Blowing Bubbles

Blowing out candles, blowing bubbles, blowing a dandelion, and Blow Away the Morning Dew. There was a lot of blowing in Village Class today-long and short blows. We blew on wind mills and we played with sponges and water. Next week we'll play with the sponges again and blow bubbles!

Infants who can blow bubbles and lick their lips are more likely to pick up language quickly according to a study by Dr. Katie Alcock at Lancaster University. It was found that the ability to perform complex mouth movements was strongly linked with language development. Blowing also aids in the development of the lungs and diaphragm which are used in the production of vocal sounds and speech.

Blow your way home this week.

• Let your baby feel the cool breeze of you gently blowing on his hand, tummy, toes, or face while getting dressed.
• Blow to cool off your baby's warm breakfast cereal.
• Have bubble blowing fun!

Sing to your baby:

Blow Away the Morning Dew
Blow away the morning dew,
The dew and the dew.
Blow away the morning dew,
How sweet the wind doth blow.

Word Acquisition

Exposure to a variety of movement words helps children link movement and language at a time when word acquisition is occurring at a fast pace. "Between the ages of 18 months and 4 years children comprehend, on average, one new word for every hour they are awake. By age four, most kids know around 10,000 words.

Music

Music! It's the panacea for many of the challenges that wreak havoc as children grow up. It calms babies. It brings joy to toddlers. It builds confidence in preschoolers. It develops far-reaching and long-lasting skills that grow musicians, creative problem solvers, and confident lovers of learning.

My single best advice for young parents? Let music permeate your home (and car)! Music makes parenting more joyful. Music helps children unfold into wonderful, responsible, caring adults. And you don't have to be a musician to bring music in your child's life

Books

"Some of the sweetest hours of life, on retrospect, will be found to have been spent with books." Ralph Waldo Emerson

This does seem to be true in my life, I remember reading to my son when he was a baby, we would sit and read a couple of times of day. We would read about Clifford, Carl the dog, Maisy, and Big Bird, then later reading Dr. Suess, and now we are reading Harry Potter, Captain Underpants, and other comic books.

As a child I loved all the adventures and glimpses of other people's lives reading books, (which I still enjoy). I'm so happy my son feels this way too. Last week we went to Powell's book store, Kurt bought a book and then we hung out at the coffee shop, reading, having a treat. Very Sweet!!

Angie, Kindermusik Teacher
phone: 503-708-2827
web site: www.kindermusikwithangie.kindermusik.net
blog: www.kindermusikwithangie.blogspot.com
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Literacy

Reading picture books together with adults helps children internalize some skills that are crucial in the development of true literacy.
Reading Together:

• fosters reading enjoyment
• provides predictability through repetition
• expands understanidng of story structures
• promotes critical thinking
• encourages language play and creative expression

Kindermusik Music and Story Time provides all these important benefits as well as helping devleop music literacy through the rhythm and movement element of the Kindermusik story books.

 

 

Angie Janson, Kindermusik Teacher

503-708-2827

web site: www.kindermusikwithangie.kindermusik.net

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The Movement-Vision-Reading Connection

"Our visual sense functions...when our eyes are actively moving..., when the body and head move, the vestibular sytem is activated, and the eye muscles strenghten as they move in response. The more the eyes move, the more the muscles of both eyes work together." Later on, this "eye-teaming" will enable these now-toddlers to focus as well as to track and to conentrate as they learn to read in school. Smart Moves, by Carla Hannaford

Kindermusik Teacher
503-708-2827
web site: www.kindermusikwithangie.kindermusik.net
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Kindermusik Village

Two key elements of the Kindermusik Village learning environment are variety and repetition. Through exposure to variety (of objects, instruments, people, movements, songs, etc.), an array of possible skills, aptitudes, and perceptions are stimulated in the form of new neural connections. But not all these connections will remain intact. It is only through repetition that neural connections are strengthened and that possibility becomes ability.

Kindermusik Teacher
503-708-2827
web site: www.kindermusikwithangie.kindermusik.net
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Sound Maps

It is important to include a wide range of timbres in Baby's environment. This includes hearing the sounds of many languages. Each kind of sound maps new connections in Baby's brain. Repeated listening solidifies these connections.


Kindermusik Teacher
503-708-2827
web site: www.kindermusikwithangie.kindermusik.net
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Musical Instruments

In class we explore a variety of musical instruments with different timbres (pronounced "tam-bers" or characteristic sound qualities, such as the scratching of egg shakers, the ringing of baby bells, and the resonant "boom" of the drum. As Baby hears this variety of sounds, she is developing the listening vocabulary necessary for sound discrimination preceding language. And if she plays the instruments, she learns that she can create a nice-sounding result.


Kindermusik Teacher
503-708-2827
web site: www.kindermusikwithangie.kindermusik.net
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Sensory Learning

As you and Baby experience the contrast between a smoothly rolling ball and a jumpy, bouncing ball, she is understanding on a sensory level the difference between smooth, sustained movement, and sharp, detached movement. This is an important element of music and language.

Kindermusik Teacher
503-708-2827
web site: www.kindermusikwithangie.kindermusik.net
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Touch

In addition to being a way to create adult-baby emotional bonding, intentional touch has many physical benefits, including stimulation of the digestive, circulatory, and lymph systems. If Baby spends any extended time in a baby carrier, massage on his back aids his posture as well.


Kindermusik Teacher
503-708-2827
web site: www.kindermusikwithangie.kindermusik.net
blog: www.kindermusikwithangie.blogspot.com
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http://ping.fm/DaZVL

Singing with Baby

Singing is for everyone. Even if you don't consider yourself a "singer," you probably have a song in your heart. Fortunately, your enjoyment level in music-making is more important to Baby than your skill level. Baby learns best when he is emotionally involved in an activity; so every time you enjoy singing and music-making with him you are helping Baby experience music as a wonderful part of being alive.

Sing with Baby at home, in the car, or wherever you can. Try making up simple songs, silly songs, songs without words, songs about diaper changing or lullabies. Don't worry ab out how it osunds, but sing from your heart. Baby knows and loves the voices of those who are closest to him.

Kindermusik Teacher
503-708-2827
web site: www.kindermusikwithangie.kindermusik.net
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Tempo

One of the fundamental aspects of music is tempo. You may have noticed that Baby enjoys fast and slow music equally or that s/he prefers one extreme over the other. It is important for his/her understanding of music and language that Baby hear and feel a range of tempi.

Choose a favorite song and sing it slowly (adagio) with Baby, using big movements. Sing the same song again quickly (allegro), with smaller movements. Alternate between the two extremes. Then gradually go from adagio, to andante, to allegro (slow, walking pace, quick).

Kindermusik Teacher
503-708-2827
web site: www.kindermusikwithangie.kindermusik.net
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