have Begun!

2010-02-02T17:30:00.003-06:00

Classes have begun and we're having FUN!

Join us at ANYTIME and have your tuition PRO-RATED!

Invite your friends and receive a $20 credit towards your next semester for each registration referral. No limits!

At Home Materials for Each Class

2010-01-11T16:27:00.006-06:00

You and your child will enormously benefit from the Kindermusik experience, especially if you make active use of your At Home Materials included in your tuition. Frequent reinforcement at home throughout the week makes all the difference in a child’s comfort & participation in the classroom. Many of these materials have a value that exceeds the duration of time spent in class. The value of Kindermusik isn’t just a 40 or 60 minute class each week, you can have music time together every day by using your At Home Materials!

The At-Home Materials Kit includes home activity books, carefully planned activities, CD recordings, and specially designed instruments. The CD includes a wide selection of age-appropriate classical music, jazz, opera, choral music, lullabies, multicultural folk music, and prize-winning children's recordings that your child will love listening to again and again.

Suggested activities may be as simple as asking your child to listen for loud and quiet sounds in the kitchen and affirming your child's observations. Kindermusik is designed as a daily learning process. The key is extending the classroom activities to the home using the At-Home Materials Kit throughout the week. For some children, home will be the most comfortable place where they will want to sing and perform with the Kindermusik CD playing in the background!

The time you spend with your child now is absolutely critical for development throughout his or her life. This is your window of opportunity to shape your child's future development. The Kindermusik At-Home Materials Kit is your invitation to spend fun and enriching moments with your child NOW when it is so important. So don’t put them on a shelf! Consider the value add and use them in your family!

Can't Decide Whether To Enroll?

2010-01-08T16:33:00.001-06:00

If you have children newborn through 7 years old, Kindermusik is the SINGLE best choice you can make for your child. Research proves that early integration of music in your child’s daily routine means improving their ability to think, reason, create and express. With Kindermusik you and your child will participate together in the learning process- Music skills to Academic skills to Life skills!

WHAT’S INCLUDED?
-Tuition includes 15 classes which run once a week from January 25th through May 22nd. Classes are 40 minutes in length except for Young Child 5-7 yrs which are 60 minutes. All participants receive At Home Materials that include a CD, book, activity materials and instruments.
-Classes available mornings and afternoons Monday through Saturday! Check out schedules below!

CLASSES ARE PRO-RATED from the date you begin! Join us at anytime this Winter/Spring!

Enroll TODAY for WINTER SPRING Classes!

2009-12-29T09:09:00.008-06:00

***Classes begin the week of January 25th!
***Early Bird Discount of $10 ends Friday, January 8th!

WHAT’S INCLUDED?
-Tuition includes 15 classes which run once a week from January 25th-May 22nd. Classes are not held March 22nd-April 4th. Classes are 40 minutes in length except for Young Child 5-7 yrs which are 60 minutes. All families receive At Home Materials that include CDs, book, activity materials and instruments.
-Classes available mornings, afternoons and evenings Monday through Saturday! Check out the schedules below! NOTE: Two OUR TIME classes for working families: Thursdays 6:40pm-7:20pm and Saturdays 9am-9:40am!

AFFORDABLE WAYS TO ENJOY KINDERMUSIK
-$10 Discount for Early Registration & Full Payment BEFORE January 8th.
-Siblings enrolled in the SAME class receive 25% Off tuition/sibling materials. Siblings enrolled in other classes receive 10% Off tuition!
-Refer a new friend to our program, who signs up for a full semester and you receive $10 Off your next semester’s tuition. No limits to referrals! Contact friends, relatives and neighbors to save, save, save!
-Gift Certificates are available for Grandparents, Parents or Anyone who may want to give the gift of music to your child! Contact Kim for more information.
-Sibling infants are FREE in sibling enrolled OUR TIME classes.
-Payment plans available on an individual basis.

PIANO & VOICE LESSONS
-Lessons for beginner and intermediate piano and voice lessons at the Kindermusik Studio in the afternoons, contact Teresa Peterson if you have children over 6 years old ready for formal lessons! Contact Teresa at: teapeterson@gmail.com

MORE!!-KIDCREATE STUDIO & KINDERMUSIK:
-Beginning next Tuesday, JANUARY 5th: Music and Art! What a combination! Join us for seven more classes in January and February on Tuesday afternoons for 3-6 year olds! See link on the RIGHT side of the page!

The Gift of Kindermusik!

2009-11-22T13:20:00.005-06:00

Looking for the perfect present this holiday season or any other time of year? This year, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles, Friends or Anyone can give your little ones the gift of Kindermusik!

A Kindermusik Gift Certificate, good towards tuition for up to one year, is a gift that truly keeps on giving as the benefits of Kindermusik last a lifetime.

Also…

REGISTER before FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4th and get Kindermusik UNDER THE TREE! Kim will wrap your At Home Materials and have available for pick up at the studio between December 14th and 22nd! What a great gift from a Grandparent or Parent and you’ll be familiar with the new music before the first class!

Toys are outgrown, time with your child and an education is forever!

Contact Kim at: kim@kindermusikwithkim.com

This FRIDAY: Pajama NIGHT OUT!

2009-10-18T16:03:00.001-05:00
Friday, October 23rd from 5:30pm-8pm. Drop off your 3.5 to 7 year old and enjoy an early night out, quiet time at home or go shopping! We’ll sing, dance, explore instruments, read stories, have imaginative play and then settle down with some popcorn while watching a 30 minute children’s musical! Cost is only $20 per child for the 2.5 hours. More than one child and the family cost is $30. Reservations required and a limit of 10 children.

RSVP TODAY to Kim: kim@kindermusikwithkim.com

The Importance of Play

2009-09-22T17:09:00.003-05:00

When I'm building the block room, please don't say I'm "just playing," for you see, I'm learning as I play about balance and shapes.

When I'm getting all dressed up, setting the table, caring for the babies, don't get the idea I'm "just playing," for your see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a mother or father someday.

When you see me up to my elbows in paint, or standing at an easel, or molding and shaping clay, please don't let me hear you say "He's just playing," for your see, I'm learning as I play. I'm expressing myself and being creative. I may be an artist or an inventor someday.

When you see me sitting in a chair "reading"to" an imaginary audience, please don't laugh and think I'm "just playing." You see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a teacher someday.

When you see me combing the bushes for bugs, or packing my pockets with choice things I find, don't pass it off as "just play," for you see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a scientist someday.

When you see me engrossed in a puzzle or some "plaything" at my school, please don't feel the time is wasted in "play," for you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning to solve problems and concentrate. I may be in business some day.

When you see me cooking or tasting foods, please don't think because I enjoy it, "it's just play. I'm learning to follow directions and see differences. I may be a chef someday.

When you see me learning to skip, hop, run and move my body, please don't say I'm "just playing. I'm learning to how my body works. I may be a doctor, nurse or athlete someday.

When you ask me what I've done at school today, and I say,"I've just played" Please don't misunderstand, for you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning to enjoy and be successful in my work. I'm preparing for tomorrow. Today, I am a child, and my work is play.

Can't Decide Whether To ENROLL in KINDERMUSIK WITH KIM?

2009-08-25T13:29:00.008-05:00

If you have children newborn through 7 years old, Kindermusik is the SINGLE best choice you can make for your child. Research proves that early integration of music in your child’s daily routine means improving their ability to think, reason, create and express. With Kindermusik you and your child will participate together in the learning process- Music skills to Academic skills to Life skills!

WHAT’S INCLUDED?
-Tuition includes 15 classes which run once a week from September 8th through January 16th. Classes are 40 minutes in length except for Young Child 5-7 yrs which are 60 minutes. All participants receive At Home Materials that include a CD, book, activity materials and instruments.
-Classes available mornings and afternoons Monday through Saturday! Check out schedules below!

CLASSES ARE PRO-RATED from the date you begin! Join us at anytime this FALL!

Why At Home Materials & How Do I Use Them?

2009-08-24T10:58:00.007-05:00

You and your child will enormously benefit from the Kindermusik experience, especially if you make active use of your At Home Materials included in your tuition. Frequent reinforcement at home throughout the week makes all the difference in a child’s comfort & participation in the classroom. Many of these materials have a value that exceeds the duration of time spent in class. The value of Kindermusik isn’t just a 40 or 60 minute class each week, you can have music time together every day by using your At Home Materials!

The At-Home Materials Kit includes home activity books, carefully planned activities, CD recordings, and specially designed instruments. The CD includes a wide selection of age-appropriate classical music, jazz, opera, choral music, lullabies, multicultural folk music, and prize-winning children's recordings that your child will love listening to again and again.

Suggested activities may be as simple as asking your child to listen for loud and quiet sounds in the kitchen and affirming your child's observations. Kindermusik is designed as a daily learning process. The key is extending the classroom activities to the home using the At-Home Materials Kit throughout the week. For some children, home will be the most comfortable place where they will want to sing and perform with the Kindermusik CD playing in the background!

The time you spend with your child now is absolutely critical for development throughout his or her life. This is your window of opportunity to shape your child's future development. The Kindermusik At-Home Materials Kit is your invitation to spend fun and enriching moments with your child NOW when it is so important. So don’t put them on a shelf! Consider the value add and use them in your family!

Enroll NOW for FALL Kindermusik With Kim Classes!

2009-08-01T14:18:00.009-05:00

If you have children newborn through 7 years old, Kindermusik is the SINGLE best choice you can make for your child. Research proves that early integration of music in your child’s daily routine means improving their ability to think, reason, create and express. With Kindermusik you and your child will participate together in the learning process- Music skills to Academic skills to Life skills!

WHAT’S INCLUDED?
-Tuition includes 15 classes which run once a week from September 8th through January 15th. Classes are 40 minutes in length except for Young Child 5-7 yrs which are 60 minutes. All participants receive At Home Materials that include a CD, book, activity materials and instruments.
-Classes available mornings and afternoons Monday through Saturday! Check out schedules below!

Fall Schedule and Registration at:
www.KindermusikWithKim.com

AFFORDABLE WAYS TO ENJOY KINDERMUSIK
-$10 Discount for Early Registration & Full Payment BEFORE August 21st.
-Siblings enrolled in the same class receive 20% off tuition/sibling materials.
-Refer a new friend to our program, who signs up for a full semester and receive $10 off your next semester’s tuition. No limits to referrals! Contact friends, relatives and neighbors to save, save, save!
-Gift certificates are available for Grandparents, Parents or Anyone who may want to give the gift of music to your child! Contact Kim for more information.
-Sibling infants are FREE in sibling enrolled OUR TIME classes.

What Do GROWN UPS Think of Kindermusik With Kim?

2009-06-19T14:04:00.006-05:00

My son began taking Kindermusik where we just moved from. It's wonderful to pick up right where we left off with Miss Kim. I can attribute my son's early vocabulary and speaking skills directly to Kindermusik and I'm excited to continue here for as long as we're able. We've only done one playdate with Kim since moving here and will begin a full semester in the Fall. Our first experience with her was very positive. She's fun, full of energy, treats the children with respect and patience and seems genuinely happy to be teaching.
Lori
Excelsior, MN

As a former musician, I’ve enjoyed observing my Grandchildren in this Summer’s 3.5-5 Year Old class. I can see exactly what each activity is meant to do in developing their musicianship. As an educator I understand how the curriculum also develops the child as a little learning person. Kim has just the right mixture of patience and focused energy to make the class fun and stimulating for the young child. I’ve never seen a music class for young children and have really enjoyed learning what Kindermusik is all about.
Grandma Jane
Bloomington, MN

What a great time we had! Kim is a wonderful singer and has a beautiful studio space. My daughter absolutely loves going to Kindermusik With Kim and has really enjoyed the Summer Program.
Joanne
Eden Prairie, MN

Kim is so much fun and has an amazing amount of energy. The classroom is beautiful and clean and the quality of education and musicality is exceptional. Can't wait for Fall!
Kathy
Chanhassen, MN

I’d not heard of Kindermusik before this Summer and was excited to be invited and to enroll my son in your June Session. After the first two classes I’ve observed him singing around the house, dancing and drumming a steady beat on just about everything. It’s fairly dramatic as he has not shown interest in expressing himself through music prior to this. We signed up just to try it out and am proud to have now enrolled him in the rest of the sessions for the Summer!
Patricia
Chaska, MN

What The Experts Say

2009-06-03T13:36:00.003-05:00

"Kindermusik provides the sound nutrition to improve movement, listening, and expression in young children. Through activities and music making, skills for parents and children alike create inroads for the great orchestration of a family's hearts, minds, and bodies."
—Don Campbell
World-renowned authority on the transformative power of listening and music, and author of The Mozart Effect® for Children

"One of my strongest impressions of Kindermusik's work is the variety of musical selections that are there for children. The selections are of high quality and of considerable diversity, such that children can listen and respond to the music of Bach, Mozart, contemporary composers and cultural traditions around the globe. Kindermusik understands that children deserve opportunities to know a palette of musical colors, and thus through the program provide windows to the world of people and their artistic expressions. This rainbow of musical colors is the stuff that surrounds children through their Kindermusik training, so that their listening, movement, singing and playing possibilities are grounded in history and across cultures. These musical beginnings set children straight for a lifetime of well-considered choices in their musical and cultural valuing."
—Patricia Campbell, Ph.D.
Professor of music at University of Washington and author of Songs in Their Heads: Music and Its Meaning in Children's Lives, Lessons from the World

"A major task for toddlers, that can confuse parents at first, is resolving the conflict between their passionate desire for closeness to their parents—after all, they are still barely out of babyhood—and their equally fierce drive for independence. Activities such as those in the Kindermusik Our Time curriculum provide toddlers this opportunity. A child can move into the circle during story time and actively participate if he wishes, or he can stay close to Mom or Dad and listen to the story being read. Given this security, most toddlers will naturally move to greater, and more appropriate, independence as they approach preschool age."
—Melissa R. Johnson, Ph.D.
Pediatric Psychologist, Cary, NC

"Current research has shown that movement is the key to learning at any age. Our brains fully develop through movement activities such as crawling, rolling, turning, walking, skipping, reaching, and much more. When children and adults participate in Kindermusik classes, they are developing both sides of their brains through structured and creative music and movement activities. Television, video games and computers have helped to produce a generation that struggles with learning problems, hyperactivity and obesity. Many of these problems can be helped through systematic music/movement exercises and patterns. Kindermusik classes have always been fun. Now I feel strongly that they are also part of our essential learning process!"
—Anne Green Gilbert
Movement specialist, author of Creative Dance for All Ages, and director Of Creative Dance Center

"As an early childhood advocate, I have found good music invaluable as a teaching tool. Kindermusik has taken the art of combining music with learning to a new and higher educational level. When children experience music in their early years, it lasts throughout their lifetime. Recent literature may attempt to refute the value of music as it relates to IQ, but experts cannot deny the effect music has on the development of a child's complete well-being. Kindermusik is pioneering a movement that will prove valuable to children for many years into the future. As a trainer, with more than 20 years' tenure, I thank Kindermusik for its contribution to holistic learning."
—Jim Powell, Ed.D.
National director of assessment and evaluation, Kaplan Companies

"When introduced appropriately, music and literature play an amazing role in the development of infants and toddlers. I'm happy that Kindermusik has extended their programs to include this time of life when brain development is most vulnerable and parents are most in need of support and direction."
—Claudia Quigg, M.Ed.
Founder and executive director of BabyTALK, a program dedicated to helping parents become better parents to their children

"Kindermusik brings parents and children together for fun and education. The learning is active, engaging and developmentally appropriate. Children are exposed to diverse materials and are provided with rich opportunities for hands-on experiences with developmentally appropriate instruments. The joy is in the process of learning and the result is children who are more attuned in reaching their full potential."
—Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
International family educator and author of Raising Your Spirited Child, Raising Your Spirited Child Workbook, and Power Struggles: Winning for a Lifetime

"Kindermusik is elegant in its integrated approach to a child's development. Physiologically, touch, movement, rhythm and sound are the keystones to developing a healthy vestibular system and optimizing nervous system and brain growth. The importance of having families working together, where everyone benefits from the sense of belonging, gets directly at the heart of what we, as a society, are needing at this time to raise healthy, loving children and ensure a world of peace. All of this is provided in the Kindermusik program."
—Carla Hannaford, Ph.D.
Biologist, educator and author of Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head and The Dominance Factor

NEW Father's Day Playdates

2009-05-21T20:05:00.011-05:00

FATHER’S DAY PLAYDATES
These musical playdates are a fantastic opportunity for Dad’s to join their children ages 1.5-3.5 years for special fun the Saturday before Father’s Day. This class was designed to feature the basic components of a Kindermusik classroom experience—singing, moving, playing instruments, listening and group interactions. Class includes a Frog Went A Dancing book and CD.

Saturday, June 20th 9:15am-10:00am OR 10:15am-11:00am

NOTES:
 Cost is $15. Siblings in same age range are only $5. Each family will receive At Home Materials of a book and CD.
 Children 1.5 to 3.5 years old with Dad may attend.
 Limit 8 families per playdate. RSVP by email to: kim@kindermusikwithkim.com and
mail payment to Kim BEFORE June 10th: 9445 Riley Lake Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55347

The Summer Adventures at Kindermusik With Kim begin June 8th! These curriculums are so very cool and a great introduction to Kindermusik: http://www.kindermusikwithkim.com/pdf/kmsummerschedule2009.pdf

A Good Beginning Never Ends...

2009-05-07T13:04:00.001-05:00

Fran & Marlo Cowan (married 62 years) playing an impromptu recital together in the atrium of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

What's On Your Child's Playlist??

2009-04-27T13:44:00.007-05:00

It is believed that children begin to form their earliest musical preferences while still in the womb. This will continue through the early childhood years and will form a foundation for their later musical interests and experiences. The greater their exposure to a variety of musical styles and cultures, the greater their love and appreciation for music as a whole. You should think of it as laying a broad musical foundation for them to build on in the future.

My concern is that so many parents buy ONLY the Wiggles or other children's CDs for their children. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with any of these CDs, but if that is all that you are exposing your children to musically, then their musical foundation will be very narrow.

I would encourage you to listen to a wide variety of styles and rhythms with your children, such as Classical, World Music, R&B, Country, Pop or Rock songs. (with appropriate lyrics of course) I get a kick out of my son singing Billy Joel, The Eagles and even some Prince. We love that he loves the music we love.

The variety of rhythms and pitch contrast will also promote cognitive development in your child. The greater the variety, the broader the musical foundation and development your child will be able to build on throughout their life.

Kindermusik For The Young Child

2009-04-18T20:25:00.003-05:00

As a general rule, most children are not ready to begin formal instrumental training before the age of 6 or 7 for piano or string instruments, and most instructors will not accept students younger than 8 or 9 for other orchestral or band instruments.

Before that, they tend to lack the size, stamina, and outcome-oriented commitment to make lessons a pleasurable and successful experience. Children are individuals, with a wide range of aptitude, but all children possess the ability to enjoy lifelong music making, and this ability can be greatly influenced by how we choose to approach their earliest experiences.

Kindermusik contains all of the needed elements to develop a child who is musically aware and who has the solid foundation to make lessons a natural and joyous next step. Children who grow up in Kindermusik have had chances to succeed, be nurtured and encouraged in their early creative explorations, and develop a core of music theory instilled through voice, body, and mind. Music for them is a natural part of their environment, and they have gained the language of note, rhythm, and expression to help them as they select which instrument they most wish to make their own. Many experts agree that early musical enrichment lays a foundation for musicianship which may accelerate later progress on an instrument.

Children who graduate from Kindermusik for the Young Child have a strong basis in theory, musicianship, and instrumental technique. More importantly, they have been allowed to develop the whole child through music, in a supportive and reassuring atmosphere, which lays the groundwork for a lifetime of positive outlook not only towards music learning, but towards learning in general.

We learn to read music and to play the glockenspiel, dulcimer and recorder during all four semesters. Contact Kim at kim@kindermusikwithkim.com for more information on our Young Child classes for the 5-7 Year Old!

This is what music is all about!

2009-04-08T12:52:00.003-05:00

Why Music?

2009-04-06T16:09:00.005-05:00

Sure, there are swimming classes, soccer, gymnastics and football....so why music?

Music is a Science.
It is exact, it is specific and it demands exact acoustics. A conductor’s score is a chart, a graph which indicates frequencies, intensities, volume changes, melody and harmony all at once and with the most exact control of time.

Music is Mathematical.
It is rhythmically based on the subdivisions of time into fractions which must be done instantaneously, not worked out on paper.

Music is a Foreign Language.
Most of the terms are in Italian, German or French; and the notation is certainly not English - but a highly-developed kind of shorthand that uses symbols to represent ideas. The semantics of music is the most complete and universal language.

Music is Physical Education.
It requires fantastic coordination of fingers, hands, arms, lip, cheeks and facial muscles in addition to extraordinary control of the diaphragmatic, back and stomach muscles, which respond instantly to the sound the ear hears and the mind interprets.

Music is all these things, but most of all, MUSIC IS ART.
It allows the human being to take all these dry, technically boring (but difficult) techniques and use them to create emotion. This one thing science cannot duplicate: humanism, feeling emotion, call it what you will.

That is why we teach music! Not because we expect you to major in music. Not because we expect you to play or sing all your life.

But, so you will be human, so you will recognize beauty, so you will have something to cling to, so you will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good - in short - more life.