Ready for Kindergarten???
Posted by: Cathy Portele on: Sunday, February 22, 2009
Many times in class we talk about how Kindermusik really does help develop your child and prepare them for the skills they will use later in life and when they start school. I know it’s easy for us to repeat FOLs over and over about listening and balance and steady beat so I wanted to give you a little more concrete evidence. My daughter, who is in kindergarten, just got her report card last week. I was studying it a little more carefully this weekend and realized that what they are graded on for readiness skills are skills that we work on each week in our classes.
Here is the breakdown of her kindergarten readiness skills that she is graded on:
Readiness Skill In a Kindermusik Class?
Plays/works well with others YES
Displays self control YES
Shows self-confidence YES
Shows age appropriate attention span YES
Respects authority YES
Listens well YES
Follows instructions YES
So… look at Kindermusik not only as a great time to bond with your kids, but also as kindergarten prep classes!
Glissandoing Rocket Ships
Posted by: Cathy Portele on: Saturday, February 21, 2009
This week in one of our Our Time classes we were doing bell exploration before our play along and one of my sweet students decided that his bells were rocket ships. He kept making them slowly go up in the air and then slowly come back down. As he raised and lowered the bells he would say Up, Up, Up or Down, Down, Down over and over. As I sat there listening, I realized that he was not only labeling his actions, but his voice was also going up as his bells went up, and then going back down as his bells went down (our techinal muscial term: GLISSANDO). I mentioned it to the class and we all sat and listened and were truly amazed. There it is… my sweet student just turned 3 a few weeks ago and look at all his little brain is doing in just a 2 minute activity: active imagination, labeling with vocabulary, AND muscial skills in glissandos!!!! Amazing, nope just another great Kindermusik kid:)
The brain – what a fascinating organ!
Posted by: Cathy Portele on: Saturday, February 21, 2009
A fellow KM educator sent out this article about the value of mental training for the brain. It really is quite fascinating! According to Professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin, David Richardson, “The brain is the only organ designed to change in response to experience. Musical training changes the structure of the brain and when it begins earlier in life the greater the influence.” How about that! YEA Kindermusik families!!!!
Drum Circle coming to town
Posted by: Cathy Portele on: Friday, February 20, 2009
The Columbus Arts Council will be presenting Rhythm in the Round, an interactive drum circle on Friday, March 13th at 7:30pm.
Enjoy an evening of interactive community drumming. Dr. Robert Damm leads this group in an “up-beat” evening at the Omnova Theater. Drums echo the rhythms of our own bodies and by exploring this rhythm living in all of us, we can express ourselves in a musical way that encourages emotional connections and spiritual expressions. Participating in a Drum Circle “community” creates a bond between those in the circle, a sense of self-accomplishment, and an overwhelming sense of pride. Instruments will be provided and no prior drumming experience is necessary.
For more information contact the Rosensweig Arts Center at 328-2787, or visit their website.
This sounds like a lot of fun! And what a unique opportunity for our community. I can’t wait to check it out and hope to see some of you there too!
Free Hugs
Posted by: Cathy Portele on: Sunday, February 15, 2009
Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope this makes you all smile:) And be sure to pass on some hugs to your friends and family ~ especially your sweet children! Remember, cuddling with your kids helps them feel more secure about who they are! They know they can go and explore as an independent little person and then come back to you for love and support! So… HUG AWAY!
Baby Brain Map
Posted by: Cathy Portele on: Saturday, February 14, 2009
This is the COOOLEST website link all about your baby’s brain! The Brain Map was adapted in 2006 by ZERO TO THREE from BrainWonders, a collaborative project (1998-2001) between Boston University School of Medicine, Erikson Institute and ZERO TO THREE.
You select your child’s age from the pull down menu and then certain hotspots in the brain pop up. You can click on them and then read different questions and answers about what the brain in doing at different stages. It also gives you some great suggestions for working on your child’s development.
Snuggle up and Share the Love
Posted by: Cathy Portele on: Saturday, February 14, 2009
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Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you! As parents, we don’t need a special day to show our kids how much we love them though. Each and every day can be a celebration of love and friendship for you and your child. This week, in celebration of Valentine’s day, take some time to ask your child what she thinks the word “love” means. Help her name people and things she loves and have her tell you WHY she loves them. You can explain to your child that love is a “special warm feeling that you have inside.” By encouraging your child to express, describe, and label her different feelings, you’ll be helping her build emotional literacy.
Playtime with your child REALLY is learning time!
Posted by: Cathy Portele on: Saturday, February 14, 2009
I found this fabulous article by Carolyn Tomlin, about how you really can teach your child through play- one of Kindermusik’s philosophies! It’s a great article that just reiterates what we stress in our classes- YOU are your chlild’s best teacher, your child learns best at HOME, and PLAY=Learning.
Here’s a short excerpt from the article. Deborah Stephenson, Director of West Jackson Development Center, Jackson, Tennessee says, “Socialization with other children develops when children play. Children are not born with the concept of sharing. Young boys and girls want to please adults and they realize that pleasing happens when they work together. Parents can teach good manners, language development and respect through unstructured play. Ask yourself: How can you allow your child to develop her own activities? What items exist in your home that allows creativity to develop in a natural way?”
To read the rest of this article, For Parents Only: Teaching Your Child Through Play, by Carolyn Tomlin, M.Ed, follow the link. It’s got some great ideas for working on your child’s cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development at home!
Books For Robbie
Posted by: Cathy Portele on: Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Kindermusik Service Project- Books For Robbie
I would like to introduce you all to Robbie Eklund. Robbie is 4 1/2 years old and was diagnosed with Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that is characterized by low platelets and little to no immune system, and received a bone marrow transplant as a result 10 days before his first birthday. Since then Robbie has had complications due to prolonged use of steroid treatment and has been diagnosed with Aspergillus ( fungal infection) of the heart, brain, and lungs. The survival rate of this fungal infection is only 10%. Robbie has been in Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital in California as an inpatient since last April. The odds have been stacked against this precious child since birth, but he has been fighting them with amazing determination!
Jana and Rob, Robbie’s parents are military friend of ours and have been through so much over the past 4 years. I can not even begin to imagine what it would be like to have my precious baby hospitalized and fighting to live daily. They are amazing parents who are so proud of their son, but also struggle daily with the emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion of having a terminally ill child.
This is where our Kindermusik studio and YOU come in. Jana wrote to me and told me that the Bone Marrow Transplant ward that Robbie and her essentially live on is very isolated. The kids in this ward are not allowed to leave it. Many of the families are not as fortunate as the Eklunds are and instead of just worrying about their sick child are also worried about all of the medical expenses they are incurring and truly where their next meal and mortgage payment will come from. There is very little on the ward for the children and parents to do, so Jana has started the Robert George Eklund Memorial Library for the Bone Marrow Transplant Children’s ward.
BUT a library needs books!! Kindermusik with Katy and Cathy is so excited to help build this library for these families. So bring in your new or gently used children’s and adult books over the next two weeks. We will be sending our boxes of books to California at the end of the month and can’t wait to see how many boxes we can fill!
We are all so blessed and lucky to have healthy children that we can bring to Kindermusik classes each week. Let’s join together as a Kindermusik community to give these families a chance to relax with a good book, or read to their kids and enjoy quality time with them. A gift that sometimes we all take for granted, but that will mean the world to this ward!
If you are a facebook member, check out the cause “Pray for Robbie” to learn more about this amazing little boy!
Roll Over Rover!
Posted by: Cathy Portele on: Saturday, February 7, 2009
Just this week, our first week of classes, we learned a new song in our Our Time classes entitled Roll Over Rover. Below you will see a great video of a fellow Kindermusik educator Michelle Jaques on a trip to South Africa at a local orphanage singing Roll Over Rover. It just goes to show that music and dancing can easily bridge any language or socio-economic barrier that exists for children!
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