What is Kindermusik

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What is Kindermusik

01/18/2015

What is Kindermusik?

We have another great blog entry from guest author Rosemary Stephanson (Miss Rosie), who is an online and in-person Kindermusik Educator for Kindermusik with Kari & Friends. My daughters love going to Kindermusik – even my 10 week old baby – she wakes up the second we get into the building and loves the singing, movement and music. My two year old, who loves to run and be active enjoys herself every week!

Hello, everyone! Happy 2015! I’m excited to return as a guest blogger for the Mommy Connections Saskatoon website. Thank-you to Jennie for this opportunity.

As you can tell from Jennie’s introduction, I’m a Kindermusik Educator. In previous posts, I haven’t talked specifically about Kindermusik. So I thought, hey – a post about Kindermusik is the perfect way to kick off 2015.

The quick answer to the question, “What is Kindermusik?” is this: It’s a music and movement-based early childhood education program for children newborn to seven years old. There’s way more to it, though.

In 2014, I did a Q&A with Kari Soroski, owner of Kindermusik with Kari & Friends. A few of the questions and answers directly pertain to the question, “What is Kindermusik?” so I thought they would be a great resource for this post. If you’d like to read the original Q&A, click here. In addition, Kari and I were conversing back and forth over email the other day, and I asked if she had any closing remarks for this post. Well, she sure does…and they directly pertain to you! *Hint: There may be something about free baby classes for Mommy Connections families… *

And now, without further ado, here’s my Q&A with Miss Kari!

Q: Can you describe the entire Kindermusik experience for Mommy Connections blog readers, starting with Cuddle & Bounce (babies), and ending with Young Child (5-7 year olds)? 

A: Kindermusik is developmentally appropriate. We have a program for every year of life with an overlap of 6 months. This gives children the chance to learn at the level that they are currently at and progress when they are ready. In each age group, we build on musical concepts which facilitate the development of the whole child, physically, intellectually, emotionally and (of course!) musically. For example, legato and staccato in Cuddle & Bounce is explored by moving babies in smooth and bumpy ways. It’s easier to learn a concept when you contrast it with its opposite. For this reason, we’ll choose a smooth movement like rocking and contrast it with a bumpy movement like a lap bounce. When children are rocked, their vestibular system – or inner ear – is stimulated, which helps them to gain a sense of balance. When children participate in a lap bounce, they’re experiencing steady beat, which we use to walk, ride a bike, dance, use scissors, play basketball, etc. The list goes on! While we’re moving the babies, we’re labeling each movement.

Fast forward a few years, and we’re in Laugh & Learn. Children develop a deep understanding of what “smooth” and “bumpy” mean through music and movement games that emphasize both concepts. Lots of creativity is involved, here. “Smooth lions” and “bumpy dinosaurs” are some of the many creatures you’ll come across in Laugh & Learn class!

Finally, fast forward a couple more years to Young Child. The terms, “smooth” and “bumpy,” have turned into their musical counterparts, “legato and staccato.” Children learn to apply these terms to musical expression when they’re playing or singing Kindermusik songs. Children also come to realize that all music has one or both of these concepts – playing music legato or staccato can continue beyond the Kindermusik studio! From Cuddle & Bounce to Young Child, socialization and caregiver-child bonding is built in to every Kindermusik class that we do.

Q: If you could tell current Kindermusik families one thing, what would it be?

A: Be present with your children while you are at class. Pretend that you and your child are the only ones that exist in the room at that moment. Life is so busy and little people need your undivided attention. Just five minutes of focused play a day will decrease your power struggles with your child by 50 per cent! That’s amazing! It will also make you a happier, more relaxed parent.

Q: If you could tell prospective Kindermusik families one thing, what would it be? 

A: Kindermusik is the best money you will spend on your child ever!! I know it shouldn’t always be about the money, but it’s not easy to be a young family these days. Cost of living is high and often both parents have to work to make ends meet. Kindermusik has great value because it not only develops your child’s musicality, but it also develops social skills, emotional intelligence, literacy, spatial awareness, co-ordination and connects your child’s brain in ways that nothing else can! It’s fun and it makes memories that last a life time! Can you tell that I love it? I’m choking up as I’m writing this!

Q: Yes, I can totally tell that you love it. Well, we’d better wrap this Q&A up now. Any closing remarks?

A: Yes. Over the past few months, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Mommy Connections families. It’s been a fun, rewarding process, and it’s inspired me to try something I’ve never done before. If you’d like to keep the Kindermusik experience going beyond Mommy Connections, myself and my team would love to have you! So, if you have a baby (newborn – walker) and you’d like to try Kindermusik classes at one of our studios, you’re welcome to come for free to as many of these Cuddle & Bounce classes as you like until the end of January:

SASKATOON – Wednesday @ 4:15 p.m. – 5 p.m. and Thursday @ 2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

MARTENSVILLE – Thursday @ 3:15 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Also, if you come to a free studio class, love it, and decide to enroll, I’ll give you $10/month off for 3 months.

We hope to see you at one of our studios soon!! Take it away, Miss Rosie!

Thanks, Kari!

I hope you enjoyed this blog post about Kindermusik. If you have questions about anything mentioned in the Q&A above, please feel free to email Kari at karisoroski@shaw.ca or contact us on one of our Facebook pages Saskatoon Facebook page; Martensville Facebook page  and either Kari or myself will get back to you.

What topics would you like me to cover about music in early childhood? Please leave your requests in the comments section below. I want to write about what’s important to you!

Musically Yours,

Miss Rosie

 

 

 

 

 

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