WHEN TO TAKE PIANO LESSONS....An often asked QUESTION!

When should we start piano lessons? When should we start violin lessons? It’s one of the most common questions I’m asked. Often by parents of toddlers and preschoolers.
The sad thing is that typically; start when you’re three, quit when you’re four. Start when you’re four, quit when you’re five. But start a little older, after having group music classes, and you’re more likely to have success and fun with your instrument. Group classes teach beat, rhythm, phrasing, pitch matching, music concepts, and vocabulary in a joyful,
active way. An older child of 7 or 8 years who has learned basic music skills from a group music program will quickly pass up a child who started private lessons at a young age.
The progress for the older child who had group music classes first (especially classes that have a music education curriculum, such as Kindermusik, not just a sing along) is fast and successful and these children tend to stay in music much longer because they do make good progress.
One private teacher put it this way, “The progress of the young child starting private lessons as a first-time music experience is painfully slow.” Just as babies learn to understand language before they can speak and read it, young children need to learn to walk to a beat, echo sing pitches accurately and have an understanding of basic music concepts before starting to learn music reading and the specific skills of playing an instrument.
What do we think is best for the 3, 4, or 5-year-old?
The Kindermusik classes! And...the parent who listens to music or plays the piano or another instrument at home, encourages their child’s musical interest!

WHY BABY MUSIC? Music Promotes Learning

Research has shown that babies, from fetus to toddler, respond intuitively to music and benefit from it.
Naturally and instinctively responding to music, the infant and toddler exposed to music can later concentrate and learn more quickly, showing advanced verbal skills, vocabulary, and coordination. Research has also shown that music for very young children generates neural connections, enhancing higher brain functions that enable a child to reason in subjects such as math, physics, and engineering.
The impulse to move, speak, sing and play rhythmically is a natural and vital part of being human. After one year of music, children starting music at a later age have far less gain in their musical intelligence than children having that year of music at a young age. Just as babies learn to speak and understand our language before they learn to read and write it, music is also learned best this way!
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Music Promotes Learning!
Music is an essential component of child development. When included in a child’s early education, the following benefits are often seen:
QR The richer the music environment a child inhabits, the richer the brain network.
QR Music, at a very young age, has a dramatic impact on a child’s language and vocabulary development.
QR Rocking, swaying and moving through space stimulates the vestibular system, improving balance.
QR Timing activities develop motor skills and coordination.
QR Listening, comparing, and responding to various types of music develops thinking skills, while songs, rhymes, and finger games strengthen memory.
QR Repeating patterns & counting beats develop listening & sequencing skills. QR Participating in group dances & musical games encourages social skills and boosts self-esteem.
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Obviously music is very valuable for the joy of the music itself. Music improves the quality of life. Both adults and children are happy when music is added to their day. Stressful situations seem easier to handle when singing a song or humming a familiar tune!
Early exposure to rhymes, tickle games, songs, and instruments reinforce core first-year developmental milestones such as eye contact, object permanence, and bonding. Babies become aware of the sights and sounds around them which aids in language emergence and focus. Floor activities help to naturally develop babies’ core strength and social skills with other babies as it provides stimulation of the vestibular system.
Our approach to music comes from the Orff Schulwerk philosophy, a joyful and exciting experience for very young children using singing, movement and instrument playing to teach music. By participating in these lessons, the child will become a better musician and will be more successful in future musical pursuits.

THE TV-ADHD CONNECTION...Put your child's KM CD INSTEAD and let them imagine they are conducting a symphony....

You'd think a child who can sit glued to a TV screen for hours would, if nothing else, develop a decent attention span. Unfortunately the opposite may be true. When researchers studied 2,500 children, they found that the more TV kids watch between ages 1 and 3, the greater their risk of having attention problems at age 7. Each hour of TV viewed per day, experts noted, increased the risk of symptoms similar to those of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by almost 10%. The study didn't examine parental styles or program content and it didn't rule out the possibility that kids with attention problems may be more likely to be put in front of the TV. The rapid pace and intensity of television exceed what a child would experience in the real world....As a result kids who watch too much TV in early childhood-a critical period of brain development-appear to grow accustomed to a high level of stimulation, which may lead to attention problems... The AAP recommends no more than 2 hours of TV per day for kids over 2 and none for those younger....

AGE-BY AGE GUIDE TO GROSS-MOTOR SKILLS

When motor skills develop normally, it's a good indication a child's brain growth is also on track, says Ellen Schumann, MD, a pediatrician with the Marshfield Clinic in Wausau, WI...Below, you'll find gross-motor milestones to watch for, these are general guidelines, says Dr. Shumann...Some kids will reach them earlier and some later...Consult pediatrician if you're concerned....
1 month....Lift head momentarily when held against your shoulder....
3 months..Push up with arms while lying on stomach...
4-7 months...Roll from back to stomach and, later, vice versa....
6-7 months...Sit without support...
9 months...Crawl, pull to a stand
11 months...Move about while holding unto furniture...
12-14 months...Stand without falling, squat, begin walking...
18 months...Run, throw a ball while holding it overhead with both hands...
2-21/2 years...Run well, jump up with both feet, throw a ball overhand...
3 years...Ride a tricycle, walk upstairs one foot at a time
4 years...Hop on one foot, skip, walk downstairs one foot at a time...
5 years...Jump over an object, balance on one foot for 3-5 seconds...

UNREALISTIC PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS...
When it comes to our children, parents dream big....Athletic prowess, an Ivy League education, a high powered career... Such hopes although well intended can be burdensome for our kids..How can parents help...Be realistic and accept the child you've got...Support and encourage strengths and interests, but realize that no amount of pressure can turn your child into a genius or star athlete...When a child faces a challenge stay calm and exude confidence. ALL YOU CAN DO IS TRY YOUR BEST! Expressing your anxiety will only increase the stress... Above all, keep matters in perspective..How many A's kids get or how popular they are in school doesn't predict future success.....

ENDANGERED MUSICAL MINDS?/Start right start with KINDERMUSIK!

What a child has heard in the first six years of life cannot be eradicatd later. Thus it is too late to begin teaching at school, because a child stores a mass of musical impressions before school age, and if what is bad predominates, then his fate as far as music is concerned, has been sealed for a lifetime.....Zoltan Kodaly.....This is why I always hesitate to recommend formalized music lessons until 2nd grade....I want the children I teach to store masses of love for music....To have fun and enjoy their musical experience. ....Remember it is the process, not performance....

In human beings, the density of synapses increase sharply during the first months of life, reaches maximum at the ages of one to two (roughly 50% above the adult mean density), declines between the ages of 2-16, and remains relatively constant until the age of 72....Howard Gardner, Frames of Mind 44-45

The strength and efficiency of synaptic connections determine the speed and power with which your brain functions. THe most important news about synapses is that they are formed, strengthened, and maintained by interaction with experience. It is much more difficult to reorganize it in the first place. Organization inhibits reorganization. Carving out neuronal tracks for certain types of learning is best accomplished when the synapses for that particular skill are most malleable, before the firm up around certain types of responses....Jane Healy, Endangered Minds 52-53

A MUSICAL PERSON.....THINKS TUNES....FEELS RHYTHMS.....RESPONDS TO EXPRESSIVENESS IN MUSIC.....

I LOVE KINDERMUSIK!

KINDERMUSIK FALL SEMESTER BEGINS WEEK OF AUGUST 29th...

I am excited to see all my Kindermusik families once again. Get ready for an amazing musical adventure this year....I've been through two incredible seminars this year and am looking forward to implement some of their musical ideas into my curricula. See everyone soon.